#chris: nearly threw hands with a 13 year old

[wolfchans]

[marshvlovestv]

Nearly threw hands with a 13-year-old in this one (Tae implied she had a crush on Hedwyn and I got jealous even though he's voiced by Chris Saphire and thus probably gay)

[k-evans-reads]

Playing With Fire

Chapter 13

Summary: After a change of heart nearly ten years into her career as a pediatric intensive care unit nurse, Ellie Maxwell has moved back home and returned to her old job at the local bakery, where the regulars are the firefighters from down the street. When sparks begin to fly between Ellie and the guarded, closed-off Chris, will anything come of it?

Pairing: Firefighter!Chris Evans X OFC Elizabeth “Ellie” Maxwell

Word Count: 3,968

By: @k-evans-writes and @ourfinest-hour

We do NOT give permission for our works to be reuploaded, translated, or reposted on any other site. Our work is our own.

Warnings: Implied smut.

Previous | Main Masterlist | Playing With Fire Masterlist

Chris ran the towel over his damp hair as he looked at his reflection in the mirror, eyes moving over the places where the bruises from the accident had now faded on his ribs. He leaned down as he dropped the towel on the small vanity, leaning down to pick up his toothbrush before he caught Ellie’s eyes in the mirror, a smirk on his lips as he took in her appearance. She was still laying in her bed with Dodger at her feet, blonde hair tousled around her face and skin pink with exertion from their activities, with the blanket and quilt pulled up around her frame. “I really could get used to you having Sundays off,” he murmured as he moved his eyes back up to meet her own.

She blushed at his gaze but then shrugged, admitting, “I still feel bad about calling out today.” 

He raised a single eyebrow at her as he brushed his teeth, waiting until he was done to ask, “Really? Because it didn’t seem like you were feeling bad a little while ago.” 

Her jaw dropped at his words and he laughed at her reaction, turning and ducking when she threw a throw pillow through the doorway to the small bathroom. “I’m being serious! Maybe I should just go in.” 

“Ellie, you said yourself you were overstaffed for today anyway,” he reasoned, remembering how easily she’d agreed to calling out for the day once she looked at the schedule, seeing Dottie was going in… along with five other employees. With one look at Chris’ over-dramatic pleading eyes, she’d texted Dottie that she was feeling under the weather, and within minutes she was under him. “C’mon, I want you all to myself today.” 

She shrugged, sitting up in bed and bringing the quilt with her, watching him as he put on his jeans and picked his sweater up off of Ellie’s dresser and pulled it over his head. “I just feel bad,” Ellie whispered, Chris turning to watch her over his shoulder. 

His hand moved to flatten his hair from where the sweater had made it messy again, pursing his lips with a shrug and offering, “Well if you need a repeat of earlier to make you feel less bad, I could be of service.” 

At the small smile that crossed Ellie’s lips, Chris moved towards the bed with a pet to Dodger’s head, leaning down and pressing a long kiss to her lips. Ellie’s hand moved from the bed up to his shoulder and made its way into his hair. When they pulled away, her hand scratched the back of his head lightly as she asked, “How are you feeling about tonight? Do you still want Hazel to come with us to family dinner?” 

He nodded, remembering how excited Hazel was to visit a “real farm, daddy.” The smile on his lips grew at the memory as he replied, “Yeah, I do.” 

“It’s okay though if you’ve changed your mind. I mean, having Hazel meet my family is a lot and if you’d rather wait longer, I’m fine with that,” Ellie rushed to offer, eyes carefully watching him. It’d been a cautious few weeks between them in the wake of the accident and their fight, but it’d only reaffirmed to Chris - and Ellie - that they wanted to continue intertwining their lives together.  “I know things between us are still newer.” 

Chris shrugged at the words, agreeing and telling her, “They are, but I love you Elles and I’m all in. 

And he meant that. As he looked at his sweet Ellie smiling right back at him, he knew that there was no part of his heart that didn’t mean it. Although they hadn’t been together long, he almost felt like he couldn’t remember what it was like without her. She had filled a void he didn’t even know was there, bringing back the sparkle in his eyes that had been gone for so many years. Ellie had been his rock through so many moments already and he knew that she wasn’t going to be going anywhere anytime soon if he had something to say about it. 

But with that, came Hazel. She had adjusted to having Ellie around a little better than Chris had expected but he still was keeping a close eye on Hazel’s emotions and making sure she was doing alright with all of this. The amount of guilt he felt for Hazel having to grow up in two separate homes was something that weighed him down often and made him nervous to bring Ellie into Hazel’s life as his girlfriend, but all of his fears had been put to rest. He knew things with Ellie would only get more serious, which had made him want to finally bring Hazel along to one of the Sunday night Maxwell family dinners he’d been attending every other Sunday for the past two months, enjoying the time he spent there before he went to pick up Hazel from Ashlee’s. 

Chris and Ellie spent the next few hours getting ready for the dinner, sharing the kitchen as he began preparing baked macaroni and cheese and Ellie made a batch of brownies for the evening. His heart felt so full, just getting to talk and laugh while they baked and did dishes together, because these were the moments he loved more than anything. Just getting to be with Ellie, sharing his life and having a partner is what he’d always dreamed of and getting to kiss her cheek while he was on his way to the sink, hear her laugh at his dumb jokes, or have her steal a bite of his macaroni when he pulled it out of the oven were the little things that made him purely happy. 

That lightness and joy inside of him stayed planted even when they left Ellie’s little house, her taking Dodger to his place while he went to pick up Hazel, bringing her back home so she could change her clothes and have Ellie brush out her curls and do her hair. Once Hazel had little space buns in her hair and purple rain boots on her feet, they piled into Chris’ SUV with the food and Hazel’s squeals as entertainment, and drove the short distance to the Maxwell family farm. 

Chris and Ellie held hands the entire way, both laughing at Hazel’s excitement and insistence on taking an animal home with her. But when Chris turned the car onto the long dirt driveway, silence suddenly fell over them, and his question was answered when he glanced in the rearview mirror to see a look of awe on Hazel’s face as she stared out the window. The silence carried through Chris carrying a slightly shy Hazel through the backdoor of the home with Ellie, introducing Hazel to each member of the Maxwell family, but it was obvious to everyone that it was a little overwhelming to the little girl glued to her dad’s leg. 

With a sympathetic look to Chris and a nudge to Ellie, who was putting the macaroni and cheese in the oven to warm, Diana suggested, “Dinner isn’t quite ready yet so Ellie why don’t you go show Hazel around the farm now?” 

Chris heard a tiny gasp as Hazel’s hold on his leg tightened, smiling as Ellie looked at them from over her shoulder. “Hazie, you want to go out and see the animals?” She asked Hazel, a wide grin on her face. 

Hazel nodded enthusiastically and her arms dropped from where they’d wound around Chris’ leg. “Yes, yes, yes, yes!” 

She began dragging Chris to the door as Ellie followed them, but as he helped her jam her little feet back in her rain boots, Brett mentioned, “And Hazel when you come back, we have a little present for you…” 

“You guys didn’t need to do anything,” Chris murmured as he turned to glance at them from the side with a small shake of his head. They’d been more than accommodating, not only tonight but over the last several weeks, including making the traditional family dinner an early evening activity so that Chris could come before he had to get Hazel. And while he knew that he likely wasn’t the ideal partner that they had imagined for their daughter, one who was already divorced and had a child, they never made him feel anything but welcomed and loved in their home, something he already knew they’d carry over to Hazel as well. 

But Diana shook her head, an amused expression on her face. “Don’t deny me buying presents for cute little kids, Chris,” she told him fondly. 

With a tap to Hazel’s ankles once he was finished helping her with his shoes, Chris pulled himself up to his full standing height and agreed, “That’s fair. I have a hard time resisting some of those toys myself.” 

“Daddy, c’mon!” 

Chris chuckled softly as Hazel tugged on his hand, finally getting him to move to follow Ellie out the back door and out farther into the farm. He watched as Hazel hopped a couple steps in front of him to be next to Ellie, her little hand reaching up to hold onto Ellie’s, making the blonde woman smile warmly. Chris purposely hung a few steps back, loving to get to watch his two favorite girls interact. He knew this was Ellie’s happy place, being at the farm with all her beloved animals but he could see the joy in her eyes as she got to share each little detail with Hazel. 

His eyes never left the pair while Ellie showed Hazel how to feed the chickens, sit on the horses and pet the goats, all with Hazel’s amazed expression painted all over her face. This little girl was truly in her element, surrounded by the various animals all excited for attention, and Hazel was more than happy to give it to them. They nearly had to peel her away from the chicks once Diana had texted Ellie that it was dinner time, Hazel pouting as they walked back to the house. 

But the frown was turned into a wide grin as Ellie’s beloved cat, Bruce, made his appearance, climbing over their feet and through their legs the moment they stepped back into the kitchen. The chaos of a meal with two young children quickly settled over the home as they got Hazel and Nathan situated at the table with the adults following closely behind, and while the conversation flowed easily, Chris kept a careful eye on Hazel as she ate her food and chatted lightly with everyone. 

They were mid-way through the meal and Nathan was on Chris’ lap as he gnawed on a teething toy when Hazel tapped Chris’ arm, quietly telling him, “Daddy, I’m full.” 

He took a glance at her plate and saw that there was still a good amount of her broccoli left untouched, something she knew she had to at least try to eat before she was allowed to have the brownies she so desperately wanted. “Not until you eat that last bite of veggies,” he murmured, nodding his chin towards the vegetables on her plate. 

Her lower lip stuck out as her shoulders slouched, and while he was not one to force Hazel to eat vegetables, he knew her. She liked broccoli, and Ashlee had told him she’d eaten a little at lunch but not much, so she was also hungry, and if he’d offered a brownie she would’ve jumped at the treat. “But-” 

“No buts Hazel,” he interrupted, giving her a small look and pointing to the vegetables before he shifted Nathan in his lap, suppressing a laugh at the over-dramatic pout on her face. 

“I’ve seen that face before,” Brett piped up, Hazel relaxing a little as Chris’ attention shifted to the man on the other end of the table. “Ellie used to always make that face about cauliflower.” 

Chris snorted, his gaze moving to the blonde across the table from him as he told them, “Oh she still makes it.” 

“Because cauliflower is disgusting,” Ellie told Chris plainly with a simple shrug of her shoulders, but then hid a growing smile behind her glass of rosé.

The little girl next to him nodded enthusiastically, informing Ellie with a sigh, “So is broccoli.” 

“You like broccoli,” Chris pointed out, then nudged Hazel with his arm. “Two more bites, Hazelnut,” he encouraged. 

Chris knew Ellie was watching them carefully, despite how quiet he tried to make his conversation with Hazel. But he was surprised - foolishly so, Ellie had proven to go above and beyond when it came to Hazel - when Ellie spoke up, “Hazie, if you eat that last bit of broccoli like your dad said, then you can have a brownie. And guess what?” She paused, a large grin on her face as she raised her eyebrows and dropped her voice. “I put chocolate chips in them.” 

In an instant, Hazel was swallowing the last bites of her broccoli and asking if she could have her brownie, causing a round of laughs around the table. Chris leaned over to kiss Hazel’s cheek before she wiggled off her chair and hurried into the kitchen with the smiling blonde to get the treat. And while the two girls were in the kitchen, Daniel and Amanda both stood up, taking a sleepy Nathan from Chris before they slipped upstairs to put the baby to bed. As the door to the kitchen swung shut, Chris saw her parents’ eyes on him, some sort of unspoken truth between them that Chris wasn’t filled in on until a moment later. 

“Chris, your daughter is just wonderful,” Brett took the opportunity to tell him while Hazel was out of the room. Although he didn’t know it, everyone in the room had been impressed by the way he parented the young girl. 

“She really is such a good kid,” Chris turned to look at Diane as she piped in, “And you obviously are an incredible father.” 

“Well I don’t know that I am but I’m trying. Hazel is the best part of my life,” he said, knowing it was the truth. Being a single father at twenty-eight years old wasn’t exactly what he had in mind when he imagined his life when he was younger, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything. He couldn’t imagine his life without his sassy energetic daughter that he adored to no end. Chris looked around at the kind faces of the family as he told them all, “Thank you for including her and being so good to her tonight.” 

“Oh I almost forgot our little present for her!” Diana exclaimed as he got up, hurrying over to the cabinet where she was keeping it. 

Daniel leaned back in his chair while he mentioned, “We were excited to meet Hazel. I mean, we’ve heard so much about her from you and Ellie.” 

“… Elles talks about her?” 

“Are you kidding? Our family group text is full of quotes from Hazel,” Ellie’s brother finished while his eyes met Chris’ blue ones. 

“I guarantee Ellie was more excited for Hazel to come see all her animals than Hazel was. She’s been talking about it all week,” Brett couldn’t wait to inform Chris, knowing that his daughter had been practically buzzing. 

“The two of them make a pretty good pair,” Chris smiled down as he reached out to grab the glass of water to take a drink. 

He knew it was true. The pair had become thick as thieves already and seeing the two of them together made so many things stir inside him. But Chris didn’t have time to dwell on it, his focus being interrupted when Ellie came back in carrying a white tray of perfectly cut brownies, Hazel walking next to her legs with her mouth stuffed full of the chocolate treat, swallowing it as she climbed back up on the chair next to him. 

“Hazel, we heard you loved to color so we got you a little coloring book and some new markers,” Diana happily smiled while putting the book and marker pack right in front of her, causing her little eyes to grow wide. 

“Really?!” 

“What do you say, Hazel Basil?” Chris prodded her while gently nudging her with his elbow. 

“Thank you!” Hazel squealed as she quickly pulled the cover open and then spun it around, holding it up as she exclaimed,“Ellie! Ellie! Look, it has goats like the ones in the barn!” 

“And it has a dog that looks like Dodger,” Ellie pointed out from across the table. 

“Will you color it with me?” Hazel asked with hopeful eyes, her little grin showing up when Ellie nodded. 

Chris watched as Hazel climbed onto Ellie’s lap ungracefully, settling in comfortably with a smile as she reached for the markers. His eyes lingered on the pair as Hazel, with a brown marker in hand, directed Ellie on what color marker to use where. He couldn’t help but see the way Ellie softened around Hazel, going from her normally perfectionist ways to being full of warm hugs, large grins, and attentively caring, all for that little girl in her lap that had changed Chris’ life. With Ashlee, he never saw a future beyond just the two of them alone together, never saw any kids running around or a dog, home, and picket fence in the suburbs. Obviously Hazel still happened, and while they both struggled initially with how to be a parent when they still were very much so children themselves, Chris had adapted better than Ashlee. She still struggled, and was open about it with Chris, with how to be a mother, how to occupy Hazel, and how to interact with her just as easily as Chris found things to be now. 

But he didn’t see any of those struggles with Ellie, any of those growing pains when it came to shifting from Chris and Ellie to Mom and Dad. He - for the first time in his life - could imagine a future with a partner, having a family with them, and being happy. He could see Ellie holding a blonde-haired toddler as they both screeched with laughter as they watched Hazel joke around. He could see Ellie holding a child of their own and bandaging their scraped knees, kissing them better. He could see her bringing the kids by the firehouse to see him, and he could see it so easily that it almost scared him. 

He had never felt this way before, with anyone at all. But he couldn’t keep running from life because of what went down before with himself and Ashlee. Chris had to keep going, embracing life as it came to him, and embracing all the love and possibilities granted to him by the smiling blonde across from him. 

“What color should I use?” He heard Ellie ask as she rested her chin on top of Hazel’s curly hair, reaching around her to point at the section she’d color next. 

“Um… yellow!” Hazel answered, holding up the marker to her. 

“You think I should make the goat yellow?” Chris smiled himself as he heard the amusement in Ellie’s voice. 

“Yeah, yellow is an Ellie Jelly color,” The little girl answered easily. 

Diana asked with a smile, leaning forward to rest her chin in her hand, “Do you have a new nickname now, Ellie?” 

“She’s my Ellie Jelly or my Ellie Bellie,” Hazel looked up from Ellie’s lap to inform them all, earning a little squeeze from the blonde who’s lap she was sitting in. 

“How’d you come up with that nickname, Hazel?” Brett was curious to know. 

“I dunno,” Hazel shrugged as she kept coloring in the tree she was working on. “Daddy says we’re nickname people.” 

Hearing this made Ellie lift her head, looking right across at him and piped in, “That’s actually true, you do have lots of nicknames for people,” 

Chris pursed his lips as he shrugged, a blush on his cheeks as he murmured, “Only special people.” 

The rest of the evening passed all-too-quickly for Chris’ liking, but when he saw Hazel yawning and rubbing at her eyes, he knew it was time for them to head home. With hugs to everyone, Chris, Ellie, and Hazel headed back to the little house on the other end of town. The car ride was noticeably quieter than the one from earlier, this time filled with the quiet sounds of the radio as Hazel slept soundly in her car seat, not even waking when they got home. 

He silently got out, going to unbuckle Hazel from her carseat and gently lifted her out, cradling the sleeping girl against his chest. Chris bumped the car door with his hip, closing it before starting to walk from the driveway up to the front door in the dim evening, but smiled warmly to himself when he felt a hand rest on his back, Ellie falling into step right next to him, laying her cheek against his arm as they walked. 

Nothing felt more right than that moment, with Ellie by his side as they slowly climbed the creaky staircase with Hazel still sleeping soundly against him. They only split apart when Ellie moved to push Hazel’s door open and flicker on a light for him, then she turned to head to Chris’ room as he asked her to grab one of Hazel’s stuffed animals for him. Chris was getting the sleepy girl into her pajamas when Ellie brought the stuffed animal back, rubbing Chris’ shoulder as she told him she was going to go down and let out Dodger. 

Chris tucked Hazel into bed, kissing her forehead and making sure she had her favorite animals tucked next to her as her heavy eyelids closed again. With one more kiss to her head, he went out of the room, leaving the door cracked open before going down to meet Ellie in the kitchen just as she finished filling up Dodger’s water bowl. 

With a sigh and a yawn, Ellie looked at him with a half-smile, admitting, “I guess I better head home.” 

And hearing that one statement made Chris long for the day when a day was over that she’d be walking upstairs rather than leaving. His emotions had been right near the surface all day and in that moment, all he could do was wrap his thick arms around her. Chris pulled her tight against his chest, engulfing her in his embrace while nuzzling his face in the crook of her neck, breathing her in while his voice crackled with raw emotion as he said, “I love you, Elles. I love you so fuckin’ much.” 

The pair just stayed in that position for a long time, clinging to each other until Ellie put a hand on his cheek, guiding his face up so that she could press her lips against his. He could have just stayed there forever, just kissing her in the quiet of the evening but as much as he hated feeling their lips part, getting to see the honesty in Ellie’s eyes as she told him how much she loved him just as much was a good follow up to her kiss. 

He left his arm wrapped tight around her waist, walking her to the front door where he held her a while longer, stealing a few kisses before she finally slipped out of his embrace and walked down the concrete pathway. Chris leaned against the doorframe, watching as she got into her car and slowly backed out, waving to him before pulling out onto the street and in that moment he knew it was only a matter of time until the fantasy in his head would become reality. 

[vcg73]

FIC: Kurt Birthday Drabbles

Earlier this week @elledelajoie left a comment on something I wrote all the way back in 2014.  I had genuinely forgotten I ever started it, but the original idea was to write 21 Kurt Hummel birthday drabbles. I had written just 7 of them, but after we chatted about it, I decided to go ahead and finish.  

If you’re not familiar, a drabble is a scene of exactly 100 words, not counting title headers. Since Chris Colfer and Kurt Hummel’s co-birthday (May 27) is coming up this Thursday, here they are. This goes definite AU at Birthday #19. Because you know I would never sentence my beloved Kurt to a life of being a doormat to people who did not appreciate and value him.

Never underestimate the power of feedback!

~*~*~*~*~

Birthday #1

Kurt’s blue eyes went wide as a frosted cupcake was set upon his high-chair tray, a single candle ablaze on its surface.  

When Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Andy, Grandpa Curtis and Grandma Eileen started singing to him, he smiled and clapped both hands hard around the tempting pile of frosting.

Kurt laughed when the sugary topping went flying and a big splatter of white abruptly decorated Daddy’s surprised face.

Everyone else started laughed too, including the startled father, who retaliated by giving his birthday boy a sticky peck on the cheek and then helped him to blow out a new candle.

Birthday #2

Kurt looked between his presents, confused.

Mommy had given him the pretty dolly he had begged for at the store. Daddy had given him a truck, not big enough to ride but too big to live with the little cars Daddy gave him at Christmas.

His parents seemed to be mad at each other.

Kurt looked at the doll, then at the truck. He smiled and placed Dolly inside the truck and began to drive her around the carpet.

Mommy and Daddy seemed surprised by his actions, but then they laughed, and Kurt knew he had figured out the puzzle.

 Birthday #3

His shoes were black and shiny, buckles on the sides and 1-inch heels on the base. He clomped over the hardwood floors, listening to the click-tap-click-tap in delight. They went perfectly with his dove gray coveralls with “Kurt” sewn on the pocket in black sequins. Mommy had made the outfit for him.

Spotting Daddy watching him, Kurt threw himself into waiting arms. Daddy’s smile looked like he had an owie but was trying to be a big boy and not cry.

Kurt hugged him. “It’s okay, Daddy.”

Burt looked surprised but hugged him back. “Yeah, buddy. I think it is.”

 Birthday #4

Ballet girls were nice. When they heard it was his birthday today, they threw him a party. Kurt puffed up with pleasure when presented with cookies, a sparkly wand and a tiara that read ‘Happy Birthday’ in shiny letters. He was not as fond of the kisses they gave, but four was very grown up, so he screwed up his face and allowed it. The teacher even let him wear the special puffy pink tutu over his little black leotard! 

 He saw Mommy and Daddy up in the gallery taking pictures, so he waved.

Kurt hoped today would last forever.

  Birthday #5

“Can I have cupcakes?”

Kurt’s mother looked up from her book. “I don’t think we have any, sweetheart.”

“Can we have some Thursday?  My birthday is the last day of preschool.”

“It is?” she said, looking surprised. “Is it your birthday already?”

He nodded seriously. “Don’t you remember, Mommy? You were there.”

She laughed. “Well, you have me there.  What kind of cupcakes would you like, sweetie? And don’t say cheesecake. Those are two completely different kinds of dessert.”

Kurt’s hopeful expression fell. “Oh,” he said, clearly disappointed. Then his face brightened again. “Chocolate?”

She nodded. “That we can do.”

   Birthday #6

“Daddy!”

Burt sat up just in time to catch the little body that launched at him. “What’s wrong, slugger?”

“It’s my birthday!”

Grinning despite the way his heart was hammering at the abrupt awakening, Burt asked, “Yeah? I like birthdays. Do I get a present?”

“No,” the boy scoffed. “I get presents!”

 Burt squinted at the clock. 3:15am. “Not until morning, you don’t.”

Kurt pouted and tried, “It’s almost morning.”

“Not close enough, kid. C’mere,” Burt pulled him into the warm bed between himself and his wife.

Kurt snuggled down and went right back to sleep.  

Burt was less lucky.

 Birthday #7

Kids had started treating him funny this year. He was too fancy, too girly, holding hands was weird.

Nobody was coming.

“I’m sorry, sweetie.”

“Am I too late?”

They jumped as a little black girl with pom-pom hair popped out of nowhere.

“I’m Mercedes,” she greeted. “We just moved here. Mom said you would have invited me if you’d known.”

“I’m Kurt.” He smiled. “Do you like tea parties?”

“Is there cake?”

Mrs. Hummel beamed. “Cake, ice cream, and Kool-Aid.”

Kurt shrugged. “Nobody else came.”

She grabbed his hand like she’d known him forever. “More for us!  Happy Birthday, Kurt.”

 Birthday #8

Kurt took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and carefully blew out the candles. All but the extra one that his parents always put on his cake.

“Aren’t you gonna finish, bud?”

He looked from Daddy over to his mother, home again, but so frail he was sometimes afraid to hug her, worried she might pop like a fragile soap bubble. He offered her the candle. “Here, Mommy. Blow it out. Maybe you’ll get another year to grow on.”

The eyes of the two adults met, then Mommy nodded. The three of them blew out the final candle together.

 Birthday #9

Barely daring to hope, Kurt came down the stairs.  Birthday cakes and presents had been Mommy’s specialty.  Daddy had forgotten his own birthday and had nearly forgotten Christmas.

Kurt gasped when he saw it, waiting, shining and spectacular against the front door.

“A bike!”

Bright green, sissy bars with foil streamers, and a banana seat. Perfect!

Burt smiled. He had scoffed a such a “girly” bike when Kurt spotted it at the toy store. But now, looking at the all-too-rare joy in his son’s eyes and feeling the approving smile his wife would have given, he nodded. It was perfect.

 Birthday #10

Buying gifts was tough when your kid always clammed up on you. A dad had to be observant.

Ten years old. A landmark like that needed something special, but the only thing Kurt seemed into was clothes. He had enough of those for ten kids.  

He’d probably like a Barbie he could change in and out of different outfits, but Burt cringed at the thought.

He did doodle pretty good though. Sure, it was mostly pictures of clothes, but that was a start.

A fancy sketchpad with a case and a hundred different colored pencils. Yeah, that was the ticket.

 Birthday #11

“Dad, where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

Kurt sighed with exaggerated impatience. He had come home from school to find Dad waiting at the truck, ordering him to get in, then not saying another word. The suspense was killing him.

“Ta-Dahhhh!”

They had pulled up in front of a nondescript brick building. “Columbus Culinary Arts?”

“You like to cook right?  Well, we’re gonna fix your birthday dinner this year with the help of a real chef. Lessons are once a week for the next couple months.”

Gourmet cooking lessons!

“Oh wow. Dad, this is amazing!”

Burt grinned. “Happy Birthday, kid.”

 Birthday #12

Last year’s surprise had gone so well that Burt had decided on a repeat. But when he saw the excitement on Kurt’s face at finding a pair of tickets inside his birthday card turn to disappointment and horror, quickly masked with a fake smile, he knew he’d goofed.

“I know baseball isn’t your thing,” he said, almost pleading. “But you’ve never seen a live game before. It’s a whole different experience. It’s a home game. We can yell and scream, and cheer our team on with thousands of other fans.”

The stiff not-smile never wavered. “Sounds . . . fun.”

 Birthday #13

Dad had bought out one of the partners at the garage this spring and now owned a majority share of the renamed “Hummel Tires & Lube”. Kurt wanted to snicker at that name, but he was proud too.

His birthday this year coincided with Friday Night Dinner. Dad had invited all the mechanics over for a potluck. They’d had Mary’s special fried chicken, Cassius’s homemade cornbread, and Davy’s mac’n’cheese. Now Dad brought out the cake.

Kurt laughed. A sheet-cake with a tow-truck and two little plastic mechanics for decoration.

“You and me kid. Partners.”

The mechanics cheered and everybody dug in.

  Birthday #14

Kurt froze when he saw tickets peeping out of his card. Not again. Noise, sunburn, unhealthy food, tacky uniforms, and Dad trying so hard to make a boring sport seem like fun.

He sighed and pasted on a smile, which quickly transformed into shock.

“Wicked?” he squeaked, staring hard at the little papers as if the printing might change if he dared to look away.

“Embassy Theater is giving regional business owners a discount this year,” Burt said apologetically. “It’s just a traveling production, not real Broadway, but I …”

His apology was cut off by a joyful teenaged hug.

 Birthday #15

“Don’t worry, son, you got this.  Just remember everything I taught you.  You got a whole year to get ready for the practical test.”

“I know.”

“And it’s okay if you don’t get it right the first time. Not everybody does.”

“I’m fine, Dad.”

“I’ll be right here waiting for you when you’re through.”

“I know that, Dad. I’ll be okay, really.”

At that moment, Kurt’s name was called and he sprang from his hard green plastic chair. His dad’s repeated reassurances were making him jumpy.

Twenty minutes later, a brightly grinning Kurt was waving his freshly minted driver’s permit.

 Birthday #16

Burt patted the giant blue bow the dealership had provided over the hood of the shining black Lincoln Navigator.  

Kurt was gonna flip! He’d passed his DMV test with flying colors and was no doubt showing off his shiny new license to all his friends at school.  

He paused. Did Kurt have any friends to share this accomplishment with? He always seemed so alone.

Maybe that’s why he had decided to spoil his son with a huge birthday gift.

It wasn’t right for such a good kid to be all alone. Maybe having his own ride would help change that.

  Birthday #17

A dozen teens gathered in Kurt’s basement to celebrate the end-of-school, non-disbanding of Glee, and Kurt’s birthday, all in one.

“Not like ten years ago,” Mercedes said to Kurt, as they watched Mike and Brittany dance.

“Ten years?”

“Your seventh? It was just you, me, your mom, and lots of chocolate cake.”

Kurt was astounded. “That was you?”

“You forgot?”

“I remember a little girl who showed up and invited herself to my party.”

“And I remember a little boy who needed a friend as much as I did.”

He squeezed her hand. “Thanks for coming.”

She squeezed back. “Always.”

 Birthday #18

Kurt stared at his birthday cake, unable to think of anything to wish for.

He was 18-years-old today, a legal adult. He had new family in Carole and Finn, his dad was on the mend, he would be back at McKinley for senior year, he had made his first visit to New York City, and he had a boyfriend! One who had just told Kurt that he loved him for the very first time.

‘I wish for next year to be as good as this,” he thought, taking a deep breath and blowing.

The flames flickered out, all except one.

 Birthday #19

Senior year had been a disaster, and now he had not gotten into NYADA, despite his well-praised audition.

“Blaine wants me to spend another year here,” he whispered. “I just can’t.”

Burt’s callused hand squeezed his neck. “Then don’t. You’re 19 now, a man. You got talents galore, work experience from the garage, enough drive for ten kids, and your mom’s life insurance money to give you a start.”

“But…”

“No buts,” Burt said firmly. “You go on to New York and grab life by the balls.”

Kurt felt his optimism rise. “Help me look for apartments?”

“You got it.”

 Birthday #20

What a difference a year made.

He’d dumped Blaine after being cheated on less than a month after leaving Lima.  He was enrolled at FIT and sharing a shoebox apartment with a fellow design student and a Broadway hopeful, but both were young gay men from small towns, and they had a lot in common.

“Happy Birthday!” Elliott shouted, tossing a handful of glittery sequins at him.

Adam came in playing the birthday song on a kazoo he had gotten from who-knows-where. “Ready for Callbacks? $20 on who gets the first hot guy’s number!”

“I already have yours. I win!”

 Birthday #21

“I have the honor of presenting your first official grown-up drink,” Adam said, smiling lovingly at his grinning boyfriend of nearly a year. He set down a martini glass with a cherry floating on top. “A Manhattan seemed appropriate.”

Kurt beamed and gave him a kiss, then took an experimental sip. “I’ve had alcohol before,” he admitted. “Mostly wine, though.  Mm, this is good!”

“I thought you’d like it. Happy Birthday, my love.  May the future bring every good thing you wish for, and never more heartache than you can handle.”

Kurt could not have asked for a better sentiment.

THE END

[emmy-writes-sometimes]

Totaled

You accidentally total your Dad’s precious car, but that’s not what he’s worried about.

-

           “Be careful,” your dad told you as he handed you the keys to his precious black Audi. It wasn’t the first time he was letting you drive it, but it was the first time he was letting you drive it alone. You’d had your license for over a year and he still barely even let you get something from the inside if you left it. But you’d literally begged him, just this once, to drive it to the movies. And he’d finally agreed.

           “Thank you!” You said, throwing your arms around his waist. He chuckled.

           “If you crash this car, you will literally never see another set of keys as long as I’m alive.” You nodded.

           “I’m not a bad driver.”

           “I know you’re not, ‘cause I taught you how. I’m just messing with you, alright?” You let go of him and took the keys from his hand. “Really, though. Drive safe, sweetie. I’ll see you tomorrow if I’m not up when you get back.”

           “Okay. Good night.” He watched you as you went to the couch and grabbed your favorite fuzzy blanket, your wallet, and your phone. And then he watched you get into the car, set your phone up with Bluetooth, and drive off. He turned toward the dog on the couch, sat down with him, and turned on the TV.

           He wasn’t lying, and you weren’t either. You were a good driver. He’d trained you well before letting you get your license – one of the first times you drove he had forced you to go up Mulholland. That had terrified you, but you were prepared for anything after that. So he didn’t feel bad about letting you have the car for the night. Besides, your own was there if he needed to go anywhere. It was just the fact that you were seventeen – it was less scary than sixteen, but not quite old enough yet to be on your own. And it was also the fact that you were going to the movies, at night, with a friend, on back roads that were hard to navigate in the dark. But you could handle it, he kept telling himself. He had to let go every once in awhile. This was one of those times.

           You made it to your friend’s house, pulling into her driveway and getting out. You did a mini-photoshoot with it, just to send to your dad to make him laugh, and it got a few chuckles out of him. And then you were on your way to the movies.

           “Dude, it’s fuckin’ creepy out here,” your friend said as you drove through the state park. You were going to the nicer theater a town over, and you were actually a little surprised your dad was okay with it. But your friend was right. It was creepy. The road was unfolding in front of you in a set of headlights, foggy as hell, and there were the occasional times your headlights would catch the bright red eyes of a deer. But you had it under control.

           “Yeah, I know,” you said, adjusting your leg and bringing it up to rest in the seat. “Maybe next time we shouldn’t try to make a 10 PM showing.”

           “It’s more fun, though.”

           “Oh, definitely.” You made it through the park and to the theater. Nothing bad happened there – you grabbed popcorn, chose your seats, took pictures of your tickets, and watched the movie. It was good, but there were a few things you wanted to remember to tell your dad later.

           Movie is over! You texted him. Heading home!

           See you soon!

           You walked out of the theater and threw away the last remaining bits of popcorn and soda, waiting for her to come out of the bathroom. And then you started the way home. The town was smaller than the one you lived in, but you knew it pretty well, and you took the back way out of the theater so there was less traffic. You were determined to make it through the night without crashing your dad’s precious car.

           “Here we are again,” you said as you entered the park. This time it was darker and even foggier, but there were no jumping deer or drunk drivers. Everything was fine. You and your friend talked and laughed about the movie, turned your music down so that you could focus better, and just enjoyed being with each other. You didn’t get to see her much in the summer because your dad usually dragged you out to California, but the past few weeks you’d been back in Boston and trying to spend every minute with your friends.

           You dropped your friend off at her house, still reeling from how tense you’d been driving through the park. You checked your phone – your dad hadn’t sent you anything to indicate that he was going to bed, so you assumed he would still be awake to talk a little bit about the movie. Your house was only ten minutes away, but you know what they say – most accidents happen when someone is ten minutes away from home. You took the neighborhood streets, the same streets you’d grown up on. You would know them with your eyes closed in a thunderstorm. And you knew that the entrance to your neighborhood required a U-turn. You slowed down and got in the correct lane, putting your signal on, and waited for a few cars to pass. There was a Camaro, one that was loud as hell, coming toward you, so you waited. But the car started veering away from their lane and into yours, and, oh, shit. You looked in your blind spot and tried to move, but the Camaro made it to you before you could.

           You didn’t quite know what happened at first. Where the other car hit you. Later on you’d find out it hit the front of the car and they were drunk as well as going 70 in a 35. You could feel pain in your leg first, and then you felt the wheel hit your chest. Your head crashed into the airbag, but it wasn’t working right, it couldn’t have been, because the last thing you felt was a crack before your head hit the back of the seat. You tried to breathe, but in those few seconds all you wanted was your dad.

           Your dad was still up, waiting for you, honestly. He wanted to see what you thought about the movie, but he also wanted to say goodnight. You always waited up for him, so he tried to do the same for you. He looked at the clock, and then back down at your text. You should have been home for about ten or fifteen minutes, and he knew you weren’t going to go anywhere that you weren’t supposed to go because he trusted you. He opened the tracking app and checked your phone, seeing that you were sitting at the neighborhood entrance. You probably just got caught in traffic, he thought.

           Ten minutes later and you hadn’t moved. You were still not home. Something was wrong, your dad could feel it, and he decided to just call you. Usually he didn’t call you if you were driving, but he wanted to know where you were. His call went unanswered and he stood up, grabbing the keys to your car to go out and find you because maybe the transmission had shot again and your phone died or something, but before he could, he got a call.

           “Hello?” He asked, looking out at the driveway to see if you would pull in while he was on the phone.

           “Hi, are you the owner of a black Audi with the plates AZL-X32?” Chris hadn’t exactly memorized his plate numbers, but he was definitely the owner of a black Audi.

           “Yeah, but my daughter should be driving it. Is everything okay?” He was sure you’d just gotten pulled over or something. Like he did, you sped just a little bit, but cops tended to go harder on kids than they did with adults.

           “Unfortunately I’m at the scene of an accident involving the vehicle.” Chris’s heart dropped. “Another car hit hers head on while they were speeding.”

           “Is she alright? Is she okay?” He asked. He started walking out of the house, locking the door, and climbed into your car.

           “She was unresponsive when they pulled her out, but they’re speaking with her now. They’re taking her to Boston Memorial, is that alright?”

           “Yeah, of course. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

           “Can we get her name and date of birth? And is she allergic to any medications or have any conditions?”

           “Yeah, her birthday’s March 13th, 2003. She’s not allergic to anything that we know of besides peanuts. Her name is Y/n.”

           “Thank you. I’ll be there at the hospital to get some more information from you.” Chris started driving toward the hospital, tears in his eyes, freaking out.

           You were freaking out, too, only a different kind. Your entire body was bloody when you looked down. Your head was swimming and the only thing you could do was throw up when you realized where you were. You could see your cracked phone in the cup holder and wanted to reach for it, but your arm was in so much pain. You were in so much pain. Your head was hurting, your leg was hurting, and you could feel liquid dripping down. You knew it was bad. But suddenly a rush of air came toward you and someone was lifting you up.

           “Dad?” You asked, wishing it was him. Your eyes were glazed over, unable to focus on anything. You saw the night sky.

           “What’s your name, sweetie?” A voice asked. It was a woman’s voice.

           “Y/n,” you said. “I want my dad, where’s my dad?”

           “We’ll call him, honey, don’t worry. I’m gonna give you a mask and check over you, alright? Don’t fight me, I know you’re scared.” You were. You were terrified. You didn’t even really know what happened. But you could smell burning rubber and oil and blood. It only took you a second to come to the conclusion that you’d totaled your dad’s car because someone else had veered into your lane. You tried to say that, out loud, but the woman put a mask over your face. You felt the soft bed of a stretcher and then a clanging noise. You were in the back of an ambulance. The lights were what made you finally pass out. They were just too bright.

           “I’m looking for my daughter, Y/n Evans, she was in a car crash, she would’ve been brought in half an hour ago,” Chris said hurriedly as he walked up to the front desk, nearly slamming your car keys down.

           “She’s being looked at right now. If you could fill out some papers and consent forms, that would be the most helpful thing right now.”

           “Of course.” Just as long as you were alive, he thought. But they wouldn’t be talking like that if you weren’t okay. So he sat down, filled out a shit ton of papers, and gave them back to the nurse. He called the neighbor, asking if they could lock the house up and make sure Dodger had some water because he was sure you’d be there all night and there was no way he was leaving you.

           They finally let him in to see you half an hour later, when they’d moved you over to the pediatrics wing. He had to walk the entire length of the hospital, but at least they were letting him see you. He strode over to the front desk, asking for you, and they told you that you were the first door on the right and they’d send a nurse in to talk with him. He was quiet as he walked in, trying not to spook you, and sighed when he saw you. He couldn’t help but almost start crying; there were scratches on your face, a huge bruise on your neck, your leg was wrapped up but your wrist already had a cast on it, and most of all, he could see dried tears in your eyes. There was an IV giving you blood and that was what nearly broke him. You’d lost so much blood that they had to give you more.

           “Hey, y/n, honey,” he said softly, walking toward you. He laid a hand in your hair, kissing your forehead. Your eyes didn’t quite open, but your hand started moving and he took it.

           “Daddy,” you murmured. That actually made the tears fall from his cheeks. You hadn’t called him that since you were twelve.

           “I thought I was gonna lose you, sweetheart.” He was incredibly gentle as he pulled the covers up over you when he saw the chill bumps on your arms. “Do you know what happened?”

           “I was trying to turn and this car just came over into my lane. I tried to move, but I was too late.” He sighed. So it wasn’t your fault. That was good. But he was about to sue the shit out of somebody. “Don’t go all papa bear on me,” you murmured as if you knew what he was thinking.

           “Hey, I get to go all papa bear on you.” You opened your eyes, finally, and he smiled at you. You couldn’t do much, but you wanted to be closer. You needed to be closer. You did what you could do scoot over into the corner of the bed, right next to where your dad was sitting. A nurse walked into the room and asked your name.

           “Yeah, that’s us,” your dad responded. He squeezed your hand, looking down as your eyelids shut again.

           “She’ll be just fine. Her ankle is fractured, she broke one of her wrists, and she lost two pints of blood from a cut on her thighs. But she’ll be perfectly fine. We can’t let her go home tonight, we need to monitor everything, especially the cuts and the blood transfusion.” Your dad nodded.

           “Thank you.”

           “I’ll be around to check for her vitals every half an hour for four hours, and then we’ll change to once an hour if things are getting better. How does that sound, Y/n?” The nurse asked. You didn’t really answer. You just stuck your thumb up.

           “Thank you,” Chris said with a smile. The nurse started checking you over and left a few minutes later. Chris sat in the silence for a few minutes as you slept, only able to hear the ringing of a telephone and a siren down below. He got up, making the rounds and calling the insurance company, then calling the police to get access to the crash report for insurance, and then calling your grandparents to tell them what happened. He must have been on the phone for a few hours because the nurse only started coming once an hour and the sun was finally starting to rise. You woke up with it, opening your eyes and looking around the room.

           “Dad?” You asked. He turned his eyes toward you and walked over, sitting back down in the chair.

           “Hey, honey,” he replied. “How do you feel?”

           “Awful.”

           “A car accident will do that to you, huh?” His voice was soft and his eyes lit up when he watched you. They always did.

           “I’m sorry I lied to you.”

           “What?”

           “I told you I wouldn’t crash your car.” He chuckled.

           “That wasn’t your fault, hon. None of this is.”

           “But I crashed your car.”

           “Cars can be replaced, sweetie. You can’t.  But there’s no way in hell I’m ever letting you drive it again.”

           “Yeah, I ruined that didn’t I?”

           “Maybe. Are you hurting at all? We can get you some more pain meds if you are.” You shook your head. He brushed your hair out of your face, his thumb rubbing against a cut on your forehead.

           “I’m just tired. And I wanna go home.”

           “They need you to stay for a few more hours and then I can take you home, alright?” You just nodded this time. “You can go back to sleep if you want.”

           “Where’s my phone?”

           “I don’t know if they found it or not, we’ll get you another one if it’s messed up.”

           “I wanted to watch Netflix.” He chuckled and handed you his phone, pulled up to Netflix. You laid down on your side, as close to him as you could get, and started watching your favorite show. You fell asleep half an hour later, right before your grandparents called to check in. Your dad gave your forehead a kiss before standing up to answer the phone.

           “How is she doing?” Your grandmother asked right away.

           “She’s alright, she’s sleeping right now,” Chris said softly, letting go of your hand to walk out into the hallway so he wouldn’t wake you up.

           “That’s good. We’ll come over and let the dog out and feed him. And we can bring you both some clothes and chargers.”

           “That would be amazing. Can you bring me her laptop, too? She can’t find her phone.”

           “Of course.” His mom paused. “You’re doing so well with her, Chris. You always have. We’re so proud of you.”

           “She’s doing it all on her own. I saw a picture of the car last night. It’s hard to believe anyone made it out of there, much less her.” He saw you waking up. “Hold on, she’s waking up.” You were just stretching, but it nearly gave him a heart attack. He really needed to get some sleep or he just might go crazy. 

           “You okay?” He asked you. You didn’t answer. You were asleep.

           “Is she?” Your dad sighed.

           “She’s asleep. She was just stretching, I think.”

           “I’ll let you go then. I’ll see you soon.”

           “Bye, Ma. Love you.” Chris hung up the phone and walked back over to you, sitting down again, and took your hand. There were two things he was absolutely sure of; he was staying with you, and he was never, ever letting you drive his car again.

A/N: I hope this was fluffy enough because I am in overload right now! Thank you for the request because I loved writing this one!

[xxrainstormxx]

Save it for the Doctor. Spencer Reid x Reader.

(A/N: this is based off a writing prompt. "You're... beautiful." "And you're concussed") Word count; 2,475 Part 2 (edit: my pleas for requests for stories are not reaching people so I will beg here. If you want a oneshot I’ll write it. Prompt or no prompt.)

I had heard a lot about the recent murders. I even had seen a few almost survivors on my mom's operation table, yet somehow I was wrapped up in the middle of it. Smack in the middle. No normal citizen even knew the FBI was investigating the murders and yet I was being interrogated. The man who sat in front of me was just mean, he wore a serious look and his eyes never moved from the narrow eyed glare he gave anyone who walked by and especially gave me. I was happy to cooperate, but the minute I was under fire I was fed up and wanted a lawyer. I was no killer, I had no upper body strength to move a dead body and believe me, I would know how much a dead body weighs thanks to my mom training me. I was a tired college student trying to get my damn degree so I could move on with my fucking life. And I was not in the mood to be interrogated when I could be working on my thesis. The mean man, Agent Hotchner I believe was just staring. I guess waiting for me to break or some shit like that? I don't know. I wasn't talking first. I didn't care anymore and this resulted in a match of silently staring waiting for the other one to speak. This went on for what felt like an hour but was probably closer to at least three minutes, I just sighed, "I cave." I sighed muttering curses as I shifted in my seat. "Go on, ask your questions I have a thesis to write and I would like to go home to continue it," I reluctantly urged on. He leaned forward in triumph I think as he demanded answers from me. "Where were you the night of Synthia Robbin's disappearance (Y/N)?" he began dwelling on the poor girls name. It made me frown, she was a 13 year old girl, a child, and she was gone. Kidnapped and found dead. It made me sick to think of what could happen to her. "So that's what this is about?" I hissed disgusted with the accusation "I was at the library with Emmalin." the mention of my sister's name made him further darken. "Your sister, correct?" he inquired. I rolled my eyes, "Yuduh" I sounded sitting back. "All your time is accounted for?" he continued leaving me puzzled for a moment. "There were maybe ten minutes in between where she left to find a book." I murmured unsure if the truth was the right thing to say as he stood and pulled out a file and threw it on the table making me flinch. "What about the night of Chris Bennidict?" he asked "A s-sports game" I stuttered "A baseball game I think. Rockies vs Rangers." I said shaking a little as he threw down that files some of the pictures falling out of the boy, shot twice. "Eunice Quiet, Quiara Basson, Basen Unice, Lynch Gryse, and Philip Jence!" he got  louder with every file he threw at me. "You were near by every single scene and you fit most of our profile" he concluded the pictures that fell out made me physically sick. Children, those poor babies. I sobbed and turned away gagging, he wasn't convinced it was real but I knew it was and up came the vomit that was caught in my throat.

I had no doubt I fit their profile but I worked part time at a daycare. Children were my life line, and it mad me sick to see them hurt. He answered a call and left the room leaving me there to cry over the pictures. A brunette woman walked in and sighed taking me out of the handcuffs attaching me to the bolted down table. "Come on sweetheart. We'll get someone to clean up that." she sighed very tired, I wanted to know why. They brought me out to the main area of the station and sat me down. They slowly cuffed me to the desk and I cried softly. I looked across the station to see Emmalin "Emmy!" I called but was ignored causing me to frown. So I shut up and listen to whatever raving was in my defense, "My baby sib? A murderer?" she asked "well... it isn't that hard to believe," she said making my jaw drop. "They've always been a little too obsessed with the idea of death." A lie, I had an emo phase and so did she, "Introverted" well partially true. "and well she creeps out her friends," she finished causing me to stand suddenly, "Liar!" I shouted "You fucking liar!" I cried ignoring the pain and stress on my wrist the hand cuff was causing. I was now a 45 degree angle due to the cuffs keeping me in place. She seemed genuinely shocked i was there. "Why are you trying to pin this on me. Your own sister!b You were with me everywhere we went and those bodies were found. Why aren't you being questioned too? Did you lie? Did you say I was the only one there?" I screamed as I was sat down. She hissed at me and most of the agents took notice. Agent Prentiss, the nice brunette sighed and walked to my now horrible sister and asked her to follow her into a different interrogation room. It felt like hours that I was sat there, and a curly haired man was sat in front of me just reading, or what I thought was faking, really bad faking. "Why are you even sitting here if you're just going to pretend to read?" I asked the "doctor". My mother was a doctor and I didn't believe this boy was any kind of doctor. I had gotten to know his name as Doctor Reid and I wasn't allowed to call him an agent so I had no other choice. He just looked at me thrown for a moment before shaking his head "I'm not pretending" He stated as he shifted "No one can read that fuckin fast ya damn liar" I muttered not necessarily hostile just a little vexed. "I can. Did you know that our unconscious minds can process sixteen bits of information per second? Our conscious minds, however, can process sixteen million?" I sat back unimpressed "You are... absolutely insane" I laughed "Insane, perhaps but I'm not being accused of murder." he stated, and my smile that i worked so hard to get disappeared "You think I did it too." I muttered, it was meant to come as a question but instead it came as a statement. He shook his head "Not fully, while you do supposedly fit the profile our profile, our unsub wouldn't inject themselves into the investigation. The one part that doesn't fit" he said sitting back and crossing his legs turning to the board filled with evidence, and all those pictures that made me sick sat right next to the happy photos of the children in their school uniforms smiling big. I tried to focus on those "Well maybe your profile is wrong, cause this is sick." I hissed "(Y/N), you're here most likely because you were in the wrong places at the wrong times. Kids being picked up and murdered minutes apart from each other, while you were out with your sister at those locations? It's not very probable."

I just sighed knowing he was probably right "There aren't many coincidences when it comes to murder" he stated "Out of uh... curiosity what is an unsub? No normal person knows that is." I muttered as I tried to avoid the board, the thought of being in those places, not helping those kids, not even having a clue what was happening made me sick. "Unknown Subject" Dr. Reid said mumbling "Why aren't you uh... looking at the board. I thought you'd be proud of your work." He said as if to egg me on. I rolled my eyes "Those pictures make me sick." I muttered "I work at a daycare, it's my job to protect kids not watch them get hurt. I don't wanna see dead fucking children!" I shouted realizing I probably sounded fucking crazy and definitely like a kill. I hung my head in shame. "I know... I know it isn't fair to blame myself for what happened to those kids, but being in the places of the crime, the same night it happened, it makes me feel like I could have and should have done something. Something other than just sit there and wonder." I whispered "Yeah I feel guilty now but, not of what you think" I whispered looking to the board once more focusing on the pictures of the children when they were alive. "Sweet innocent babies... Never done anything to anyone. Probably were crying for their mom." I whimpered at the thought "They didn't deserve any of what happened" I looked away once more thinking about the mothers. "Moms.... Their moms" he stood up as if he had a damn epiphany nearly knocking me backwards in the chair. "Morgan, it's not an attack on the children it's an attack on their mothers." He said starting to put of pictures of older women. "think about it. They all went to the same cafe every day. It wasn't the day care, so it can't be (Y/N). They wouldn't see much of the parents" he enthused writing things down that I could not decipher because his hand writing was absolute shit. "But wouldn't that just give them more reason? They think these women are bad mom's for working instead of taking care of the child, and wants to teach them a lesson?" making him shake his head "That's stupid, if they wanted to make them suffer they'd just kill the women themselves, it'd be much more efficient and wouldn't lead to them doing the one thing they would dread doing!" he said circling one name on the board. Emmalin. "That's also sexist. Women work, children can't go with. Why would I have a fucking problem with that" I shouted across the room. "Who fits the profile while also holding these sexist values." Reid stated more than asked pointing to Emma's name again. "Oh dear god." he sighed "But my sister isn't a murderer!" I cried. "She's connected to the murders... and she's made it clear she doesn't think women should work." Morgan stated and went to the interrogation room. "You are a life saver (Y/N)" Reid said kissing my cheek out of pure joy, and I slapped him as a natural instinct and turned red "Shit! I'm sorry! I'm not used to boys doing that if they aren't being creepy! But at the same time that was really fucking creepy" I yelped as he held his face and laughed "No it's fine. Got too excited to fix what felt like a huge mistake." he said, and when I say I turned red I mean red. This was the first time I'd seen him as a human. Not a super genius, not as an agent, not an asshole. Just a normal guy with pretty eyes, a good jaw line, soft hair, and the sweetest smile I had ever seen. The blush was apparently very clear on my (skin color) skin because he hummed and smiled "Did you know blushing is speculated to be caused by a sudden rush of adrenaline making our blood pump faster." I giggled a little "Is that why you're so flushed?" I asked as he blinked not understanding just how damn pink he was after that rant. "Guess so." he shrugged. the door opened and out came Emmalin and she grabbed a ceramic vase off a desk and slammed it down onto Reid's head and ran away quickly. He fell to the floor because it was a heavy fucking vase, and I freaked out as he hit his head on the desk on the way down.

"Shit!" I yelled as half of them chased my very obviously guilty sister and I sat in shock as two of his friends rushed over to help him. Morgan uncuffed me and I blinked "Spencer?" Agent Jareau asked worried and I sat down next to him sitting him up and grabbing a water bottle slashing it on his face "Do not fall asleep." I said firmly "You could very well have a concussion." I said as an ambulance arrived quickly, he was cearly not feeling good because of the way that he was acting. I was worried about how sick he looked. He threw up half way to the hospital so I was told. I went with because I didn't feel safe with my sister on the run and an Agent in the hospital. Well I guess he wasn't an agent he was a doctor. The doctor, not Spencer, came out and i stood with the other two very worried. "He'll be fine. He has a mild concussion." as i thought "but he's awake, and on some pain medication. I take it you all know the situation and his limitations in the field?" he asked and Morgon and Jareau nodded "You can go back to see him now" he said and stepped aside "come on" Jareau said quietly to me "oh. Agent, I don't think he'd want to see me." I said quietly. "I'm sure he would like to know you came. You won't make a very good profiler if you can't even tell that Reid enjoys your company. And call me JJ, it makes it easier," she said giggling and pulled me right back with her and Morgan. "Hey man" Morgan started "What happened?" he muttered groaning in pain. "You got hit with a vase, took a pretty sweet fall, and got a concussion" JJ hummed arms crossed as she leaned on the wall. "Shit." he muttered making me giggle. "Oh hey!" he said when he saw me. "I want water, and jello" he muttered making small lip smacking sounds. "Morgan and I will get it" JJ laughed leaving me in a very awkward situation. "So umm.." I began before being cut off. "You know.. You're beautiful" he said staring at me causing me to snort "And you're concussed." I laughed shaking my head "Well, a concussion based on the severity doesn't necessarily affect your judgement of a person especially if it's a first time thing. I thought you were beautiful long before I was concussed but you were a suspect. Suspects being beautiful, hard to comprehend sometimes." I laughed "You're a dumbass" I snorted "But I-" he blinked and i walked over pecking his lips. "How about a date sometime? I'll give you my number" I said quietly. "Yeah... okay..." he whispered. "A date."

[my-emotional-self]

Forever Ago Chapter 2

Pairings: Chris Evans x OFC

Warnings:  Mild Angst

Summary: After losing touch with your childhood best friend after graduation, he comes crashing back into your life 15 years later. The feelings you’ve had for him never left you.  But do you forgive him for all those years he ignored you?  Or do you decide he lost his chance with you for good?

A/N: Thank you again to @guera31 for giving me the concept of this story WAY back in November.  I’m sorry it took so long! Also I will update this story a bit more than just once a week.  It will only be maybe 10 chapters and I’ve already written Chapter 8

As you anxiously paced around your apartment, nerves ignited your body for the party tonight not knowing if Chris would be there, you began to clean.  Starting with the feather duster, you commenced with your shelving units; dusting every inch imaginable.  “Why do I have so much shit,” you groaned to yourself as you picked up each and every knickknack on the shelf.  

Looking at your phone, you had hours left before you needed to be at Sebastian’s for his friendly gather, as he called it.  Grabbing the vacuum out of the hallway closet, you started in the living room before vacuuming down the hallway and your bedroom.  You were surprised at how far you could vacuum before you needed to unplug the chord and plug it into a closer outlet; even though your apartment was rather small.  

Fall of 1994

You were 13 years old, same as Chris and the two of you were on the back porch is his house enjoying one of the last days of fall.  

“I still can’t believe that one year from now we will be freshmen in high school,” Chris commented.  You looked over at him, seeing just how much he grew up over the summer itself.  

“I know.  What if we drift apart?”

He turned to look at you, brows furrowed.  “What do you mean?”

You shrugged your shoulders, looking down at your lap.  “I don’t know.  I guess-I mean I’ve read books and seen movies where best friends drift apart once they reach high school.  What if that’s us?”

Chris took your hands in his and you immediately felt warm. There was never any feelings other than friendship you had with him, but something felt different with the way he looked deep into your eyes.  His eyes were so blue, you felt like you could get lost in them.  

“Jess, that’s never gonna happen.  We’ve been friends for years now.  I would never let that happen to us.”  You smiled at his words.  

“Even when all the girls come chasing after you?” you giggled.

“Oh please, that will never happen.”  It amazed you how little confidence Chris had with himself at this moment.  He wasn’t bad looking in the least bit.  

The two of you sat there for a little while longer in silence, but it was never an awkward silence.  That’s what you liked so much about Chris.  The two of you could keep each other company without any words being said and it was just natural.  

The soft hum of crickets in the dusk was a nice sound; the sky beautiful shades of pinks and oranges from the dusk.

You weren’t even sure where it came from, but you suddenly felt lips on your cheek, freezing you in place.  Looking over you saw Chris beginning to lean away from you, his eyes wide.

“What-what was that for?” you asked in a near whisper.  You had to admit to yourself, you weren’t mad about it.

“I ugh, I don’t really know where that came from,” Chris responded shyly; his face blushing.  

End Flashback

You couldn’t help but giggle at the memory.  It was the first time Chris made any sort of move on you and he was so nervous.  But you still had no idea where the sudden kiss came from.  It was the first time you realized that you started having more feelings for him than just friendship.  

Looking around your small apartment, you let out a groan.  There was still seven hours left before Sebastian’s party and you were at a loss on how to kill time.  

Grabbing your phone you plopped down on your tan comfortable couch and began to scroll through social media. A picture from one of your friends on Facebook popped up, making you remember another moment between you and Chris.

Fall of 1995

“High school here we come!” Chris laughed from the backseat of Carly’s car as he sat next to you.  Carly was nice enough to drive the two of you to school when you started high school and you had to admit, you felt pretty cool not needed to ride the bus anymore.  

“Yeah, be all excited now.  Just you wait,” Carly joked from the front seat.  

You were more nervous for high school than when you were for kindergarten.  Neither you or Chris had any classes together and even though you knew most of the kids in your graduating class, your nerves were still on high alert.  

“Hey, everything will be just fine,” Chris said next to you, his voice making you relax.  “We still have lunch together at least.”  You laughed at his remark, nodding your head.  Ever since he kissed you on the cheek on his back porch last year, your feelings for him had grown.  You no longer saw him as just a friend, but something more; a relationship that you hoped in the future would blossom into more.  

End Flashback

You chuckled at the memory; Chris seeming so protective of you at such a young age.  He was always like that though, protective.  It was one of his best traits as a man.  You always loved that about him.  Whenever Scott would come around with a weird bug or anything to make you cringe, Chris was always there to be your knight in shining armor.  

As you looked at the clock for what felt like the millionth time that day, you realized you should probably start getting ready for Sebastian’s party.  

Heading into your bedroom, you looked through your closet trying to find something to wear.  After what felt like a millennium, you finally decided on a simple little black dress.  It hung just above your knees and was a basic halter top, making you have to go braless.  It was classy but showed your curves and cleavage, but not yet on the slutty side, which was exactly what you were going for.  

Wanting to be subtle with your makeup, you put on some foundation, a light grey smoky eye and some mascara.  Looking in the mirror, you figured you looked decent enough and grabbed a pair of black high heels.

While Sebastian’s apartment wasn’t terribly far from your own, and you usually did walk there on most days, you weren’t going to risk walking in your black heels.  Pulling up the Uber app on your phone, you ordered one to your apartment.  

Grabbing a light black leather jacket and your purse, you made your way down the three flights of stairs and outside to your waiting Uber.  

Hopping in the backseat, you gave the driver the address before looking around.  This driver had it all!  There was a plastic storage caddy along the backs of the front seats which contained many items.  There were band aids, breath mints, Kleenex, Advil, makeup wipes, and even condoms. You couldn’t help but give a little snicker at seeing those.  

As the Uber pulled out into traffic, the immediate sound of car horns honking made you hitch a breath.

Summer of 1997

It was three weeks before the start of junior year and you were hanging out in the basement of Chris’ house.  Lisa transformed the basement into what could only be considered as a teenagers dream hangout destination.  There was a large television against the wall with an even more massive couch that could fit up to ten people.  There was also a pool table and a ping pong table.  It was where you found yourself to practically live over the summer.  

Many nights had been spent having sleep overs in the basement; you and Chris falling asleep after watching movie marathons.  A lot of times you would fall asleep with your head on Chris’ shoulder and you loved being that close to him.  Over the course of the last two years, your feelings for Chris had gone from a crush, to full blown love.  

“You will be driving me to school won’t you?” you asked Chris as the two of you were eating pizza and watching the latest blockbuster on DVD. DVD’s had just started coming out and the picture quality was amazing compared to VHS.  

Chris shrugged at your question.  “I don’t know.  What do I get out of it?” he teased.  

You playfully punched him in the arm before responding. “You’re an ass.”  That got him to chuckle.  Chris had gotten his license the day he turned 16 in June and while you were older than him by nearly six months, you felt there was no rush to get your license anytime soon.  

“When do your parents get home?” Chris asked; his mouth stuffed with pizza.  

“Tomorrow I think.  They were pretty excited for a weekend away.  Dad has been working so hard lately and I’m happy my mom got him to agree to a little weekend getaway.”

After the pizza was finished, Chris scooted closer to you as he threw the blanket around your bodies.  It was times like this that you cherished and it always brought a smile to your face; your heart jumping in your chest.  

Not long into the movie, the door to the basement opened as footsteps descended the stairs.  Both you and Chris turned to see who it was.  Lisa was standing at the bottom of the stairs, a Kleenex held up to her nose.

“Mom?” Chris called out, his tone anxious at seeing his mother in such an emotional state.  The two of you got up and walked towards Lisa; meeting her half way.  “What’s wrong?”

Lisa looked at Chris before turning her gaze to you.  It was in that moment you felt your heart shatter. You knew something terrible had happened; but you weren’t expecting just how terrible.  

“Oh Jessica,” Lisa choked up as she grabbed your hands. Your heart was beating a mile a minute as you waited for her words.  “There-there was a car accident honey.”

You pulled your hands from her, walking backwards as you shook your head; your chin beginning to quiver knowing exactly what she meant. “No,” your voice choked out. “No.  No no no NO!”  Your legs hit the back of the couch as you collapsed onto the floor.  Hugging your knees you began to rock back and forth as tears began to fall; yet you were faintly aware of a pair of strong arms wrapping around your shoulders.  

End Flashback

“Miss?” the voice of your Uber drive broke you out of your memory.  “We’re here.”  Looking up at the mirror, you met his eyes and gave him a polite smile and nod. Digging into your purse, you found your wallet and found your cash, giving him a nice tip.  

“Thank you.  Have a good rest of your night,” you spoke quietly as you unbuckled your seatbelt.  

“You too miss,” he responded.

Standing on the sidewalk of New York City, you looked up at the building in front of you.  You had been here hundreds of times over the last handful of years, but you knew this time it would be different.  Taking a deep breath you started to walk into the building and into the familiar elevator.  

As the elevator rose with each floor, your nerves were starting to get the best of you.  You weren’t even sure if Chris would be here tonight at the party, but it didn’t stop you from fidgeting in anxiousness.  

The elevator doors opened and you made your way to Sebastian’s door.  Closing your eyes, you inhaled and exhaled slowly before ringing the doorbell. 

Tag List:      @patzammit @brastrangled @miss-cap21 @princess-evans-addict@pumbibaby @marvelouslyme96 @kanupps06 @zohoffman @the-real-kellymonster @white-chocolate-mocha-fan @remember-that-one-blog@sincerelyfan@projectxhappiness@libbitinasdeath@hispeculiartreasure@guera31@ssweet-empowerment@sfreeborn @jjlevin@badassbaker@sophiealiice@supernatural-girl97@coffeebooksandfandom@esoltis280@poerebel@laochbaineann @crushed-pink-petals@thisismysecrethappyplace @mrs-captain-evans  

[thewnchstrs]

Captain America?

Pairing: Reader X Chris Evans (yeah, I did THAT)

Disclaimers: none :)

Word Count: 1.7K

A/N: Okay, I’m back again! I’m so sorry I’ve been coming and going, but I love doing these and I hope I can continue doing them for you all!!

M A S T E R L I S T

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“I’m telling you guys, something’s off with her,” Jensen said as he eyed Y/N from across the set where she leaned against the car while the crew got ready for her next scene. She was smiling from ear to ear down at the phone she hadn’t so much as set down since she came to set this morning.

Jared and Misha looked in the direction Jensen was staring, raising their eyebrows slightly, “Who do you think she’s talking to?” Misha asked.

Jared shook his head, laughing at the two of them, “C’mon, you guys! Y/N is an adult, she has the right to talk to whoever she wants-”

“I think she has a boyfriend.” Jensen interrupted, as if coming to a sudden conclusion, making Jared stop mid-sentence, his face falling.

“A what, now?”

“Hmm hmm,” Jensen nodded, hands on his hips, his lips going into a thin, straight line as Jared slouched down in the chair he was sitting in.

“You think it’s someone we know?” Misha asked, but Jensen only shook his head.

“All the people we know are on this set,” Jensen pointed out, “besides, if that were the case, why would she be texting him all day instead of just going to see him? No, I think this is someone she’s hiding.”

“Why would she hide her boyfriend from us?” Jared questioned, the three of them thinking about it, realizing that every time she seemed to have brought a boy on set he was never seen again, they liked to think it was because of their impeccable interrogation skills. 

“Well, whoever it is,” Jensen said, pointing to the two of them, “we’re gonna get to the bottom of it.”

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Jensen, Jared, and Misha watched Y/N from across the table as she quickly typed away at her phone screen, her thumbs flying over the keyboard, a smile etched across her face. Jensen’s fork hovered over his lunch, trying to decipher who exactly she was so giddy about.

Finally, after about two minutes of constant typing, she set the phone down, picking up her spoon as she caught sight of the three of them staring at her. “What?”

Jared only laughed, shaking his head as Misha pointed to the phone with his fork, “Who was that?”

Y/N looked around herself in confusion, “Who?”

“Oh, don’t play that game,” Jensen said, shaking his head, “who’s the guy?”

Y/N slunk forward slightly, her eyes bouncing between the three of them, trying to come up with what to say before deciding on something so lame, she could already hear them groan, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The three of them groaned in unison, right on time. “There’s no guy!”

Jensen raised his eyebrows slightly, “Girl?”

“What? No, there’s nobody.” She said, shoveling a mouthful of food into her mouth as if it would give her a reason not to answer anymore questions.

Then, as if to give her a way, her phone lit up, her ringtone jarring her as she snatched the phone away before Misha could grab for it.

“Chris, huh?” Jared asked, having read the caller I.D. as Y/N watched it ring, “You gonna answer that?”

“Nope,” Y/N shook her head, her hands itching as the phone rang and rang, sighing when it was sent to voicemail, smirking at the three men across from her.

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Weeks went by after that and Y/N was careful not to bring Chris up in passing conversation. She wanted the beginning of their relationship to start off smoothly, not with the three of them breathing down his neck, a mistake she’d made numerous times before.

Today, however, was different.

After nearly a month and a half of dating, Y/N deemed it reasonable for Chris to finally meet the cast and crew, a feat she was less than ready to take on. Today could make or break their relationship, literally.

“Just, please, be civil?” Y/N begged as she waited outside the set, her hands wringing together nervously. 

“Are you kidding? I’m the most civil person I know.” Jensen said, nudging her.

“I’m serious, you guys. I really like Chris, and...I could see a future with him, you know?” 

Jared, Jensen, and Misha nodded slowly, knowing how much this guy meant to her, they genuinely didn’t want to mess this up for her, but part of the job description of having a co-star you saw as your little sister was making sure whoever she was dating wasn’t going to hurt her.

The phone in Y/N’s hand dinged, her heart leaping as she looked down at the text from Chris, nearly jumping out of her skin, “He’s here.” 

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Jared, Jensen, and Misha sat where Y/N had left them, throwing around ideas as to who the mystery guy could’ve been and what he looked like and how exactly they’d size him up. The three of them watched the set door from where they sat as it was pulled open, bathing the room in bright sunlight as Y/N walked in first, followed by a tall, dark haired man.

Jensen, Jared and Misha shifted in their seats as they squinted at the figure who stopped to chat with one of the crew members, his hand coming to rest around Y/N’s waist.

“Does he look familiar to you?” Misha asked as they began to walk closer.

Jared sat forward in his seat, the face striking him as someone he’d definitely seen before, “Is that-”

“Captain America?” Jensen said, eyes wide as the three of them quickly stood as Y/N and Chris approached.

Y/N smiled, her hands coming to twist in front of her, “You guys, this is Chris. Chris, this is Jensen, Jared and Misha.” she said, motioning to each one of them.

“Nice to meet you, I’ve heard only great things,” Chris smiled, holding out a hand to Jared first, but the three of them only just stared, their eyebrows cinched together in confusion.

“You- you’re...” Jensen stuttered, pointing to him before looking to Y/N. “That’s-”

Y/N could tell Jensen was beginning to nerd-out over Chris who smirked slightly, his hand awkwardly falling down to his side as Y/N quickly tried to whisk him away before any of them could say something embarrassing.

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“Chris is, what, 35?-” Jared began shaking his head as him, Misha and Jensen all crowded into Jared’s trailer, trying to decompress after having met Chris.

“37, actually.” Jensen corrected as tapped his fingers against the counter, recalling the googling he’d already done. He stared out the trailer window above the sink to where Y/N and Chris were standing a little too close for comfort as they laughed and kissed, “Gross.”

“I mean, the guy’s a year older than me,” Jared said, his eyes bouncing between the two of them, “Isn’t that, illegal, or something?”

“She’s 24, not 16.” Misha said, defending Y/N as Jensen shushed them, throwing a hand behind him as he stared out the window.

“Y/N’s coming, act normal.”

Jensen threw himself into a chair, the three of them acting as if they were rehearsing lines rather than gossiping about Y/N’s relationship just as a small knock came at the trailer door followed by Y/N poking her head inside.

“C’mon in, Y/N.” Jared smiled a little too widely, making Y/N furrow her brows as she stepped into the trailer.

“Chris went to pick us up some lunch,” she said as she hopped up onto the counter, the concerned stares of the three men in front of her making her suspicious, “what?”

Jensen sighed, sitting forward in his seat as he threw a glance to Misha and Jared, “Y/N...don’t you think Chris, he’s...maybe a little, I don’t know...old for you?”

Y/N raised her eyebrows slightly, surprised that of all things that this was what they were concerned about. “I mean, he’s...what? Ten years older?”

“13.” The three of them corrected, making Y/N roll her eyes.

“Listen, I don’t see why that should matter. Chris- he’s a really great guy. He’s funny, he listens to me, he’s kind.” Y/N couldn’t help but smile down at her phone in her lap at the thought of him. The gesture switched something in each of Jensen, Jared and Misha as she described Chris. She’d never felt this way about anybody before and it clearly showed. “I really like him, and I want you guys to like him, too.”

The three of them smiled slightly at Y/N, who to all of them was more than a sister than anything. They just wanted the best for her, and it seemed like this could be it. 

As if on cue, another knock came from the trailer door. Y/N hopped off the counter, placing one hand on the door knob before turning back to the three of them, her eyes slightly pleading.

“We won’t interrogate him,” Jared shook his head, “only a little.”

Y/N pulled the door open, smiling widely at Chris, his hands full of bags of take out, “I brought stuff for everyone.” He smiled, setting the bags on the counter.

Jensen, Misha and Jared, slightly impressed nodded at the gesture in thanks. Y/N’s gut twisted as she watched the three of them size Chris up, especially watching Jensen, who was typically the one to scare them all away, stood up, and reached out his hand. Y/N was slightly taken back as she watched the two of them shake hands, followed by Jared and Misha doing the same, the three of them smiling widely.

It had felt like a weight had been lifted off of Y/N’s shoulders as she watched the exchange. She’d always wanted to find someone who not only she loved, but also someone her best friends loved too.

“You know,” Jensen began as he patted Chris on the shoulder, “I was almost Captain America.”

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[theycallmebeccawrites]

Perfectly Imperfect: Chapter 8

With Tumblr holding my original writing blog @beccaheartschrisevans captive (aka flagged as explicit), I have made a secondary writing blog and may end up closing the other all together. In the meantime, I am reposting all of my stories on my new blog.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Wren Arnold (OFC)

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: n/a

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

Perfectly Imperfect Masterlist | Chris & Wren Masterlist

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

New Year's Eve 2020 - April 2021

It was nearly midnight on New Year’s Eve when Wren carried a tray of cookies into the living room of her landlord's house. After putting the tray down, she surveyed the room taking in the almost odd reality that was the merger of her life in Albany with reminders from home. Her parents had arrived on Christmas Eve and Heidi had surprised her by showing up the day after Christmas. They would all be leaving in the morning, but she had loved spending time with them and introducing them to her new life.

Sitting on the couch talking to her parents was Josephine Whitaker, Wren's landlord, and the first person that she had met on the day she moved to Albany. The 75-year-old woman had been an amazing landlord, but an even better friend. She had given Wren that first month in Albany to feel sorry for herself and lick her wounds, but then the older woman had stepped in and had forced Wren back into the real world.

Making friends had never been hard for Wren; so when she had actually opened herself up to making friends, it had only been a matter of time before she and the school's other kindergarten teacher, Shania Larkin, had become friends. Shania was in her early thirties and had moved to Albany a couple years earlier after splitting up with her fiancé.

After Wren had told Jo and Shania why she'd come to Albany and what she had left behind, they'd both taken two very different approaches to helping her mend her broken heart. Jo had taken it upon herself to set Wren up with blind dates; none of which had been successful. Meanwhile, Shania had decided that Wren needed to live and embrace life, which led to them taking weekend and evening workshops and classes on everything from cake decorating to a beginner’s class on car maintenance.

There had been no blimps on the romance radar until Wren literally bumped into a tall, good looking guy with dark brown hair in her own driveway on Thanksgiving Day. Of course, he'd turned out to be Jo's nephew Adam. They had hit it off right away and he was everything she was looking for in a partner. There was just one little problem: she felt nothing for him. She had tried for a few weeks to see if something would change, but then they'd kissed and it had ended with them both laughing and agreeing that romance wasn't in the cards for them.

A smile stretched across Wren's face as she spotted Adam sitting in a quiet corner with Shania, their bodies bent towards each other as they talked quietly. She had accidentally set them up together when Shania had asked her to take a scuba diving course with her and Wren had turned her down, but Adam, who'd overheard the conversation, had expressed interest. Looking at them now, Wren wasn't sure why she hadn't realized how perfect the two of them were together.

Chris would love her new friends.

The thought came from nowhere and Wren let out a shaky breath. Suddenly needing air, she slipped into the kitchen and went out to the back patio. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at the sky. She'd been plagued by little thoughts or reminders of Chris and Addy ever since she'd come to Albany. The worst of the moments were when something would happen and she'd think 'I need to tell Chris about this' before remembering that she couldn't.

She didn't regret coming to Albany; she had needed to remove herself from the impossible situation she'd been caught up in. However, she did regret how she'd left things back in Sudbury. She hadn't gotten to say goodbye to Addy like she had wanted to. Then there was the last time she had talked to Chris as well as the days leading up to it. Just thinking about it all made her sick to her stomach.

"I thought I'd find you out here," Heidi said, coming out of the house. She was carrying a blanket with her and she handed one end of it to Wren to wrap around her shoulder and held onto the other part to put over her own shoulder.  "You ok?"

"I had a random thought that Chris would love Jo, Adam and Shania," Wren said as they stood close together to ward off the chill. "Which led to thinking about leaving Sudbury and you know." She took a deep breath. "I really made a mess of things, didn't I?"

"It wasn't pretty, but it wasn't all on you either," Heidi said with a small smile. "Did I tell you that Scott came to the apartment on Christmas Eve?" Wren shook her head. "I think he was there looking for you, but he did tell me a couple things."

Wren didn't say anything. She didn't feel like she had a right to know what Scott had told Heidi, especially since she was the one who'd chosen to leave Sudbury and remove the Evans family from her life. At the same time, however, she wanted to know that Chris, Addy and the rest of the family were ok.

As if sensing her friend's internal battle, Heidi continued. "He told me that Chris hired his neighbor to help with Addy and it's working out great."

Wren smiled at the news. She'd known that Miss Loretta would be the perfect person to help Chris. The older woman had volunteered in Wren's classroom a time or two when her grandsons had been in the class and all of the kids had loved her. Wren knew that Addy would thrive under her care.

"He also mentioned that he told Chris that you're in love with him."

Wren's smiled slipped from her face and she nodded solemnly at that statement, she’d known he would tell his brother eventually. She couldn't help but wonder how Chris had taken the news.

"There is something else you should know," Heidi said, interrupting Wren's thoughts. "Scott didn't tell me this part, but it feels like a good time to tell you this. A few weeks after you left, Chris called and asked me for a recommendation for a therapist."

"He did?" Wren asked, looking up at her friend. "What for?"

"He and I didn't talk about that part," Heidi said. "But he's getting help. Maybe your outburst and departure made him realize that something wasn't right?"

"Maybe," Wren nodded. She certainly hoped that her leaving had done some good for him even if it led to him eventually falling in love and marrying someone else. Again. Her eyes welled up with tears at the thought and they started rolling down her cheeks as the backdoor opened.

"There you two are," Shania's voice carried from the steps. "Come on, the ball's about to drop."

"You go," Wren told Heidi. "I'll be ok."

Heidi went into the house with Shania, leaving Wren in the backyard wrapped up in the blanket. Fireworks lit up the sky a minute or so later as 2021 arrived.

"No more sadness," she told herself aloud. "From this point on, if you think about Chris, you will smile. Yeah, those last couple days were shitty, but why should that overshadow twenty plus years of friendship?"

With her New Year's Resolution made, she went into the house and put a smile on as she wished everyone a happy new year. The party didn't last much longer and people began to leave. She said goodnight to her parents, who were staying in one of Jo's guestrooms, and then she and Heidi went out to the guest cottage.

The next morning, with her parents and Heidi due to leave, Wren got up early and went into the main house to make them all breakfast. She was just sliding the breakfast casserole into the oven when her dad came downstairs.

"Something smells good in here," he said with a smile. "Smells like your mom's breakfast in a pan casserole."

"That's because it is," Wren replied. "I made some coffee if you want some."

Side-by-side, father and daughter doctored their cups of coffee and then retired to the table on the far side of the kitchen.

"I'm proud of you for stepping out of your comfort zone like this," he said after a few minutes of silence.

"Thanks, dad," Wren replied. "I like it."

"All I want for you is to be happy," he continued. "And I'm sorry that it's been a solo journey to this point. But I know there is a guy out there for you and you're going to knock his socks off."

Wren smiled as tears pooled in the corner of her eyes. She leaned over and rested her head on her dad's shoulder. Her parents were the only family members she had and she wished that she lived closer to them.

"I love you, dad," she said.

"I love you, too, kiddo," he replied.

They sat quietly for another ten minutes before her mom and Jo came downstairs. Heidi arrived a few minutes after that and then the timer went off on the oven. Wren got up and took the casserole out and everyone dished themselves a large helping of the eggs, cheese sausage and potato breakfast.

Before Wren knew it, she was saying goodbye to her parents and Heidi, an hour or so later, as they got ready to head back to Massachusetts. She and Heidi made plans to get together during spring break and her parents told her they'd plan a long weekend soon.

School started again, a few days later, and Wren threw herself back into the job. Teaching was her passion and she loved seeing her students' faces light up as they learned new things. The first week or so back was rough, but once the five- and six-year-olds were back into the routine of being in school all day, their learning speed only increased.

Even though Shania was too busy with her scuba training and dating Adam to take classes, Wren continued to sign up for a workshop here and there and just enjoyed the opportunity to learn a new craft or skill. It was usually just her taking the course, but sometimes Shania, and occasionally Adam, took a class with her.

Before Wren knew it, spring had arrived with a beautiful showing of flowers and blossoming cherry trees. It was similar to spring in Sudbury, but different at the same time. She and Shania had jokingly started a countdown to spring break on the chalkboard in the staff room, but all of the other staff members had taken a turn (or more) to update the number of days left.

For Shania, spring break would be spent scuba diving with Adam in the Bahamas since they had both just passed their scuba course. While they were soaking up the sun, Wren planned to spend the week in New York City with Heidi as their school districts had the same week off.

An in-service day had been scheduled for the Friday before spring break, meaning that the students had the day off, but the staff had to come in. Taking advantage of the relaxed nature of the day, Wren showed up in jeans, sneakers and a hoodie. She spent the first part of the morning in her classroom and was on her way to her first meeting of the day, when her cell phone rang.

Taking the phone out of her pocket, she saw that it was her mom. Curious as to why her mom was calling in the middle of the day, Wren answered. "Hi mo-"

A sob met her ear and dread filled every inch of her body. "Mom?"

"You need to come home," her mom said in between sobs. "And hurry."

Chapter 9

Want to find me off tumblr? I'm @beccatheycallme on twitter. I also post my stories on AO3.

My tag list is always open, just let me know if you'd like to be added!

[pressrowmedia]

Riverside Football Rankings, Week 6

So, we have our first controversy.  The new Number One team actually lost, but based on Power Index, they move to the top spot.  The main factors in determining Power Index are: Won-Loss Record, Road Wins, Wins against Higher Division teams, and Strength of Schedule/Opponents' Won-Loss.  In the end, league play will balance everything out.  

Current (10/1) CIF-SS Poll.

Without any further adieu, here are the Week 6 Rankings.

#1 NOTRE DAME (4-2) /DIVISION 7 / SUNBELT

 LAST WEEK: #2

The Titans lost 48-21 vs. Paloma Valley, in Week 6, but previous opponents Aquinas, Hillcrest, Xavier Prep, Tustin and Rubidoux all won.  The Wildcats rolled up 382 rushing yards and 6 rushing TD against Notre Dame's defense, while holding the Titans to 279 yards on offense.  Notre Dame was also flagged for nine penalties, totaling nearly 100 yards.  QB Rodney Koenig was victimized by a pick 6 early in the game.  Paloma Valley jumped out to an early 21-0 lead, and never looked back.

Doesn't get any easier for the Titans, who'll play their fourth straight road game at Valley View (2-4), coming off of a big win over Arlington.  The Eagles will test Notre Dame's secondary, as they average 200 yards per game through the year.

Ultimately, the Titans fortunes will come down to how they perform in league play.  The new Sunbelt League should be intriguing, as with just a three-game schedule, margin for error will be tight, like trying to squeeze the 60, 91, 215 interchange during rush hour on a Friday.  The Titans managed to stay in the Division 7 top ten, despite the loss.

#2 RAMONA (5-1) / DIVISION / 12 RIVER VALLEY

 LAST WEEK: #4

The Rams scored an impressive 20-0 win over Patriot (4-2, ranked 8th in D10) to kick-off league play.  Previous to their Week 5 Bye, it had been the Rams' offense that had been the focal point, in Ken Mushinskie's revival, averaging 45.3ppg over a three-game win streak.  To date, the Rams have allowed 15.3ppg on the season, and 64 points over their four-game streak (32 in a September 14th match-up with Poly). The Warriors averaged 283.8 yards per game over their first five, and the Rams held them to 146, and forced three turnovers, winning despite totaling under 200 yards of their own.

The Rams take on Hillcrest (3-3, 1-0) Thursday, the Trojans coming off of an impressive win against Norte Vista.  A win for the Rams could put them in the drivers' seat in the developing River Valley league race.  One of Coach Mush's strengths, is his ability to get the Rams to focus on matters at hand.  The old, boring “one game at a time” strategy.  Hillcrest is explosive, so the Rams have a task ahead of them.  Look for them to incorporate some ball control early, while Senior QB Brandon Osayande looks to pick his spots against the Hillcrest D, which was impressive in shutting down NoVi on Friday, allowing the Trojans to go to the half up 40-7.

If the Rams can start 2-0 with two road wins, they will have a leg (or a horn) up, as two of their last three games are at home (La Sierra & Norte Vista), with their road game being at Jurupa Valley.  The formula is there for Ramona to succeed: Senior QB in Osayande, top-flight RB in Donte Roby, Jr., and a defense that has been up to the challenge.  The Rams always play hard, and don't beat themselves.  Don't be shocked if that allows them to overcome some of their liabilities (undersized, lots of underclassmen in key positions).  This is a big week for Ramona's very talented linebacking corps.  They'll need to contend with the Hillcrest run game, while the secondary deals with the speed of the Trojans' receivers.  The Rams are 5th in the most recent Division 12 CIF Poll.

#3 NORTE VISTA (4-2) / DIVISION 9 / RIVER VALLEY

 LAST WEEK: #1

The Braves were throttled by Hillcrest, 54-13.  They played their fourth straight game without Senior RB Chris Melesio, but Miron Hazem (14 att 104 yds TD), Eddie Allain (16 att 80 yds TD) and Josef Luckey (4 att 28 yds) took up the slack. Senior QB Julian Corey completed 4 of 5 passed, for 86 yards.  Over Corey's last three games, he is 10 of 12 through the air, for 230 yards and 2 TD.  As Corey continues to develop, he could play a huge factor in determining the River Valley race, and in the CIF Playoffs. After averaging 370 yards rushing over the previous three games, Hillcrest held the Braves to a paltry 212 yards, while rolling up over 400 on their own, taking a 40-7 lead to the half.  The loss dropped No Vi out of the Top 10 in the CIF-SS Division 9 Poll.

Norte Vista tries get back on track against La Sierra, who until last year, had been the only team to defeat the Braves on the field, back in 2014, when current Arlington Head Coach Jeff Roney led the Eagles to the River Valley crown.  Over the last three seasons, No Vi has scored an average of 51.3 points in games against La Sierra, including 65 back in 2015. Having Melesio back would provide the Braves with a huge lift.  The defense also looks to redeem themselves, after allowing over 400 yards in the Hillcrest loss, while the offense will look to bounce back from a game where they committed six turnovers.

Last week's stumble non-withstanding, the Braves remain a contender in the River Valley.  Since the league formed in 2012, No Vi has been the regular season champ of the RVL every season except for 2014 (La Sierra) and as part of a five-way tie in 2017.  They took a haymaker from Hillcrest Friday, but a win over La Sierra could allow them to take a breath, and settle back in.  Everyone knows that Ken Batdorf will have his team ready, and look to guide them over the early speed bump against Hillcrest.

#4 HILLCREST (3-3) / DIVISION 10 /  RIVER VALLEY

 LAST WEEK: #6

To quote Ebby Calvin “Nuke” La Loosh from Bull Durham, the Trojans “announced their presence with authority” in Friday's 54-13 win over Norte Vista.  The win over the Braves was Hillcrest's second in a row, after losing three straight, which dropped them from the #1 spot in the CIF Division 10 Poll.  Sophomore RB Dominique Clay ran for 112 yards and 4 TD, while Sophomore QB Camren Payne completed seven passes, five for more than twenty yards, including a 79 yard strike to Ryan Howard.  The Trojans used a thirty-three point second quarter to roll to a 40-7 lead at the half.  The offense rolled up 434 yards, while the defense forced three turnovers.  Clay notched his second 100 yard performance of the season, after not having played since September 7th against Kaiser.  

Next up for Hillcrest is a key match-up with Ramona.  Both Hillcrest and Ramona knocked off ranked teams in Week 6, which could put the winner at the pole position, in what looks to be a fairly tight race in the RVL. Last week, I'd said that Hillcrest could be the most talented team in the league, and they showed that on Friday night.  Another reason I like Hillcrest, is that young guys like Clay, Payne, Ryan Howard and Isaac Perez will improve with each additional week of varsity experience.  The defense is led by four Seniors, Josh Ford, Ezekial Holliday (both two-year starters), Christian Murillo and Erik Rivera (three-year starters).  The Trojans forced seven turnovers over the last two weeks, while committing just one of their own.

The key for Hillcrest will be to peak at the right time, and have the young team playing their best football, heading into November, and the CIF Playoffs.  In their five non-league games, the Trojans didn't play a team below Division 8, which could pay dividends in October & November.  Their opponents' winning percentage is .528, which ties them for fourth among city teams.

#5 LA SIERRA (5-1) / DIVISION 12 / RIVER VALLEY

 LAST WEEK: #3

The Eagles are becoming Riverside's version of the “Cardiac Kids” as they rallied from behind to defeat Jurupa Valley 25-24, denying the Jaguars their first league win since 2014.  The defense held up, finishing the evening out with a Goal Line Stand.  The five wins are the most by an Eagles' squad, since they went 8-3 in 2014 under current Arlington Head Coach, Jeff Roney.

Bryce Poppe had 188 yards passing, and threw for 3TD, while the Eagles also amassed 200 yards on the ground, where they were led by Lamar Gaines, with 86 yards and a TD.  Andre Thomas continued to do Andre Thomas things, nine catches for 166 yards and two trips to pay dirt.

This week, the Eagles lock up with Norte Vista, as the Braves will be looking for redemption, coming off of their loss at the hands of Hillcrest.  The last time La Sierra knocked off No Vi was back in 2014.  There is familiarity between the two teams, as Gary Hedlund served as Ken Batdorf's offensive coordinator, back in 2014, prior to taking the La Sierra job.

The Eagles were a hair from losing to an 0-6 Jurupa Valley.  That's the bad news.  The good news is, they hung on and won the game.  They have now logged four road wins, with three in come from behind fashion, late in the game.  The combination of Poppe to Thomas might be the most dynamic in the league, and they can run the ball well enough to keep teams honest.  

The Eagles' defense has been stingy in key spots, when it's counted.  In their loss to Rialto, La Sierra gave up 38 points, but it should be pointed out two of those scores by the Knights came on punt returns.

The Eagles are like a deep philosophical argument.  On the down side, their strength of schedule is ranked the lowest amongst Riverside teams, and they've had to eek out some close games under against those opponents.  

Some will say that playing from behind eventually catches up with you.  The other side of that coin, is that La Sierra is now 4-0 on the road.  Are the Eagles one of those teams, that if you let them hang around, will just find a way to beat you?  The River Valley League will know soon enough.

#6 POLY (3-3) / DIVISION 9 / INLAND VALLEY  LAST WEEK: #5

The Bears are coming off of their most impressive performance of the year, a 49-0 win over Canyon Springs, yet took a slight drop in the rankings.  The Bears rolled up 320 rushing yards among five players, and QB Budd Bernie was very efficient, completing 9 of 10 passes for 106 yards in the win.  More importantly, Derek DeWitt had his full complement of players on defense, which was led by Warren Hardin, who had 7 tackles, after missing time with an injury.  Jaylon Keeton also returned to give the Bears' defense their cornerstones along the defensive line.

This week, Poly looks to go 2-0 in the newly configured Inland Valley league, as they'll play Orange Vista on Saturday.  Greg Zomalt left Citrus Hill to helm the Coyotes program, but brought over the “process” from the old place.  They run, run, run the ball.  Four rushers combining for over three hundred yards on the ground per game.  The front seven of the Bears will be severely tested.  On the defensive side, Orange Vista has only allowed one team (El Monte) to score as many as twenty points. They've only surrendered 68 points all season (11.3 ppg).  Offensive Coordinator Bill Powell will have to dial up a game plan to exploit the talents of Jermaine Henderson, Budd Bernie, and Jerry Sandefeur, among others, if the Bears expect to go to 2-0 in league play.  A fourth win for Poly would mark the most successful season during the DeWitt Era.

The goal for the Bears is to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015, and this year's version of Poly Football could be a sleeping giant in the IVL.  Orange Vista will be a tough out, but a win over the Coyotes would allow Poly to build on the momentum from the big win over Canyon Springs. The Bears have dealt with nicks and bruises all season, and look to finally be healthy, particularly on defense.  Saturday will be a good barometer by which to judge their progress.

#7 JW NORTH (2-4) / DIVISION 8 / INLAND VALLEY  LAST WEEK: #7

The Huskies finally got to bark a big, with a 42-12 win over Perris to open Inland Valley League play.  The offense finally got clicking, which North Head Coach Dennis Brown attributed to their line play, as the Huskies rolled up 483 yards, 342 on the ground, an aspect they'd been trying to improve over the last two seasons. Both Jerrell Calhoun and Venasio Mika'ele went for over one hundred yards, and North led 28-6 at the half, in cruising to victory. Senior QB Nick Satcher completed passes, to five different receivers, throwing for 141 yards, connecting with Jerrell Calhoun for a TD.  The North defense, which had taken its lumps, surrendering 137 points over a three-game losing streak before the bye, finally negotiated the learning curve against the Panthers.

This week, North hosts 1-5 Lakeside, as they look to go 2-0 in Inland Valley League play.  The Lancers won their opener over Ramona 17-14, but have dropped all five of their games since, and haven't won a road game since they knocked off Orange Vista last September 15th.  The Huskies will need to keep their mojo going, and seem to have gotten a boost over the bye week, where they were able to get healthy, and make some adjustments, which resulted in the big win over Perris.  The backfield combo of Mika'ele and Calhoun is formidable for any defense, especially when the offensive line, anchored by four Seniors, two of whom are three-year starters (William Smith and Omar Gudino Flores) has found its rhythm.  And don't forget about Nick Satcher, the Senior QB who threw for nearly 1,900 yards and 16 TD in 2017.

The Huskies' playoff win in 2016, was their first since before they moved to the Inland Valley out of the Big VIII.  In recent years, though, the Huskies have missed the playoffs more than they've been in it, winning their opening round game over Grand Terrace in '16, and going one and done in 2014.  This being an even-numbered year, should bode well for the Huskies.

#8 ARLINGTON (0-6) / DIVISION 8 / SUNBELT  LAST WEEK: #8

The Lions fell to Valley View, 34-6, to drop their 6th straight, and 9th out of their last 10, dating back to last season, after a 7-0 start.  The Lions actually led 6-0 early, and it was a 7-6 game at the half, before Valley View reeled off 27 straight 2nd Half points, aided by three Arlington turnovers.

Doesn't get any easier for Jeff Roney and his crew, as they have Paloma Valley on the road.  The Wildcats have won three in a row, and scored 47, 48 and 48 points in those wins.  Arlington has allowed forty points or more in four of their six games.

This is the last non-league game for Arlington, who have taken their shots thus far, but could wipe the slate clean with a couple of wins in Sunbelt League play.  Ezekial Valentine had a rushing TD in his first game for Arlington, and should help QB Isaiah Leuta, who already has weapons such as Devin Johnson, and Mike Hollis at his disposal.  The defense, anchored by their standout line, will need to step up over this last month of the season.

#9 ML KING (0-6) / DIVISION 4 / BIG VIII

 LAST WEEK: #9

Looked as if things had started to turn for King, as they'd played at OT game vs. Poly (3-3) on September 8th, and lost a one-point game to Elsinore on September 14th, before stepping out for their bye week.  Returning to action this week, Norco reminded the Wolves they still play in the Big VIII.  The Cougars rolled up nearly 500 yards against King.

Doesn't get any easier with their next opponent, Roosevelt (4-2).  The Mustangs knocked off Corona 57-0, to start Big VIII play.  Their only losses are to Servite (Division 1) and Tesoro (Division 2).  While King has struggled, the Wolves had surrendered 106 points over the first five games, before the 42-7 loss to Norco.

At this point, King is mostly playing for pride.  The Big VIII is a tough league, with four teams in the running for playoff seeding.  The showdown with Corona on October 12th, could be King's last real chance to enter the win column in 2018.  Notre Dame transfer Adeal Bavadi leads King in rushing and has 3 TD (most on the team) between his running and as a receiver.  He's averaging nearly six yards a pop on the ground, while King has struggled, particularly from the QB position, as they only average 82 yards per game through the air.  Of King's eight leading tacklers this season, four will be back next year.

[junker-town]

MVP candidates in the 2021 NBA Finals, ranked

Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Who’s going to win Finals MVP? Let’s rank the candidates.

The Milwaukee Bucks are one win away from an NBA championship. The Bucks enter Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Finals with a 3-2 series lead over the Phoenix Suns. If the Bucks can win one of the next two games, the franchise will claim its first championship since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson powered a title run in 1971.

The Bucks shouldn’t get too comfortable as they return to their home court for Game 6. There is typically enormous pressure on the home team when it is one win away from winning the series, and that’s especially the case when it knows it’s facing Game 7 on the road. The Suns nearly stole Game 5 with a fourth quarter comeback, but Jrue Holiday’s clutch steal and alley-oop to Giannis Antetokounmpo sealed the win for the Bucks.

While some called this one of the worst Finals ever coming into the series, there’s no doubt it’s been an awesome matchup to this point with plenty of brilliant individual performances. Here’s how we’d rank Finals MVP candidates so far:

6. Deandre Ayton

Ayton is massively critical to the Suns’ success because he’s the only true big man in the rotation after Dario Saric’s series-ending injury. Ayton played 45 minutes in Phoenix’s close Game 5 loss, and it feels like he’ll need to replicate that effort over the next two games if the Suns want to steal the series.

The former No. 1 overall draft pick was limited by foul trouble in the Suns’ Game 3 loss, but has otherwise been playing great in the Finals. He enters Game 6 averaging 15.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, two assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game on 56.9 percent shooting from the field.

Ayton is the only Phoenix defender who can deter Antetokounmpo even a little bit at the rim. Offensively, he’s a fearsome roller who has also flashed shot-making ability from mid-range. The Suns need Ayton to step up in the big way over the remainder of the series if they’re going to steal two consecutive wins against the Bucks.

5. Jrue Holiday

Holiday’s offense has been up and down throughout the playoffs. That trend has continued in the Finals. He scored only 27 points on 35 shots through the first two games, which both resulted in Phoenix victories. He was excellent in the Bucks’ Game 3 win, hitting 5-of-10 shots from three-point range to finish with 21 points and nine assists. Holiday then shot 4-of-20 from the field in Game 4, but bounced back in Game 5 with one of the best performances of his career: a 27-point, 13-assist effort punctuated by his clutch steal and lob in the final minute.

Where Holiday has been consistent is on the defensive end. He’s hounded Chris Paul with full court pressure throughout the series, clearly taking the veteran point guard out of his comfort zone. Holiday is a physical defender who uses his length and strength to bother smaller ball handlers, and CP3 has found out first hand how good he is defensively in this series.

Holiday’s offensive performance could be a deciding factor for the remainder of this series. If he has another great offensive game in Game 6, the Bucks will likely be raising a championship banner.

4. Chris Paul

Paul was excellent in carrying Phoenix to a Game 1 win, but he’s worn down a bit throughout the series. The Suns’ chances of coming back in this series rest on CP3 turning back the clock two more times for vintage performances.

Paul finished with 32 points and nine assists in that Game 1 win for Phoenix. That’s when Holiday got switched onto him full-time. CP3 particularly struggled in Game 4 as he appeared bothered by injuries to his wrist and fingers. While he ended Game 5 on a tear to finish with 21 points and 11 assists, it didn’t feel like he was controlling the action the way he normally does at his best.

It’s easy to see Paul as a barometer of the Suns’ success. If the Suns win the next two games and Paul plays well, it’s absolutely possible he can still end the series as Finals MVP.

3. Khris Middleton

Middleton’s performance has swung wildly from good to bad to good again throughout the playoffs. He was at his worst in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, when he finished with only 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting. The Bucks knew they needed Middleton to start cooking if they wanted to crawl out of an 0-2 hole, and he’s responded by doing exactly that.

Middleton was brilliant in Game 4, popping off for 40 points on 15-of-33 shooting. He also made some clutch buckets down the stretch in Game 5. Middleton has so much variance in his performance because he rarely finds his way into easy buckets. The 6’8 forward gets most of his baskets off difficult pull-up jumpers he creates for himself. He looks great when his shot is falling and terrible when it’s not.

The Bucks have gotten three great games out of Middleton so far in the Finals. They need one more to be champions.

2. Devin Booker

Booker has been incredible scoring the ball throughout this series save for one rough shooting night in Game 3. The 24-year-old guard went off for 42 points in Game 4 and 40 points in Game 5, but the Suns lost both games.

As Booker has taken control of the offense, the Suns’ ball movement has stagnated. Phoenix’s corner three attempts are way down in this series. That’s a credit to Milwaukee’s terrific defense, but it’s also on Booker and Paul to create easy looks for their teammates. The most concerning stat so far for Phoenix is that Booker still doesn’t have an assist during the fourth quarter of any game in this series.

It feels like the Suns’ offense has been helpless without Booker’s scoring over the last two games. He needs to continue putting the ball in the basket at a high clip for the remainder of the series, but it would help if he could set up his teammates for some open shots, too.

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo

If the Bucks win one more game to win the series, Antetokounmpo is going to be named Finals MVP. He’s the only choice for the honor.

We didn’t even know if Giannis was going to be play in the NBA Finals after suffering a scary leg injury that kept him out of the end of the Eastern Conference Finals. Instead, Antetokounmpo was in the lineup for Game 1 against Phoenix, and has been at the center of the Bucks’ success ever since. Giannis enters Game 6 averaging 32.2 points, 13 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game on 60.5 percent shooting from the field. Yes, his free throw shooting has been rough — 56.2 percent on more than 13 attempts per game — but he’s still dominating this series on both ends.

Antetokounmpo is the best defensive player in the world, and his weak side paint protection has been critical in deterring Phoenix’s scorers away from the rim all series. Offensively, Antetokounmpo is settling for fewer jump shots and is attacking the basket hard as a roll man and in transition.

Giannis has also been in the middle of the two biggest plays in this series. He had the remarkable block on Ayton’s alley-oop at the end of Game 4, and then threw down the lob from Holiday after his steal in Game 5.

Antetokounmpo’s resume at 26 years old puts him on pace to be an all-time great. All that’s missing is a championship and a Finals MVP. He’s one win away from both honors.

[watchingthesuperbowl]

Notes taken during Super Bowl XXX

PREGAME

This is another Channel 4 joint. Gary Imlach, Marv Levy, and Drew Pearson are the UK commentators.

Cowboys to receive the kickoff.

NBC had this game in the United States. Dick Enberg on PBP. Paul Maguire is the color commentator. Phil Simms is in the booth too, it seems.

FIRST QUARTER

First play is a pass to Jay Novacek underneath. Broken up by Carnell Lake.

Second down, intermediate pass to Michael Irvin. 20 yards, out to midfield. Irvin motioning that he couldn't see the ball because he was looking into the sun. Caught it anyway.

Michael Irvin can’t see.

Deion Sanders in at WR for the Cowboys now, so of course they hand the ball to Emmitt Smith. 23 yard run, to the Pittsburgh 28.

Third and long, jet sweep to Kevin Williams. Enberg calls it a reverse. (Grrrrr.) He's stuffed and the Cowboys will attempt a 42 yard field goal. Chris Boniol. Yep, got it. 3-0 Dallas, less than three minutes into the game.

NBC graphic: Team scoring first has won 21 of 29 Super Bowls.

Steelers heading into the sun in the first quarter. First play is a handoff to Erric Pegram for two yards.

Kordell Stewart in for Pittsburgh as a slot receiver. 1995 appears to have been the year of the multi-position star.

Steelers go five-wide on third down. Enberg says it's a revolutionary formation from the Steelers this year. That seems a bit overly effusive, no? I feel like run and shoot teams like the Falcons, Oilers, and Denver Gold would have gone five-wide with some regularity.

O'Donnell throws underneath on third and long. Receiver tackled immediately and it's a three-and-out.

Imlach asks Marv Levy how the Steelers should deal with the great Dallas offensive line. I love Marv Levy dearly - he's one of my favorite sports people of all time - but I think we've established that Marv doesn't have a bunch of answers for the Cowboys in the Super Bowl.

NBC graphic: Cowboys offensive line averages 333 pounds per person.

Maguire: Steelers say Cowboys' offensive strength is their run game. Cowboys say Cowboys' offensive strength is their pass game.

Aikman goes deeeeep on a post pattern to Deion Sanders. Perfect throw. Sanders makes the grab. 47 yard gain, inside the Pittsburgh 20.

Maguire: Aikman tells a story about practice, when he threw a pass to Deion Sanders as far and as hard as he can throw it. He was certain he'd overthrown Sanders, but when he went back and watched the film, Deion actually had to slow down to catch the pass.

Aikman to Novacek inside the 5. First and goal from the 3.

Next play, play fake to Smith, toss to a wide open Novacek. Easy score. 10-0 Dallas in the first quarter. Replay shows it was pretty clearly an illegal pick to clear space for Novacek.

Drew Pearson: Expect Steelers to pass more - need to open things up for the run game.

Levy: Novacek hid behind his line on the touchdown pass, lined up as a wingback right and crossed behind the line, and the Steelers lost track of him.

Maguire: This is a brand new field since the Fiesta Bowl. Players expected it to be tight, but they're slipping all over the place. Field isn't tight.

Steelers go no-huddle after a first down. Cowboys only have nine players on the field and have to call a timeout.

NBC promo: Next weekend, Gulliver's Travels starring Ted Danson!

Byron "Bam" "Choo Choo" Morris into the backfield for Pittsburgh. CHOO CHOO!!! Up the middle for six.

Third down, a pitch to Kordell Stewart. Short by a half-yard. What a weird call - why not just snap it directly to him, since he's a quarterback and stuff.

Steelers going for it on fourth and less than a yard. Kordell Stewart lines up under center and Neil O'Donnell lines up as a wide receiver. Again, weird. Everybody in the stadium knows you're not passing the ball to Neil O'Donnell. Why play with 10 offensive players? Anyway, it works. QB sneak.

Enberg: Bill Cowher is the youngest coach ever to take a team to the Super Bowl. 38 years old.

Third and 8, O'Donnell stands in and fires it to Andre Hastings. He has plenty of time. First down.

They go no-huddle again and the shotgun snap is about five feet over O'Donnell's head. Loss of 13.

Current drive: 11 plays, 24 yards, 5:07 and counting. 11 plays for 24 yards!

Last play of the quarter, O'Donnell to Corey Holliday. He's a rookie who had zero receptions in the regular season and, over the course of his career, had a total of one regular season catch.

First quarter ends. Dallas 10, Pittsburgh 0.

SECOND QUARTER

3rd and 13, O'Donnell rolls and is nearly picked off by Larry Brown. It's decision time on 4th and 13 from the Dallas 39. They'll punt. There are no good choices here, only choices that are less bad than others. Predictably, Rohn Stark blasts it through the end zone for a 19 yard net.

Enberg: Jay Novacek's mom collected aluminum cans all year so she could pay her own way to see her son in the Super Bowl. She didn't want him to have to pay for her.

Four passes in a row to Novacek. His mom's getting her money's worth.

Second and 10, Aikman to Irvin into Steelers territory for a first down.

Maguire: Emmitt Smith told his linemen that when they block, he doesn't want to see their stomachs. Just keep blocking straight ahead and Emmitt will find the hole.

Simms: Steelers are getting no pressure at all on Aikman.

Third and 5, Aikman is confused by the play call. Looks at the sideline quizzically, figures it out, and completes a pass to Moose Johnston for four and a half. It's a measurement, but it's almost certainly going to be short. He is. It's about eight inches short. Barry Switzer will go for it.

Moose Johnston gets it easily. Everybody expected Emmitt, Switzer crossed them up.

Aikman looks deep and Michael Irvin grabs it as he steps into the end zone. Offensive pass interference. He grabbed Carnell Lake on the way past him.

So what do the Cowboys do? They throw the ball to Jay Novacek. He's having another big Super Bowl. 19 yard gain.

Cowboy drive stalls there and Chris Boniol comes on for a 35 yard field goal attempt. Right down the middle. Three possessions, three scores for Dallas. 13-0, mid-second quarter.

During commercial break, Channel 4 plays a bit of the Navajo language broadcast of the game. Neat.

Drew Pearson: Players are probably using wrong shoes for this surface, there are a lot of slips. If it were me, I'd use Astroturf shoes because the ground is hard under the grass.

O'Donnell throws behind Yancey Thigpen on first down. Nearly picked off..

Pittsburgh goes three and out. Rohn Stark punts. While the ball is rolling, a Steeler comes from out of nowhere and clobbers a Cowboy in the back, sending him flying into the ball. The Steelers recover, but it's (correctly) ruled Dallas ball. That was weird. Pittsburgh players are flipping out, but c'mon. That was never your ball.

Levy says the Dallas player should have been nowhere near that ball, regardless of whether he was shoved.

Pearson: Steelers are confused. Don't know whether they want to run the ball or throw it. Dallas defense is dominating at the line of scrimmage and O'Donnell isn't hitting passes.

Greg Lloyd hits Emmitt Smith in the knee on a tackle on second down. It wasn't intentional. Emmitt is limping a bit.

Third and 10, Chris Oldham knocks down a pass intended for Irvin, who was behind the defense. Cowboys three and out for the first time.

Steelers take over at their 46. First down, O'Donnell misses an open receiver. Second down, it's a coverage sack. Charles Haley got him for a loss of 10. Third and 20, O'Donnell to Hastings for 19 yards. Maguire emphatically says they have to go for this. This is four-down territory, period.

A replay shows Deion Sanders completely whiffed on an attempted tackle on the third down play.

Fourth and inches, Kordell Stewart has no trouble picking up the first down on a QB sneak.

Second and 10, CHOO CHOO! Bam Morris blows through the line for around 13 yards. We hit the two-minute warning with the Steelers at the Dallas 30.

Third and 7, O'Donnell to Mills for six and a half yards. It's an absolutely horrible spot and the refs give Pittsburgh a free first down.

Enberg begins to talk about NBC coverage of this game on the World Wide Web, but Channel 4 cuts away mid-sentence. That was the first internet reference I've seen during a Super Bowl.

Third and long, O'Donnell finds Mills near the 5. Probably should have been overthrown, but it was a great catch. Steelers call timeout with 0:17 left in the half. They have no more timeouts. If they don't kick here, they need to throw into the end zone.

And they do exactly that. O'Donnell zips it through some traffic to Yancey Thigpen, who beat Deion Sanders. Deion shoved him into the path of the ball. Suddenly, despite the Cowboys' dominance, it's only 13-7. 13 seconds left - you'd think Pittsburgh squibs the kickoff and Dallas takes a knee on first down.

Cowboys run a reverse on the kick return. They get it to their 37.

Yep, Aikman takes a knee. 13-7 at the half.

THIRD QUARTER

Kickoff goes out of bounds. Steelers get it at their own 40 yard line.

CHOO CHOO! Bam Morris blows through tacklers like a freight train. 15 yard run gets the Steelers to the Cowboys' 35.

Steelers go five-wide on third and 9. Dallas blitzes and O'Donnell has to throw too quickly. Incomplete pass, so inexplicably they'll punt from the Dallas 33. Rohn Stark kicks it into the end zone because that's what happens when you punt from the opponent's 33.

Pearson: Steelers didn't really lose momentum on that drive. Didn't score, but they moved the ball.

Second and 11 for the Cowboys, the Steelers try to cover Michael Irvin underneath with a linebacker. Predictably, this doesn't work and Dallas gets 15.

Cowboys don't do much - just the one first down to Irvin - and they punt.

Steelers run on first down. Maguire says he cannot understand why the Steelers aren't running four and five wide receivers.

Second down, Kordell Stewart takes a handoff on a run/pass option. Doesn't have his receiver open, pulls the ball down and jets down the sideline for 12.

Maguire: Steelers are throwing plays away. I don't even know why they're running some of these plays. (Runs up the middle on first down, in particular)

Third and ten, Pittsburgh goes four-wide, Neil O'Donnell has plenty of time, and throws the ball right to a wide-open Larry Brown. He hit Brown right in the numbers. The problem is that Brown is a cornerback for the Cowboys. Brown returns it inside the Steelers' 20. First turnover of the game.

First play of the Dallas drive, Aikman to Irvin on the sideline. Steps out of bounds at the 2.

One play later, Emmitt Smith powers it into the end zone. Or so the officials say. He's clearly down before the ball crosses the goal line. Whatever. It's a touchdown. 20-7 Cowboys, middle of the third quarter.

Levy: Not sure the interception was a gamebreaker, but it's going to come down to how the Steelers respond. And the fact that they got called for a penalty on the kickoff return isn't a great sign.

Levy thinks Smith got into the end zone, for what it's worth. I disagree, but I respect Marv.

Pearson: I'm not saying the Steelers need to abandon their (run-heavy) gameplan, but they need to throw the ball a bit to open up space in the Dallas defense.

Maguire is still baffled by the Steeler offense after they hand the ball to Choo Choo Morris on 2nd and 13. They pick up the first down on third and long when Andre Hastings breaks a tackle.

Third and short, O'Donnell pitches the ball way the heck backwards to Erric Pegram. I really hate the call - going backwards to go forwards when you need a yard and a half - but he cuts it back for a first down.

Incredible catch by Ernie Mills out near midfield. He was wide open and had to dive with his arms fully extended to get to the ball. Miserable throw.

Fourth and yard and a half near midfield. 2:00 or so left in the third. Steelers go for it, run Choo Choo into the teeth of the defense, and he doesn't have a chance. Cowboys take over on downs, up 13 with 1:26 left in the third quarter.

...and they do nothing with the ball. Cowboys will boot it away after Rod Woodson makes a nice break on a third down pass to Michael Irvin. John Jett kicks it through the end zone.

Steelers pick up 12 on a first down pass to Mills. Deion Sanders, in coverage, tells his teammates after the play that was his fault, he should have done better. Third quarter ends, still 20-7 Dallas.

Pearson: Very surprised Cowher went for it on the fourth and one, particularly at midfield. Would have run a lead blocker.

FOURTH QUARTER

First play of the quarter, Choo Choo shows his nimble footwork. Dances to midfield.

One play later, Ernie Mills is nearly decapitated by Scott Case on a catch over the middle. He maybe drops the pass, maybe fumbles, but it's called a fumble. Tight end Mark Bruener recovers. The officials didn't seem to know what to do. It took them forever to make that call.

Later in the drive, O'Donnell scrambles, rolls right and finds Mills. Nearly picked by Larry Brown. He easily could have had three picks by now.

Third and short, O'Donnell to Thigpen now. Pittsburgh is moving the ball. A touchdown here and it's anybody's game. 12:00 and counting on the clock.

Steelers have to burn a timeout before a crucial third down play. That hurts.

What hurts worse is a sack by Charles Haley on that third down. Knocks Pittsburgh almost out of field goal range.

Norm Johnson attempts and makes a 46-yard field goal on a field with shaky footing. Nice kick. It's now 20-10 Cowboys. Steelers still alive.

Onside kick! Steelers recover! They've got it at midfield and coach Bill Cowher is PUMPED.

Enberg: 12th onside kick in Super Bowl history. Fourth successful one.

Steelers on fire now. Two great catches on the first two plays and they're inside the Dallas 30.

Third play of the drive, O'Donnell to Mills near the Dallas 20. Larry Brown hits Mills in the back and the receiver's knee twists. Mills is injured and the furious Steelers comeback has to take a break.

Steelers get inside the Dallas 20 on a punishing Bam Morris run up the middle.

O'Donnell to Thigpen, and the Steelers have reached the Dallas 5. Thigpen is decked by linebacker Dixon Edwards, but holds on.

First down, Morris to the 2. Second down, Morris to about the six inch line. He got royally boned on that call. He was in the end zone.

There's no such controversy on third down as Morris goes untouched around right end. He walks into the end zone. Suddenly it's a three-point ballgame. 20-17, mid-fourth quarter. (6:36 to be exact.)

Kevin Williams drops the kickoff and only gets out to the 12. Steelers fans in the stadium are going crazy.

NBC graphic: Cowboys have a total of 41 yards on their last five drives. They get 22 yards on the first play of this drive.

Second down, linebacker Levon Kirkland blitzes and runs into Aikman. Didn't tackle him, but blasted him backwards for an eight yard loss. Now it's 3rd and 17.

Incomplete pass on third down, Kevin Williams wants pass interference, the officials (correctly) say nope. John Jett will punt. The Steelers have 4:15 to get into position for a game-tying field goal. Plenty of time.

First down, Andre Hastings drops an easy one. He was wide open downfield.

Second down, O'Donnell hits a wide-open Larry Brown in the numbers again. Still a problem: Brown still plays for the other team. He returns it to the Steelers' 6. Looked like O'Donnell expected his receiver to break outside and he didn't.

Replay shows that if O'Donnell had thrown downfield, his receiver was so wide open that could have almost walked into the end zone. That's (probably) the ballgame.

Yep, it's the ballgame. Emmitt gets into the end zone on second and goal. 27-17 Dallas. That's Smith's 18th career postseason touchdown, tying Thurman Thomas for most all-time.

The Steelers need 10 points in 3:43. Not impossible, but certainly improbable.

First down, Andre Hastings fights for an extra five yards and stays in bounds instead of getting out and stopping the clock. Next play, complete to Corey Holliday. Holliday now has more catches in this game than he had in all of the regular season games he ever played combined.

Enberg: O'Donnell is #1 all-time in least interceptions thrown. Presumably this is in terms of INT%.

Steelers near the Dallas 40 as we hit the two-minute warning. Again, this comeback isn't impossible, but it's unlikely.

Maguire says he thinks Deion Sanders might take a year off from baseball if the Cowboys win this game. They did and he did.

Third down, Andre Hastings drops another pass. O'Donnell is limping after Cowboys DL Chad Hennings lands on him.

John L. Williams, one of the best receiving backs of his era drops a pass on fourth down. The ball was behind him, but he probably should have had it. Cowboys get the ball on downs.

Larry Brown named MVP. Was a 12th round pick in the draft, 320th player picked.

Aikman takes a few knees and the game ticks away.

Simms: The Steelers had many, many chances to win this game.

0:13 left, fourth down, and Dallas will punt because they have to do something. Dallas downs it with 0:03 left. The Steelers need 10 points in three seconds. Spoiler alert: They don't do it.

12th consecutive Super Bowl win for the NFC. (XIX-XXX)

Steelers lining up to throw deep on the final play. Why not, I guess. Brock Marion picks it off, not that it matters.

Final score: Dallas 27, Pittsburgh 17.

POSTGAME

Enberg: Pete Rozelle said his favorite Super Bowl was the 35-31 Steelers-Cowboys game in Super Bowl XIII. (For what it's worth, I agree and also have that game atop my list, at least through the first XXX Super Bowls.)

Marv Levy: Games in which a team has turnover differential at least +2, they win 94% of the time.

Imlach to Pearson: Are the Cowboys a legitimate Team of the 90s? Pearson: Yes, they're absolutely the Team of the 90s.

I think this is the first trophy presentation to happen on the field.

Jerry Jones: I want to tell all Steelers fans, and their owners and coaches, what a great team you have and how hard they fought tonight.

Jones: As talented as our players are, they're even more mentally tough than that.

Jones: Of my three Super Bowl wins as an owner, this is the sweetest. This was the closest game of the three.

Greg Gumbel to Switzer: Before the game, you told me whether you win or lose, you're not concerned what people think about you. Is that still true? Switzer: Yes, still true. I care about my family, and these guys are who I want to be with. The Dallas Cowboys.

[my-emotional-self]

Let Me Protect You Part 2/Chapter 3

Pairings: Chris Evans x OFC Emilia

Word Count: 1,872

Warnings: Swearing, Thoughts of Self-Doubt, Angst

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Now that Chris and Emilia have established their relationship, she moves into his house after her brother decides to live in New York. Emilia is in bliss, thinking maybe her life will finally be at peace.  But are things always that easy in Emilia’s life?

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

 A week into moving in with Chris, everything seemed to be going rather well.  Naturally, you had spent nearly a month with him in October when Eric was in New York for business.  Chris was eating everything and anything he could before he needed to start his diet and workout regime for the new Avengers movie.  Between the pasta and all the baked goodies you made over the last week, you definitely put on a few pounds.  It worried you to no avail that Chris would break up with you because of it.

Deciding whether or not to keep taking your medication or not was also weighing heavily on your mind. On one hand, it worked pretty well for the past few months, keeping your emotions in check.  But slowly over time, you had noticed that you started to become like the old you.  Your emotions were really starting to creep back through, but you fought them pretty good. Quitting the medication was what you ended up deciding.  You were going to hide it from Chris though.  With everything that was going on with his life, you didn’t need or want to add any more pressure.  He was amazing as ever, and you were pretty sure you would be strong enough to handle things thrown your way.  

“Baby, something came in the mail for you today” Chris yelled from downstairs.  What could you possibly get in the mail besides bills?  Strolling down the stairs with Dodger at your feet, you made your way to Chris’ office where you saw him sorting the mail. Sneaking up behind him, you placed your arms around his waist, giving him sweet kisses on his shoulders.  A pleasant humming sound escaped his lips and it warmed your body.  

Turning around, he handed you a large manila folder.  Quirking your eyebrows at it, you took the folder from his hands and tore into it. Your eyes grazed the paper; breath hitching in your throat.  Your heart started to pound as you read over the words again.  It was a trial date set for Charlie.  Images of him flashed through your mind like a flood, his words cutting into you like knives.  Chris saw your startled look and took you into his arms, “Emilia, what is it?” Charlie’s words still shuffled through your mind.  Was Charlie right?  Was Minka right too?  Were you not good enough for Chris?  All your previous thoughts about getting into a relationship with a famous actor drowned out anything happening to you in reality.  You weren’t ever going to be good enough, for anyone.  Things were great now, but what happens in six months from now?  A year? Chris will find someone better, more deserving.  

“Ems?!” Chris’ worrisome tone broke you from your revere.  “Huh? Oh…umm..it’s Charlie’s trial date…for the domestic charges” you stated flatly.  Your emotions were shooting throughout your body, but you needed to be calm, hide those emotions from Chris.  He pulled you into a hug, “Are you going to go to the trial” he asked a bit hesitantly. You shrugged out of his arms, “don’t know” was all you said as you walked away.  

Silent tears escaped your eyes as you walked away from Chris, heading upstairs to your shared bedroom. Everything was fine; everything was perfect until you got that damn statement of Charlie’s trial.  All the emotions coursed through your body like a raging flood.  You needed a release, needed an outlet, but you wanted to be strong.  You paced around your bedroom, not knowing what to do. Do you cut, give yourself the release you truly and desperately wanted?  Or do you be strong?  This is why you hated taking medications!  Because once you went off of them, everything came barreling back ten times worse!  

“NO!” you quietly scolded yourself, “I CAN DO THIS!”  You were going to be strong; you weren’t going to cave in.  You hustled down the stairs and grabbed your purse; some fresh air would hopefully do you some good.  

“Where are you going Ems?” Chris asked you as he walked out of his office to see you standing there with your purse.  “Just out” you replied flatly.  You didn’t want to get into a discussion right now; you just needed to go for a drive, clear your head, maybe scream a little; things would be ok then, you would be ok.  

Chris stepped into your way as you tried to leave.  “Don’t walk away mad Emilia” he said with frustration.  This is not what you wanted to happen.  Not only did you not need him to be scolding you right now, it couldn’t happen.  You knew the rage burning up inside of you would take over, and it wouldn’t end pretty. Before when you acted in your childish ways and threw tantrums like this, Chris knew without anyone telling him how to handle you.  But this rage was different.  It felt like the medication went from working wonders, to turning you into someone you weren’t; someone worse.  That was why you wanted to get off it, but you still didn’t feel like yourself.  

“Move please” you reproached as you stared him in the eyes, showing no mercy.  “No Emilia.  I am not letting you walk out that door when you’re acting this way.  Talk to me. Please” he begged.  But you saw right through it.  He was an actor; this is what he did right?  Acted with you, acted like he cared when he really didn’t.  

Letting out a frustrated sigh, you went to move around him but his hand jumped out to catch your arm. You yanked your arm out of his grasp as you stared at him, flabbergasted.  Shaking your head at Chris, you turned your back to him again, walking away.  “DON’T YOU WALK OUT THAT GODDAMN DOOR EMILIA” he shouted.  His voice made you pause your steps.  Turning back around to face him, a single tear fell down your cheek. “Watch me” you expressed sourly as you marched forward, slamming the door behind you.  

~~~

“Hey, you’ve reached Eric’s voicemail.  Tell me what I need to know after the beep.”

Beep

“Ah, hey Eric, Chris here. Umm…I ahh…I didn’t know who else to call.  Look, Emilia just did a 180 on me and kind of flipped out for what I see is no apparent reason.  She just stormed out on me, slammed the door in my face.  I don’t really know what is going on with her.  I mean, it happened to suddenly.  She has been acting a bit off this past week and I don’t know if she stopped taking her medications or what’s going on.  Any advice would be appreciated.  Thanks man.  Bye.

~~~

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!” you screamed to only yourself, as you sat in your Jeep, parked at an empty park. “Why do you have to keep fucking up such good things in your life??” you cried out, your breathing ragged.  You should have just told Patricia the medication wasn’t working that well anymore; but you really didn’t want to switch medications back and forth to find what works best.  It was the worst feeling in the world, and sometimes certain medications can make you feel worse!  You didn’t ask for this, you didn’t want this.  It wasn’t fair that you were dealt such a shitty way of life.  It wasn’t fair to others that you kept ruining your relationships.  Chris didn’t deserve you and all of your misery.  It wasn’t his fault at all, yet you acted like it was, treated him like shit.

You didn’t want to lose Chris, but you were so scared he was going to break up with you at some point. Glancing down, you peered at the beautiful ring on your right hand.  Just looking at the ring made your heart clench with worry.  Did you just ruin your relationship by walking away?  Did Chris take that literally?  Your heart started pounding in your chest; your throat feeling tight.  

Your phone was going off at an alarming rate; missed phone calls, voicemails, and texts all from Chris.

Chris: Where are you?

Chris: Answer your phone

Chris: Emilia I’m starting to get worried

Chris: Baby you’ve been gone for two hours now. Please talk to me

Your heart breaking more and more with each text you read from Chris.  His face lit up on your screen as he tried calling you again.  

Sliding your thumb over the green button, you answered.  “Ch-chris. I’m so sor-sorry” you wailed out as your body shook with sobs, begging you didn’t ruin this.  “Emilia calm down beautiful.  Where are you?” he sounded so nervous.  

“I’m umm at-at a park bu-but I’m gonna come ho-home if tha-that’s alright?” you hiccupped out as you were trying to calm your tears as best you could.  

“No Emilia, you are not driving in your condition.  What park are you at?  I’m coming to you” he stated clearly.

After finally calming down to the point of figuring out what random park you were at, the two of you hung up as you started to break down again.  Was he going to end this?  Was he finally fed up with all the shit you’ve put him through?  Placing your hands on your face, you let your body take control as your sobbing took over.  

You didn’t even realize Chris was standing outside your door until he opened it.  Startled, you removed your hands from your face and peered up at him.  He looked so sad, so lost in what to do, and it was your entire fault.  You lunged at him, gripping him by his back as you continued to sob.  He gently sat the both of you down on the ground as he rocked you back and forth, his arms encasing you.  

“I’m so sorry” you said shaking your head at how stupid you acted, “please don’t leave me.”

“Sweetheart, there is nothing you could do to make me love you any less” he retorted, his voice trying to calm you down.  “It’s just a bad day Ems, we all have them.  I would never leave you over a bad day like this.  Baby, you have to trust me.”

You didn’t know how long you stayed in his arms, sitting on the ground of the parking lot in the park; but you didn’t care.  It was what you needed.  You needed to feel protected and safe; you needed protecting from yourself, and Chris was always there for you.  

“Come on, we’ll take my car home and pick yours up tomorrow” he said as he picked you up, your legs shaky from the events.  He helped you into his car before jogging around to his side of the car.  Once safely buckled up, Chris leaned over to kiss your cheek.  “I love you Ems.  Nothing will change that.”

You turned to face him, heat creeping into your cheeks, feeling embarrassed by the way you acted hours earlier.  “I love you too Chris” you replied, your voice dry and hoarse.

The two of you made the drive to his house in silence.  Your stomach churning as you felt there was more to this conversation than he was letting on.  

A/N: Emilia is really starting to lose it guys!!

Tag List: @iamwarrenspeace @ssweet-empowerment @always-an-evans-addict @patzammit @tacohead13 @littlemissacorn @white-chocolate-mocha-fan @potterhead1265 @valentinesbird @miss-cap21 @thedoctorscamanion

[marlaluster]

Emptying the cliptray on the new phone. ....

1. 'Knew she was the girl he was going to take': Suspect targeted girl after seeing her board school bus Skip to sections navigationSkip to contentSkip to footer SubscribeLog In OPENMENU The Sydney Morning Herald - North America Europe Asia Middle East Oceania Central America South America Africa Advertisement WORLDNORTH AMERICACRIME 'Knew she was the girl he was going to take': Suspect targeted girl after seeing her board school bus 15 January 2019 — 11:01am Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Whatsapp Send via Email Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size A Wisconsin man accused of abducting 13-year-old Jayme Closs and holding her captive for three months made up his mind to take her when he spotted the teenager getting on a school bus near her home, authorities said on Monday. Jake Thomas Patterson, 21, told detectives that "he knew that was the girl he was going to take," and he made two aborted trips to her family's home before finally carrying out an attack in which he fatally shot Jayme's mother in front of her, according to a criminal complaint filed hours before Patterson's first court appearance. Jayme Closs went missing after her parents were found fatally shot. Jayme Closs went missing after her parents were found fatally shot.CREDIT:AP Prosecutors charged him with kidnapping Jayme and killing her parents on October 15 near Barron, about 90 miles (144km) north-east of Minneapolis. He was also charged with armed robbery. Investigators believe Patterson hid Jayme in a remote cabin before she escaped on Thursday. Police have said the two did not know each other. Advertisement Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald holds up the booking photo of Jake Thomas Patterson, who allegedly kidnapped Jayme Closs. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald holds up the booking photo of Jake Thomas Patterson, who allegedly kidnapped Jayme Closs.CREDIT:STAR TRIBUNE VIA AP Patterson sat expressionless during the court appearance, which he made via video feed from the county jail. He spoke only to acknowledge that his name and address were correct on paperwork and that he agreed to waive a speedy preliminary hearing. The judge set bail at US$5 million (AU$6.9 million). Patterson went to the home twice intending to kidnap Jayme, but broke off one attempt because too many cars were in the driveway and called off another because the house was too active, the complaint said. On the night she was abducted, Jayme told police, she was asleep in her room when the family dog started barking. She woke her parents as a car came up the driveway. She and her mother, Denise, hid in the bathroom, clutching one another in the bathtub with the shower curtain pulled shut. Her father, James, went to the front door. They heard a gunshot, and Jayme knew that James had just been killed, according to the complaint. Denise Closs started to call 911. Patterson broke down the bathroom door. Jayme said he was dressed in black, wearing a face mask and gloves and carrying a shotgun. Patterson told her mother to hang up and ordered her to tape Jayme's mouth shut. He told detectives that Denise Closs struggled with the tape so he wrapped the tape himself around Jayme's mouth and head. He then taped her hands behind her back and taped her ankles together before pulling her out of the bathtub and shooting her mother in the head. Play Video Found Wisconsin teen Jayme Closs is a 'hero' Play video 1:11 Found Wisconsin teen Jayme Closs is a 'hero' A Wisconsin teenager who was found this week after missing for three months, was hailed as a hero for helping police capture her kidnapper. He dragged Jayme outside, nearly slipping in blood pooled on the floor. He threw her in the trunk and drove off, pausing to yield to three squad cars speeding toward the house with flashing lights, the complaint said. Patterson took her to a cabin that he said was his, ordered her into a bedroom and told her to take off her clothes and get dressed in his sister's pyjamas. He then threw her clothes into a fireplace in the cabin's basement. Advertisement RELATED ARTICLE Jayme Closs went missing after her parents were found fatally shot. CRIME Girl found alive months after parents were killed Add to shortlist Whenever he had friends over, he made clear that no one could know she was there or "bad things could happen to her," so she had to hide under the bed. He sealed her under the bed with tote boxes and weights so she could not crawl out, according to the complaint. She had to stay under the bed whenever he left the house, sometimes going for hours without food, water or bathroom breaks. When his father visited, Patterson told investigators, he turned up the radio in the bedroom to cover any noise she might make. He said he assumed he had gotten away with the slayings and kidnappings after two weeks went by. He told detectives that on the night of the kidnapping he put stolen license plates on his car and removed an anti-kidnapping release cord from his trunk. He also shaved his head so he would not leave any hair behind and chose his father's Mossberg shotgun because he thought it was a common model that would be hard to trace. Patterson, who has no criminal history in Wisconsin, was described by people who knew him as a quiet and good student who participated in quiz bowl in high school. He wrote in his high school yearbook of wanting to join the Marines. On Monday, a spokeswoman for the Marines said Patterson lasted just a little more than month in the corps before washing out in October 2015. Patterson told detectives he worked at the Saputo Cheese Factory near Almena for just two days before quitting. The company did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press. His defense attorneys, Charles Glynn and Richard Jones, said they believe Patterson can get a fair trial, but they are not sure where. "It's been an emotional time for this community and a difficult time for this community. We don't take that lightly. But we have a job to do in protecting our client," Jones said. Patterson's relatives, including his father, Patrick, declined to comment after the hearing. After Jayme's disappearance, police collected more than 3500 tips, but no hard leads emerged. RELATED ARTICLE Jake Thomas Patterson, 21, has been charged with murdering a Wisconsin couple because he wanted to kidnap their 13-year-old daughter Jayme Closs (inset), US investigators say. CRIME Man arrested after abducted girl, 13, found alive Add to shortlist Then on Thursday, a woman walking her dog spotted Jayme along a road near Gordon, a town about an hour's drive north of Barron. The woman said the girl begged her for help, saying Patterson had been hiding her in a nearby cabin and that she had escaped when he left her alone. Neighbours called 911, and officers arrested Patterson within minutes. The New York Post published photos of the cabin Monday. The images showed a shabby living area with a couch, refrigerator, an old television set and an unfinished ceiling. Exterior photographs show a lean-to loaded with firewood, a three-car garage and an empty box of adult female diapers in a trash can. A sign over the cabin's front door reads "Patterson's Retreat." Authorities have not said whether Jayme was sexually assaulted. The complaint does not charge Patterson with any form of sexual assault. The narrative in the document does not say what Patterson did with her. Prosecutors said they expect to release more information on the case before Patterson's next hearing on February 6 and that additional charges could be brought in the county where Jayme was held. They gave no details. Barron County District Attorney Brian Wright declined to say any more about Patterson's motive after the hearing. But he praised Jayme for surviving. "She's 13 years old, and if you read the criminal complaint, you can see the amount of control that he was exerting over her. And at some point, she found it within herself at 13 years old to say, 'I'm going to get myself out of this situation.' I think it's incredible." AP Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Whatsapp Send via Email CRIME USA MOST VIEWED IN WORLD Australian woman's desperate messages from Thai immigration detention Australian woman's desperate messages from Thai immigration detention Add to shortlist Fast food on the menu as Trump congratulates Clemson football team Fast food on the menu as Trump congratulates Clemson football team Add to shortlist China hands death penalty to Canadian drug smuggler in retrial China hands death penalty to Canadian drug smuggler in retrial Add to shortlist Mayor of Gdansk dies after being stabbed on stage at charity event Mayor of Gdansk dies after being stabbed on stage at charity event Add to shortlist Trump declares there is 'no substitute' for a wall, shutdown drags on Trump declares there is 'no substitute' for a wall, shutdown drags on Add to shortlist 'Knew she was the girl he was going to take': Suspect targeted girl after seeing her board school bus 'Knew she was the girl he was going to take': Suspect targeted girl after seeing her board school bus Add to shortlist RECOMMENDED NATIONAL Fugitive David Perry dies in police custody on Great Ocean Road BUSINESS The mysterious billionaire: Who is MacKenzie Bezos? WORLD Trump unleashes Twitter storm as emboldened Democrats circle NATIONAL 'Hot under the collar': the best service provided by shopping centres FROM THE WEB MONEY Ask George: How do I make sure my death doesn't tax my kids? WORLD 'McJesus' sculpture sparks outrage for Christians in Israel MONEY People not as well off as they think, new study reveals NATIONAL Swimming with men: The Melbourne 'Fab Five' defying the statistics NATIONAL Scuffle as animal activist arrested at scene of cattle truck rollover NATIONAL 'A dead fish rots from the head down: heads must roll' Recommendations powered by plista The Sydney Morning Herald Twitter Facebook Instagram RSS OUR SITES CLASSIFIEDS THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD PRODUCTS & SERVICES Copyright © 2019 Feedback SUBSCRIBE 2. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/she-thought-it-was-beautiful-eleven-year-old-picks-up-blue-ringed-octopus-in-sydney-s-south-20190110-p50qn5.html 3. 'She thought it was beautiful': Eleven year old picks up blue-ringed octopus in Sydney's south Skip to sections navigationSkip to contentSkip to footer SubscribeLog In OPENMENU The Sydney Morning Herald 0 items in Shortlist Advertisement NATIONALNSWWATER SAFETY 'She thought it was beautiful': Eleven year old picks up blue-ringed octopus in Sydney's south You have 5 free articles remaining Unlock trusted independent news from only 50c a day. FIND OUT MORE Already subscribed? Log in Sarah Keoghan By Sarah Keoghan 10 January 2019 — 3:47pm Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Whatsapp Send via Email Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size 74 View all comments An eleven-year-old escaped injury after picking up a blue-ringed octopus while snorkelling in Sydney's south. Shire mum Julie Tattam said her daughter Amy came out of the water holding a shell at popular Cronulla swimming spot Salmon Haul on Wednesday about 1pm. "At first when she brought it up I thought it was a hermit crab, but once she told me it was an octopus I told her to drop it immediately," she said. Blue-ringed octopuses range from about four to six centimetres long, with arms reaching lengths of seven to 10 centimetres. Blue-ringed octopuses range from about four to six centimetres long, with arms reaching lengths of seven to 10 centimetres.CREDIT:JULIE TATTAM Moments after letting go, the octopus emerged from the shell that was protecting her hands from the potentially deadly sting. Advertisement "After that, its blue rings started to glow," she said. "We started to take photos, and later on Googled to confirm what we thought it was." According to the Australian Institute of Marine Science, the strong-fast acting toxin can be fatal and has caused the deaths of at least three people, two in Australia and one in Singapore. Within minutes of a sting, paralysis will overcome the victim's muscles by blocking the nerves from transmitting messages, resulting in a lack of oxygen in the body. After making the discovery, the family began to alert those around them, as well as other children who were playing on nearby rocks. After making the discovery, the family began to alert those around them, as well as multiple other children who were playing on the rocks nearby. After making the discovery, the family began to alert those around them, as well as multiple other children who were playing on the rocks nearby.CREDIT:JULIE TATTAM Advertisement "A few people with little kids packed up and left," she said. "We went back to the area a few hours later and saw that someone or something had squashed it, which is sad for the poor little thing, but also good to know it's not back in the water." Ms Tattam said she was terrified once she learned it was, in fact, a blue-ringed octopus and how serious the situation could have been. "Amy was pretty okay about it the whole time though; she thought it was beautiful," she said. Blue-ringed octopuses range from about four to six centimetres long, with arms reaching lengths of seven to 10 centimetres. "I heard about blue-ringed octopuses growing up but have never seen one myself, I always thought they were big, not small like this one," she said. Advertisement Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Whatsapp Send via Email License this article WATER SAFETY ANIMALS Sarah Keoghan Sarah Keoghan Sarah is a journalist for The Sydney Morning Herald. MOST VIEWED IN NATIONAL Two unvaccinated children with measles on flight to Sydney Two unvaccinated children with measles on flight to Sydney Add to shortlist Struggling to understand his classes, Zhikai Liu took his own life Struggling to understand his classes, Zhikai Liu took his own life Add to shortlist Deadly bat virus warning: 8 people bitten and scratched across Sydney Deadly bat virus warning: 8 people bitten and scratched across Sydney Add to shortlist Wendy worms her way south for Sydney's $20b metro rail line Wendy worms her way south for Sydney's $20b metro rail line Add to shortlist A 'building site': Tower residents told to stay away from their homes A 'building site': Tower residents told to stay away from their homes Add to shortlist Driverless train runs full length of new Sydney line ahead of opening Driverless train runs full length of new Sydney line ahead of opening Add to shortlist Loading RECOMMENDED NATIONAL Fugitive David Perry dies in police custody on Great Ocean Road BUSINESS The mysterious billionaire: Who is MacKenzie Bezos? WORLD Trump unleashes Twitter storm as emboldened Democrats circle NATIONAL 'Hot under the collar': the best service provided by shopping centres FROM THE WEB MONEY Ask George: How do I make sure my death doesn't tax my kids? WORLD 'McJesus' sculpture sparks outrage for Christians in Israel MONEY People not as well off as they think, new study reveals NATIONAL Swimming with men: The Melbourne 'Fab Five' defying the statistics NATIONAL Scuffle as animal activist arrested at scene of cattle truck rollover NATIONAL 'A dead fish rots from the head down: heads must roll' Recommendations powered by plista The Sydney Morning Herald Twitter Facebook Instagram RSS OUR SITES CLASSIFIEDS THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD PRODUCTS & SERVICES Copyright © 2019 Feedback SUBSCRIBE 4. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-ringed_octopus 5. Blue-ringed octopuses, comprising the genus Hapalochlaena, are four highly venomous species of octopus that are found in tide pools and coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans, from Japan to Australia.[2] They can be identified by their yellowish skin and characteristic blue and black rings that change color dramatically when the animal is threatened. They eat small animals, including crabs, hermit crabs, shrimp, and other crustaceans. Blue-ringed octopuses Hapalochlaena lunulata2.JPG Greater blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata) Scientific classification edit Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Cephalopoda Order: Octopoda Family: Octopodidae Genus: Hapalochlaena Robson, 1929[1] Type species Hapalochlaena lunulata Quoy & Gaimard, 1832 Species H. fasciata (Hoyle, 1886) H. lunulata (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832) H. maculosa Hoyle, 1883 H. nierstraszi (?) Adam, 1938 They are recognized as one of the world's most venomous marine animals.[3] Despite their small size—12 to 20 cm (5 to 8 in)—and relatively docile nature, they are dangerous to humans if provoked and handled because of their venom, which contains the powerful neurotoxin tetrodotoxin. The species tend to have a lifespan of approximately two years. This can vary depending on factors such as nutrition, temperature and the intensity of light in its habitat. Classification Behavior Reproduction Toxicity Popular culture References External links Last edited 2 days ago by an anonymous user RELATED ARTICLES 6. Toxicity Edit The blue-ringed octopus, despite its small size, carries enough venom to kill twenty-six adult humans within minutes. Their bites are tiny and often painless, with many victims not realizing they have been envenomated until respiratory depression and paralysis start to set in.[8] No blue-ringed octopus antivenom is available.[9] Venom Edit Blue-ringed octopus from New South Wales, Australia The octopus produces venom containing tetrodotoxin, histamine, tryptamine, octopamine, taurine, acetylcholine and dopamine. The venom can result in nausea, respiratory arrest, heart failure, severe and sometimes total paralysis, blindness, and can lead to death within minutes if not treated. Death, if it occurs, is usually from suffocation due to paralysis of the diaphragm. The major neurotoxin component of the blue-ringed octopus is a compound that was originally known as maculotoxin but was later found to be identical to tetrodotoxin,[10] a neurotoxin also found in pufferfish, and in some poison dart frogs.[11] Tetrodotoxin is 1,200 times more toxic than cyanide.[12] Tetrodotoxin blocks sodium channels, causing motor paralysis, and respiratory arrest within minutes of exposure. The tetrodotoxin is produced by bacteria in the salivary glands of the octopus.[13] Direct contact is necessary to be envenomated. Faced with danger, the octopus's first instinct is to flee. If the threat persists, the octopus will go into a defensive stance, and show its blue rings. If the octopus is cornered, and touched, the person would be in danger of being bitten and envenomated.[citation needed] Effects Edit Tetrodotoxin causes severe and often total body paralysis. Tetrodotoxin envenomation can result in victims being fully aware of their surroundings but unable to move. Because of the paralysis that occurs, they have no way of signaling for help or any way of indicating distress. The victim remains conscious and alert in a manner similar to curare or pancuronium bromide. This effect, however, is temporary and will fade over a period of hours as the tetrodotoxin is metabolized and excreted by the body. The symptoms vary in severity, with children being the most at risk because of their small body size. Treatment Edit First aid treatment is pressure on the wound and artificial respiration once the paralysis has disabled the victim's respiratory muscles, which often occurs within minutes of being bitten. Because the venom primarily kills through paralysis, victims are frequently saved if artificial respiration is started and maintained before marked cyanosis and hypotension develop. Efforts should be continued even if the victim appears not to be responding. Respiratory support until medical assistance arrives ensures the victims will generally recover.[citation needed] It is essential that rescue breathing be continued without pause until the paralysis subsides and the victim regains the ability to breathe on their own. This is a daunting physical prospect for a single individual, but use of a bag valve mask respirator reduces fatigue to sustainable levels until help can arrive.[citation needed] Definitive hospital treatment involves placing the patient on a medical ventilator until the toxin is removed by the body.[citation needed] Victims who survive the first twenty-four hours usually recover completely.[14] Popular culture References External links 7. https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/worlds-deadliest/00000144-0a32-d3cb-a96c-7b3f416f0000?source=relatedvideo 8. https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/00000161-e2c1-dcda-a37f-f3d792a70000 9. https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-10/donald-trump-government-shutdown-means-workers-going-without-pay/10704900?pfmredir=sm 10. Skip to main content NEWS link Search More from ABC Home Just In Politics World Analysis & Opinion Business Sport Science Health Arts Live Streams Video Photos Entertainment Upload Subscribe Rural Other Topics NEWS HOME US government shutdown means workers can't pay their mortgages as others work without pay UPDATED THU AT 5:20PM Email Facebook Twitter WhatsApp VIDEO 1:48 Trump walks out of border wall meeting ABC NEWS As the US Government shutdown edges towards being the longest in history, the impact it has been having on American families is becoming more overwhelming. The Government has been shut down since December 22 and President Donald Trump has warned it could drag on for months or even years if he doesn't get funding for a border wall. On Wednesday he walked out of a meeting with the Democrats to try and end the shutdown, saying it was a "total waste of time". Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump Just left a meeting with Chuck and Nancy, a total waste of time. I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Nancy said, NO. I said bye-bye, nothing else works! 253K 3:34 PM - Jan 9, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 179K people are talking about this But the longer it drags on, the more Government employees are being impacted. And it could get worse. FBI agents are among those working without pay FBI agents PHOTO An estimated 420,000 federal employees are working without pay, including the FBI. REUTERS: PETER MORGAN, FILE PHOTO Not all Government departments have been shut down. About three quarters of them remain open, including the Department of Defence and the Postal Service, which have secure funding. But about 800,000 employees from the departments of Homeland Security and Transportation, among others, have been furloughed or are working without pay. They work at the following departments: The Interior Department — including the National Park Service The Commerce Department The US Department of Health — including the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Department of Health and Human Services Department of Agriculture Transportation Department NASA Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. VIDEO 1:41 Angry furloughed government workers protesting shutdown ABC NEWS About 420,000 federal employees have had their work declared essential and are working without pay, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Transport Security Administration (TSA), staff at the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, and other federal law enforcement officers. Private contractors working for many government agencies are also without pay, along with private companies that rely on business from federal workers or other consumers — such as national park visitors. Employees are struggling to pay mortgages and bills A woman looks at a sign declaring the National Archive is closed PHOTO Some people are applying for loans to get by. REUTERS: JOSHUA ROBERTS Employees on unpaid leave have begun to face financial problems as the shutdown continues. As the ABC's North America correspondent Conor Duffy put it: "Losing one pay cheque means reworking the budget." There have been reports of people calling mortgage companies hoping to extend their loans or delay payments while some have had to leave bills unpaid. Others have been forced to cut back on food bills or electricity while some employees are seeking unemployment insurance or applying for loans to help them out while the partial shutdown continues. Single parent Leisyka Parrott, a Bureau of Land Management employee in California said she has been staying home as much as she can to reduce her expenses on petrol. "It's scary," she said. "I do live pay cheque to pay cheque." National parks, monuments are overflowing with rubbish A man throws rubbish into a bin that is surrounded by garbage bags. PHOTO Trash collection, restroom and road maintenance have been halted. AP: ANDREW HARNIK The National Park Service, under the umbrella of the Interior Department, is currently operating with a skeleton staff. Under its contingency plan, some parks may be accessible although the park service is providing no visitor services such as restrooms, facility and road maintenance and trash collection. Others have been closed completely, along with the Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo in Washington, which receive national government funding. Campgrounds have begun closing because of sanitation issues. Some volunteers have worked to clean up sites, according to media reports, and some states and other localities have also pitched in funding to keep parks operating. Airport queues are getting longer and flights could be delayed JetBlue planes PHOTO Travellers have already reported longer checkpoint lines. REUTERS: LUCAS JACKSON The TSA has acknowledged more screeners are calling in sick at some airports. This is because most airport screeners earn between $US26,000 ($36,200) and $US35,000 ($48,700) a year, according to TSA, which is far less than many other government employees. This makes them more vulnerable if they don't get paid. Travellers have already reported longer checkpoint lines, including at LaGuardia Airport in New York. President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association Paul Rinaldi said safety is not being compromised but that capacity to manage traffic could be reduced if the shutdown worsens an existing shortage of controllers. That could lead to flight delays, he said. Briefly people couldn't get married in Washington, DC A bride and groom take photos near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC PHOTO People hoping to get married could not obtain licences. FLICKR: PIET THEISOHN The courthouse office that issues marriage licenses in Washington, DC has been closed because the local courts are funded by the Federal Government. It meant that people hoping to get married couldn't obtain licences. But on Tuesday the DC council unanimously passed emergency legislation, valid for 90 days, allowing Mayor Muriel Bowser to issue marriage licenses in the interim. The economy will soon be impacted A Wall Street trader rests his head in his hand after a tough day PHOTO No economic data is being published. REUTERS: BRENDAN MCDERMID Economists have already warned that a prolonged shutdown could hit the US economy, with some analysts having already downgraded economic growth predictions as a result. That's because the shutdown is starting to impact private companies working with Government and outside of it. Meanwhile, work at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also been halted with "only an extremely limited number of staff". It's meant that any current investigations are now on hold and companies applying for stock offerings to raise cash or applications to consider merger and acquisition filings are not being reviewed. On top of this, the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau is not publishing economic data during the shutdown. That includes figures on gross domestic product, inflation, personal income, spending, trade and new home sales. This could eventually have an impact on the Federal Reserve and their interest rate decisions, since the data is used to see how the economy is tracking and whether monetary intervention is required. ABC/wires POSTED WED AT 11:02PM SHAREEmail Facebook Twitter WhatsApp RELATED 'Bye-bye': Trump walks out of meeting with Democrats over federal shutdown Trump isn't partial to facts — and he can't be beaten by them Trump has used one of his most powerful tools for the first time. Will it end the shutdown? Trump is holding firm on his border wall because caving will be a risky business Top Stories Socceroos hold out spirited Syria 3-2 to progress in Asian Cup Rahaf al Qunun became the world's most recognised refugee. Here's what she's doing next Missing German tourist's family sends heartbreaking letter revealing new clues Mine site sinkhole engulfs explosives truck Kyrgios keeps his distance from Tomic- Hewitt Davis Cup spat 'Australian nightmare': Residents vent as Opal Tower report released The Brexit vote is fast approaching. So what happens if Theresa May loses? Gillette faces talks of boycott over ad campaign railing against toxic masculinity ‘Very large people that like eating’: Trump’s fast-food feast for footballers at the White House Zimbabwe protests turn deadly after petrol prices become most expensive in the world US judge blocks Trump's rules allowing businesses to deny women contraceptives in health insurance Toto's Africa to blast in a secret Namibian desert location 'for all eternity' Ton-up Kohli, chasing Dhoni help India level ODI series in Adelaide How much does Australia's economy rely on China? 'Second chance at life': Majak Daw vows to return to footy Former priest avoids jail for abusing girl, who was then told she would 'burn in hell' Is having pets in your bed healthy? The House family now homeschool their kids. Why parents make the switch MORE FROM ABC NEWS HomeJust InPoliticsWorldAnalysis & OpinionBusinessSportScienceHealthArtsLive StreamsVideoPhotosEntertainmentUploadSubscribeRuralOther Topics Top of page Change to standard view ABC NewsJust InWorldBusinessHealthEntertainmentSportAnalysis & OpinionWeatherTopicsArchiveCorrections & Clarifications Terms of UsePrivacy PolicyAccessibilityContact the ABC© 2019 ABC 11. https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-15/sink-hole-opens-in-mine-site-pit-in-wa/10717758 12. Skip to main content NEWS link Search More from ABC Home Just In Politics World Analysis & Opinion Business Sport Science Health Arts Live Streams Video Photos Entertainment Upload Subscribe Rural Other Topics NEWS HOME Explosives truck engulfed by sinkhole in 'significant incident' on WA mine site BY NIKKI ROBERTS UPDATED ABOUT 9 HOURS AGO Email Facebook Twitter WhatsApp An aerial shot of the sink hole with two mining vehicles sitting at the bottom of it. PHOTO A sink hole opened up at a WA mine site, swallowing a blast truck and a tool carrier. SUPPLIED: DEPARTMENT OF MINES A 13-metre-deep sinkhole opened up at a Western Australian mine site, swallowing two unoccupied mining vehicles not far from where four people were working, a report has revealed. The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety has released a "significant incident report" on the pit-floor collapse which occurred last October. The document did not disclose the name or location of the mine site, but said the area of the pit that collapsed had previously been mined, then backfilled in stages since 2016. It also said surface drilling and blasting activities were taking place in the area when the sinkhole opened up, resulting, "in the loss of an integrated tool carrier and an explosives truck that were parked in the blast pattern". "A number of charged blast holes were also engulfed in the sinkhole," the report noted. Hazard warning not heeded It also revealed the area had been identified as a hazard in December 2017, but "recommended controls" had not been followed. "At the time of subsidence, the backfilled underground workings were not treated as void, allowing work to be undertaken in an area of unknown stability," it said. But it added that the exact cause had not been determined because of a lack of access, records and uncertainty about the "void shape and material". The department's investigation into the incident is ongoing. POSTED ABOUT 9 HOURS AGO SHAREEmail Facebook Twitter WhatsApp Top Stories Socceroos hold out spirited Syria 3-2 to progress in Asian Cup Rahaf al Qunun became the world's most recognised refugee. Here's what she's doing next Missing German tourist's family sends heartbreaking letter revealing new clues Mine site sinkhole engulfs explosives truck Kyrgios keeps his distance from Tomic- Hewitt Davis Cup spat 'Australian nightmare': Residents vent as Opal Tower report released The Brexit vote is fast approaching. So what happens if Theresa May loses? Gillette faces talks of boycott over ad campaign railing against toxic masculinity ‘Very large people that like eating’: Trump’s fast-food feast for footballers at the White House Zimbabwe protests turn deadly after petrol prices become most expensive in the world US judge blocks Trump's rules allowing businesses to deny women contraceptives in health insurance Toto's Africa to blast in a secret Namibian desert location 'for all eternity' Ton-up Kohli, chasing Dhoni help India level ODI series in Adelaide How much does Australia's economy rely on China? 'Second chance at life': Majak Daw vows to return to footy Former priest avoids jail for abusing girl, who was then told she would 'burn in hell' Is having pets in your bed healthy? The House family now homeschool their kids. Why parents make the switch MORE FROM ABC NEWS HomeJust InPoliticsWorldAnalysis & OpinionBusinessSportScienceHealthArtsLive StreamsVideoPhotosEntertainmentUploadSubscribeRuralOther Topics Top of page Change to standard view ABC NewsJust InWorldBusinessHealthEntertainmentSportAnalysis & OpinionWeatherTopicsArchiveCorrections & Clarifications Terms of UsePrivacy PolicyAccessibilityContact the ABC© 2019 ABC 13. https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-15/zimbabwe-protests-turn-deadly-after-fuel-price-hike/10717892 14. Skip to main content NEWS link Search More from ABC Home Just In Politics World Analysis & Opinion Business Sport Science Health Arts Live Streams Video Photos Entertainment Upload Subscribe Rural Other Topics NEWS HOME Zimbabwe protests turn deadly after petrol prices become most expensive in the world BY SIOBHAN HEANUE AND WIRES UPDATED ABOUT 4 HOURS AGO Email Facebook Twitter WhatsApp Hundreds of people run from smoke on a street in Harare, Zimbabwe. PHOTO Protesters gathered on the streets of Harare after the Government increased petrol prices. AP: TSVANGIRAYI MUKWAZHI Street clashes in Zimbabwe have turned deadly, with security forces confronting protesters who are railing against a hike in fuel prices during the country's worst economic crisis in a decade. Key points: Several killed, 200 arrested in protests over fuel hike Witnesses reported security forces firing tear gas at mounting crowds Locals have reported widespread internet shutdowns, with social media platforms blocked Several people have been killed and at least 200 arrested in the midst of a nationwide strike. The violence comes amid ongoing economic turmoil, with chronic unemployment and an acute shortage of hard currency in the country. The strikes and protests were called after the Government increased the price of petrol by 150 per cent, without any warning, in a bid to ease fuel shortages. Zimbabwe is now the most expensive place in the world to buy petrol, with a litre costing $4.60. A woman sits in a wheelbarrow with a brown shirt wrapped around her leg. Her skirt is stained with blood. PHOTO A woman with an injured leg had to be carried by wheelbarrow during the clashes. AP: TSVANGIRAYI MUKWAZHI The average wage in Zimbabwe is about $320 a month, but the unemployment rate is 90 per cent, with most people working in the informal economy. The Government offered public servants a wage increase after the protests turned deadly. It has promised public workers a supplement of between 5 and 23 per cent of their salaries for the next three months. Social media disabled amid looting and riots Men and boys run away as a tyre is set on fire. PHOTO Several people died and hundreds were arrested after security forces fired bullets into crowds of protesters. AP: TSVANGIRAYI MUKWAZHI People burned tyres and barricaded roads as the protests swelled, and most shops and schools in the main cities of Harare and Bulawayo were shut down. There were eyewitness reports and videos of looting and of riot police using tear gas to disperse crowds. The headquarters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party was set alight by arsonists amid the chaos. Locals have reported widespread internet shutdowns and social media platforms have been blocked in parts of the country. David Coltart ✔ @DavidColtart It appears as if the government has shut down the internet in #Zimbabwe. I can only post this because I have a vpn. @UKinZimbabwe @SABCNewsOnline @CapeTalk @euinzim @UKSimonT @simonallison @burke_jason @Smith_JeffreyT @SADC_News 175 2:58 AM - Jan 15, 2019 · Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Twitter Ads info and privacy 148 people are talking about this Fadzayi Mahere 🇿🇼 @advocatemahere Data shutdown in Zimbabwe. Most people using a VPN. Praying for peace and a Govt that cares for the people.#shutdownZim 946 2:03 AM - Jan 15, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 473 people are talking about this The ruling Zanu-PF Party, led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has been unable to reverse the country's economic collapse since it won elections in August last year. The polls were controversial, with widespread accusations of vote-rigging. The latest violence echoes post-election clashes in August, which saw six people killed when troops opened fire on protesters in Harare. Mr Mnangagwa is currently en route to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa leaves the polling station after casting his vote PHOTO Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa was in Russia when the protests broke out, and has been called upon to return. AP: JEROME DELAY, FILE PHOTO During an official visit to Moscow, he announced that Zimbabwe would be interested in receiving Russian loans. The extreme devaluation of the Zimbabwean official currency, known as bollars, means the country is exporting virtually nothing while racking up debts on imports. Some Zimbabweans called on Mr Mnangagwa to return to the country to deal with the crisis. Embedded video Fadzayi Mahere 🇿🇼 @advocatemahere Zimbabwe is burning while @edmnangagwa eats cake in his Dreamliner. If I were him, I would cancel the trip & address the discontent. All Zimbabweans want is a better life & dignity - not a Govt that expects the people to “take the pain” while they swim in luxury.#shutdownZim 1,067 11:37 AM - Jan 14, 2019 463 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy ABC/Reuters POSTED ABOUT 7 HOURS AGO SHAREEmail Facebook Twitter WhatsApp Top Stories Socceroos hold out spirited Syria 3-2 to progress in Asian Cup Rahaf al Qunun became the world's most recognised refugee. Here's what she's doing next Missing German tourist's family sends heartbreaking letter revealing new clues Mine site sinkhole engulfs explosives truck Kyrgios keeps his distance from Tomic- Hewitt Davis Cup spat 'Australian nightmare': Residents vent as Opal Tower report released The Brexit vote is fast approaching. So what happens if Theresa May loses? Gillette faces talks of boycott over ad campaign railing against toxic masculinity ‘Very large people that like eating’: Trump’s fast-food feast for footballers at the White House Zimbabwe protests turn deadly after petrol prices become most expensive in the world US judge blocks Trump's rules allowing businesses to deny women contraceptives in health insurance Toto's Africa to blast in a secret Namibian desert location 'for all eternity' Ton-up Kohli, chasing Dhoni help India level ODI series in Adelaide How much does Australia's economy rely on China? 'Second chance at life': Majak Daw vows to return to footy Former priest avoids jail for abusing girl, who was then told she would 'burn in hell' Is having pets in your bed healthy? The House family now homeschool their kids. Why parents make the switch MORE FROM ABC NEWS HomeJust InPoliticsWorldAnalysis & OpinionBusinessSportScienceHealthArtsLive StreamsVideoPhotosEntertainmentUploadSubscribeRuralOther Topics Top of page Change to standard view ABC NewsJust InWorldBusinessHealthEntertainmentSportAnalysis & OpinionWeatherTopicsArchiveCorrections & Clarifications Terms of UsePrivacy PolicyAccessibilityContact the ABC© 2019 ABC 15. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wcgawK3t1_s 16. Kids Screamed as Mom Drove Van into Ocean, Rescuers Say | Nightline | ABC News 13,214,927 views ABC News 5,111,871 subscribers Published on Mar 6, 2014 A pregnant mother of 3 drives directly into the Atlantic ocean as one child dangles of of the window yelling "help us." Bystanders who rushed to save three kids from the sinking minivan detail the harrowing moments. SUBSCRIBE for the latest news and updates from ABC News ► http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c... To read the full story and others, visit http://www.abcnews.com Watch more news stories from ABC News! More From Nightline ► [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPy38... Similar segments from ABC News ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blxpm... A man who helped pull three children from a sinking minivan said he tried to stop the mother from driving the vehicle in the into rough surf on a Florida beach, but she suddenly veered away and plowed into the water. Stacy Robinson, a sophomore at Seminole State College in Sanford, Fla., said he and his girlfriend were sitting in their car at the beach in Daytona Beach, Fla., when they saw a woman, who police have identified as Ebony Wilkerson, 32, from Cross, S.C., driving a minivan partly in the rough surf. "[My girlfriend] said what I thought was a joke and [I] was like, 'No, this is real', because after that her son came out the window, probably about waist high, screaming for help," Robinson said. --To read the full story and others, visit http://www.abcnews.com Follow ABC News across the web! Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/abcnews Twitter: http://twitter.com/ABC Instagram: https://instagram.com/ABCNews/ See miraculous and dramatic survival stories from around the globe. Learn what US Soldiers in the field, surfers battling great white sharks, and domestic violence victims have in common -- their instinct to survive. Watch how to survive a shark attack, and how a man survives a skydiving fall. Get the tips and tricks from experts on how to survive in dire situations. Hear others harrowing stories of survival, near death experiences, fluke accidents and the fight to stay alive. Nightline is a 30 minute late-night news program currently airing weeknights on ABC at 12:35am | 1:35am ET. Hosts Juju Chang, Dan Abrams and Dan Harris bring you in-depth reporting on the major stories, hot topics, and the day’s breaking news. You can catch Nightline every night just after Jimmy Kimmel Live! Make ABC News your daily news outlet for breaking national and world news, broadcast video coverage, and exclusive interviews that will help you stay up to date on the events shaping our world. ABC News’ show roster has both leaders in daily evening and morning programming. Kick start your weekday mornings with news updates from Good Morning America (GMA) and Sundays with This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Get your evening fix with 20/20, Nightline, and ABC World News Tonight with David Muir. Head to abc.go.com for programming schedule and more information on ABC News. Category News & Politics Up nextAutoplay 5:44 Daughter Recounts Mother Running Over Father With Car in Terrified 911 Call - Crime Watch Daily True Crime Daily 14M views LIVE NOW Trump's Attorney General 17. Grant Lee smoking dope in a vehicle with expired tags. DUMB 2 months ago 1.2K David Webb Grant Lee Dumb, of course, did it justify being executed? 2 months ago 99 Black Sheep @David Webb Maybe it didn't, but I don't give a shit. 2 months ago 62 Grant Lee @David Webb he didn't deserve to die.. he was dumb though. 2 months ago 52 kms55967 Not as dumb/evil as someone who would execute someone when they weren't in harm's way! 2 months ago 47 Cavity Creep Murdering a Hebrew DUMBER 2 months ago 6 Juggalokanex6 Murdering someone in cold blood, even more so... making a comment about that part instead of the real crime, makes you much worse than the guy in the video that smoked and died. 2 months ago 36 cassidra cheek Like youve never done anything please 2 months ago 8 cassidra cheek @Black Sheep what if this was your brother , son this is whats wrong with this country. To many people just dont care about life especially ours. Why are you on here. 2 months ago 25 Black Sheep @cassidra cheek I used to care, but I don't care anymore. I'm desensitized now. These guys need to adapt to their enviornment if they don't want to die. Simple. 2 months ago 29 Jared Baker Look at the shape of that guys face and head. He was deformed. 2 months ago 3 Tom Nguyen “I will just roll up my windows and drive away from this nice police officer....” But he dindu nuffing 18. Trucking Trucker @Sficlassic That jokes makes no sense and sucks. 1 month ago 5 hooks wu EyeInTheSky yes just like ur he didnt c that devil comin 1 month ago hooks wu Johnny Begood cracker boy none original cave dweller Caucasians this is who yall the white devil man the worlds true terrorist 1 month ago 3 hooks wu Johnny Be good yall mother is an idiot caucus mountain devil 1 month ago 3 Johnny Be good 19. Donald Trump2020 We all will have our last meal 1 month ago (edited) 11 Trucking Trucker @Sficlassic That jokes makes no sense and sucks. 1 month ago 5 hooks wu EyeInTheSky yes just like ur he didnt c that devil comin 1 month ago hooks wu Johnny Begood cracker boy none original cave dweller Caucasians this is who yall the white devil man the worlds true terrorist 1 month ago 3 hooks wu Johnny Be good yall mother is an idiot caucus mountain devil 1 month ago 3 Johnny Be good @hooks wu I'm not even white you dumb ignorant RACIST LMFAO LMFAO LMFAO LMFAO LMFAO LMFAO LMFAO. Learn correct grammar and how to make full & complete sentences before spewing ignorant racist remarks dumbass lmao 1 month ago (edited) 15 Johnny Be good @hooks wu of course the unintelligent always resort to name calling just as you have lmao! I'm guessing you never finished high school? Is that a fair assumption? You'll most likely end up like these men who were pulled over and become yet another statistic lol 1 month ago (edited) 5 Philippe Riopel Sonic in Québec is a gas station... 1 month ago 1 Jr Esparza I believe the "Police Lead Biscuits" that were delivered and served piping hot and fresh were his last meal..... 1 month ago 4 20. Baz Brown Bottom line...Texas will be a little bit safer now. 1 month ago 6 ewan thomas Damn dirty apes!! 1 month ago 4 Ace of Spades Oshae Terry was a known drug dealer- he caused his own death 2 months ago 75 shinto666 Good im glad he shot and killed him. Serves him right. No tears for this "homie".😂 1 month ago 10 SupaNami looks like a justified shooting!! 1 week ago

[theycallmebeccawrites]

Adventures in Parenting - Chris & Nikki Q&A

With Tumblr holding my original writing blog @beccaheartschrisevans captive (aka flagged as explicit), I have made a secondary writing blog and may end up closing the other all together. In the meantime, I am reposting all of my stories on my new blog.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Nikki Evans (OFC) Rating: PG-13 Warnings: language? Summary: A “podcast transcript” of a Q&A with Chris & Nikki set in February 2021.

Adventures in Parenting (Chris & Nikki) Masterlist

Chris & Nikki Q&A (February 2021)

Please note this is written as if it were a blog post with a podcast transcript.

February 17, 2021

Hello my fellow mommies and daddies! I have an extra special treat for you all today! My best friend/sister-in-law, Nikki, and her husband, Chris, have agreed to take part in an extra special podcast right here on my parenting blog!

So what is so special about my fabulous sister- and brother-in-law? Well she is a hot momma of three of the cutest kids on planet earth (joined by my little ones, of course) and he is Captain America…. Or rather, he played Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for 8 years.

I have been trying to get Nikki to take part in a podcast since I started doing them last year and I finally convinced her to sit down with me this past weekend. Originally it was just going to be the two of us, but then our husbands caught wind of it and decided they wanted to take part as well.

So here is the link to the podcast as well as a link to the transcript in case you can’t download the podcast for whatever reason.

Love Always,

Dana

–Transcript–

Dana: Hello to all my returning listeners and to all my new listeners. Even those of you who are only listening to this podcast because of Chris Evans…

Chris: It’s their loss if they are. You’re awesome and you’re one of the best moms I’ve ever been around.

Mikey: Suck up. [Coughs]

Dana: Thank you Chris. You’re my favorite brother-in-law.

Nikki: [Laughing] Not even a minute into this podcast and we’re already off topic.

Dana: You’re right, Nikki. I meant to start this with introductions. So I will start with myself for those that aren’t familiar with my voice. I am Dana and this is my blog/podcast. Mikey is my husband, we’ve been married for nearly ten years. Say hi, Mikey.

Mikey: Hi Mikey [He and Chris snicker]

Dana: You two are predictable. Moving on… next we have my best friend and partner in crime, Nikki. Who also happens to be Mikey’s step-sister. Say hello to the beautiful listeners Nikki.

Nikki: Hello everyone!

Dana: Last, but certainly not least, I present Nikki’s husband, Chris Evans. Chris say hello.

Chris: [Chuckling] I’m not used to being introduced as Nikki’s husband, I like it…

Nikki: I do too. [Smooching sound]

Mikey: Really? Already with the kissing… you two are gross.

Dana: And this is why this was just supposed to be a podcast with me and Nikki only. I’m going to have so much stuff to edit out.

Nikki: [Laughing] Sorry… I just can’t help myself sometimes. He is just so darn cute!

Chris: Hot… so darn hot!

Dana: Anyway….. Thank you Chris and Nikki for agreeing to take part of this podcast. Mikey and I know how hard you two work to keep your relationship and, especially, your kids, out of the public eye.

Nikki: We love you and we trust you. We know you won’t publish anything too revealing about us and the kids.

Chris: That and we know where you live and we actually have a key to your house and the code to the alarm system… there really isn’t any place you can hide from us…

Mikey: Geez Evans, don’t make me embarrass you by beating you up again. My muscles are just as big as yours.

Chris: Only because I haven’t been busting my as- [clears throat] -er, I mean, only because I haven’t been training as hard as I did when I was playing Cap every six months.

Dana: I told you we should have locked them in the man cave before we started this.

Nikki: [Snickers] Maybe we should just move onto the questions you prepared for us before they start comparing the size of other things…

Chris & Mikey: Nikki!

Dana: Alright, this first question is about how the two of you met. Now, I know Mikey and I already know the answer to this, but our listeners don’t.

Nikki: We met in August 1997, right after my mom and Mikey’s dad got married. I was 12 at the time and Chris was 16.

Chris: Mikey and I have been best friends since we were like 5 years old and we grew up across the street from each other. Our parents actually still live in those same houses. Which makes it very convenient for holidays and such.

Dana: Nikki, you and I have spent a lot of time talking about this. Hell, I’ve known you since before Chris and even Mikey, since we were both the “new girl” at school in 1996. But I’ve never heard Chris’s thoughts about your first meeting.

Chris: Honestly? I didn’t have any. Like Nikki said, she was 12 and I was 16. She was just my best friend’s new kid sister.

Nikki: While I, on the other hand, thought he was the cutest guy I’d ever seen. And I suppose I should mention that I was a month shy of turning 13 when we met.

Dana: So it wasn’t really love at first sight for you guys then.

Mikey: Well Nikki thought she was in love for a while. I found a couple notebooks that had ‘Mrs. Chris Evans’ written in a heart…

Nikki: Chris was the first guy I ever had a crush on, so yeah, I thought I was in love with him. Then he graduated high school and I started liking and, eventually, dating other guys.

Dana: Which leads me directly to how you two got together. And I will start this by informing the listeners that you guys we reintroduced at mine and Mikey’s wedding nearly ten years ago. Nikki was my maid of honor and Chris was Mikey’s best man. So what was it about the other that caught your attention?

Chris: Well, naturally, the first thing I noticed about her was her beauty, especially her smile.

Nikki: And then you realized who I was and you went from flirt mode to protect the bro code mode.

Mikey: Not that he protected it for very long….

Chris: Says the one who married his sister’s best friend….

Dana: Guys… don’t make me put you in time out…

Chris & Mikey: Yes mom

Nikki: [Chuckling] As soon as Chris had a couple beers in him at the rehearsal dinner and found out that Dana and I were best friends, the bro code got tossed out the window

Chris: You’re making me sound like a pig, Nik… I also threw out the code because I saw you interacting with your younger half-sisters and then my family, especially my nephews and something just clicked in my head. I knew you were the one when my nephew put a chocolate hand print on that pink sundress you were wearing and instead of freaking out like girls I had dated in the past, you just laughed it off and gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Nikki: Oh, Chris! [Sniffles] You’ve never told me that before. I didn’t even know you’d witnessed that. Much less knew that night that you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me.

Chris: I’ve meant to tell you for a while now, but I guess I never did. Especially, since I had to spend six weeks convincing you that I really wanted to be in a relationship with you.

Mikey: I remember those six weeks. Here I was a newlywed, expecting to get extra loving from my new wife only to find myself in bed alone while Dana was on the phone with Nikki for hours and hours.

Nikki: It was a lot to take in. Chris and I hadn’t seen each other for 13 years and he was a few weeks away from the release of the first Captain America. Plus I was attracted to him, but I wasn’t sure if what I was feeling for him was real and adult or just left over from my youth.

Chris: And she waited until I was in the middle of the promo tour to agree to a date with me. Then after the promo tour and premier was over for the movie, I had to report back to filming for Avengers. So we didn’t have our first date until the middle of August.

Dana: Tell us about your first date.

Nikki: I bought a great dress for it and he got to my apartment and told me to go change into pants because I couldn’t do what we were going to do in a dress.

Chris: I told you to change after I told you how gorgeous you looked and that I would happily change the plans I had made for us.

Nikki: That’s right, you did. But you’d been telling me for weeks over text messages and the phone that you’d planned a great first date for us and I didn’t want you to change anything.

Mikey: You guys went mini golfing right?

Chris: Yeah, I took her out for dinner and then we went mini golfing. She totally beat me.

Nikki: I still don’t believe I beat you without you throwing the game. You love golfing, I don’t. I’m good at sports that don’t require me to hold on to something.

Chris: I didn’t let you win. I was just distracted by your beauty and wishing I had kissed you the minute you’d opened your front door.

Nikki: [Laughing] You are so full of bs.

Mikey: [Groans] Again with the kissing?! Dana ask them another question!

Dana: So Chris said he knew the night you guys were reintroduced that you were the one he wanted to marry. When did you know you wanted to marry Chris, Nikki?

Nikki: I knew by my birthday, which was about a month after our first date. He was in Ohio for most of that time because of filming, but we spent just about every free moment we had talking on the phone or texting.

Chris: I wooed her.

Nikki: You did.

Dana: How long was it before you guys started talking about getting married? I mean, it couldn’t have been long because Chris proposed on New Year’s Eve.

Chris: I think our first conversation about marriage and kids happened when she came to visit me while I was filming in Ohio, which was in like mid to late September.

Nikki: It was just after the Patriot’s game ended. I was due to leave the next morning and I think we stayed up most of the night just talking about where we saw ourselves in ten years.

Chris: And look where we are now. It’s been nearly ten years and everything we dreamed about has come true. We have three amazing kids, two great dogs and a terrible cat.

Nikki: [Laughing] Oh don’t even say that. You love Sadie as much as the rest of us do.

Dana: So where do you guys see yourselves in ten years?

Mikey: Wait! You teased about the proposal, shouldn’t you ask them about that first before moving on to the future?

Dana: Oh, right. Quick recap of the proposal and wedding?

Chris: [Chuckling] Like you said, I proposed to her on New Year’s Eve in 2011. My mom was hosting a party at her house and, like always, Nikki and Mikey’s parents offered her use of their fridge for extra food. So my mom, who was totally in on the whole plan, sent Nikki and I across the street to get more food and I proposed to Nikki in the kitchen where we met back in 1997.

Dana: [Squeals] I know I knew about it ahead of time and I’ve known the story for ten years, but I just get excited whenever I hear one of you guys tell that story! Just gives me all the feels!

Mikey: The feels? Seriously? Are people still saying that? Wasn’t that like soooo five years ago?

Nikki: It gives me the feels too. Especially when you add the fact that we got married nearly 15 years to the day that we first met.

Dana: If only that venue had been available on the August 1st instead of August 4th.

Chris: I think it all worked out perfectly in the end, just the way we wanted it to.

Nikki: It really was perfect. We got married at this fully restored, 100 year old barn about thirty minutes from Sudbury. It was a gorgeous venue.

Chris: And a gorgeous bride.

Nikki: Don’t forget the hot groom who was rocking a sexy suit.

Chris: You know me, I won’t wear a suit that isn’t sexy.

Mikey: Ugh seriously! [Groans] Dana ask them the 10 year question so they stop making out over there

Dana: [Laughing] Alright, for real this time. Where do you two see yourselves in ten years. Both career and family wise.

Chris: Family wise, I think we’re both open to having more kids.

Nikki: I’d love more kids. Whether it be through us having more biological children or adopting from within the United States or even internationally.

Mikey: You’re almost 40, Chris [Grunts in pain] Hey! What was that for!

Chris: For reminding me I’m almost 40, but please continue…

Mikey: Promise not to hit me again?

Chris: You have thirty seconds to spit out whatever you were going to say.

Mikey: [Talks fast] How late into your 40s do you plan on having kids? Because Rachie is almost 4 and you’re going to be 54 when she graduates high school.

Chris: I haven’t really thought about it too much, if I’m being totally honest. I suppose I should though…

Nikki: I think that is totally ok, it’s not like we can change anything after the fact. Some people meet their significant other young and have kids young. We didn’t and that is totally ok, too. So we’ll be old when our youngest babies graduate high school… that’s perfectly fine with me as long as you’re by my side.

Mikey: [Groans] And they’re kissing again, honestly you two!

Dana: What about career wise? You just did your first animated film with Disney, didn’t you Chris?

Chris: I’m not technically allowed to talk about it just yet… but yes, I’m lending my voice to an animated character and it’s not what people would expect from me. But other than that, I’ve enjoyed taking some time off with Nikki and the kids, but I’ve also enjoyed doing some theater and getting behind the camera some more too.

Dana: I suppose we should move onto the parenting questions since this is a parenting blog. However, because we’ve already used up more than two-thirds of our podcast time, we’ll have to be quick with these questions so we can play ‘Who is’

Nikki: Sounds good to me.

Dana: Alright, since we are short on time, I will just inform the listeners that you two have three kids, a 7 year old, a 5 year old and a 3 year old. Do they have set bedtimes?

Chris: We try to keep them on the same schedule as much as possible, but life happens and sometimes you have to roll with the punches.

Nikki: On the weeks we do manage to have all the kids in bed by 8 and asleep by 8:30, we have a family movie night on Friday and we let the kids stay up an extra half hour.

Dana: What a perfect transition to my next question! We grew up without a lot of the technology that is a part of our everyday lives now. There are hundreds of studies about kids and their addictions to phones, iPads, computers and other things even as young as 2 or 3. How are you guys dealing with that?

Chris: Nikki and I both realized how attached we were to our phones when Josh was born and we kind of took a step back from things. Especially when he wanted to hold said phones. But we have set rules in place to help limit their use of technology.

Nikki: We have lots of timers and electronics that turn themselves off and remain off for certain amounts of time. We’ve had to adjust some of Josh’s computer time to allow for the homework assignments that require him to be on the computer, though.

Chris: Nikki and I are both outdoorsy people

Mikey: [Snorts with laughter]

Chris: Ok… so I’m an outdoorsy person and Nikki tolerates it as long as I don’t make her sleep in a tent without an air mattress, go more than two days without showering or using a flushing toilet, and or make her touch a fish.

[All four laughing]

Chris: But like I was saying, our kids love being outdoors as well. The boys love splashing around in the rain and mud in the spring and fall as much as they door running through the sprinkler in the summer. And they love playing outside in the snow.

Nikki: Like father, like sons.

Chris: Exactly. So yes, we try to limit the amount of time they spend using technology, but we understand that it is a part of their future, we just want them to find a happy medium.

MIkey: So we’re all in agreement that our kids and your kids aren’t getting cell phones until they’re teenagers.

Chris: I was thinking more like sixteen. If they prove that they’re responsible enough for one.

Nikki: We really are ancient aren’t we? I’m pretty sure mom and dad got the twins cellphones for their 10th birthday.

Dana: I don’t want to think about how old we are. [Whines] Let’s play ‘Who Is’ instead!

Dana: So I’ll ask a question and you guys either answer with your own name or the other’s name.

Mikey: Am I playing?

Dana: No, just Nik and Chris.

Mikey: I’ll go get another drink then. Chris you want one?

Chris: Sounds good.

Dana: Alright, first question. Who is the cuddle bug?

Nikki: Depends on the situation, we both can be cuddly

Chris: But it’s usually her

Dana: Who is more affectionate?

Chris: This is another ‘depends on the situation’ question

Nikki: What he said

Dana: Who is more protective?

Nikki: Chris

Chris: I don’t know about that one babe, I’ve seen you go momma bear on some people…

Dana: Who reaches for the other’s hand first

Nikki: Depends on the situation. But I like holding his hand…

Chris: And I like holding hers.

Dana: You two are totally cheating in this game, by the way. Though, I’m pretty sure we all know the answer to this next tone. Who gives the silent treatment when they’re mad at the other.

Chris: Nikki

Nikki: [Laughing] Definitely me

Dana: Called it! Alright, how about this one who sneaks into the shower with the other in the morning?

Mikey: [Groans] I don’t want to hear this answer… I came back at the wrong time…

Nikki: [Laughing] I’m up with the sun and he likes to sleep in, so it’s definitely not him

Chris: You’ve snuck into the shower with me a time or two…

Nikki: That’s cause you’re hot and I can’t help myself.

Dana: Alright, well who initiates sexy times the most

Nikki: I’ve never really thought about it…

Chris: Me either…

Dana: Here’s another one that I’m pretty sure I know the answer to. Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear at inappropriate times?

Chris: I won’t even attempt to deny this one… though Nikki has said some pretty dirty things to me on red carpets…

Nikki: Only to help you relax…

Dana: I am very proud of you Nik! Alright who sings in the shower?

Nikki: That would be both of us.

Dana: Who takes the longest to get ready?

Nikki: [Snickering] Do you want to answer this one Chris?

Chris: Shut up. It’s not my fault you wake up so beautiful you don’t need to do much…

Nikki: You’re so full of it! [Laughing] But seriously, I’ve just perfect the mom has five minutes to get herself ready for the day look for my everyday life. But when it comes to getting ready for events, I do take much longer than he does… usually because it includes some sort of spa-like pampering.

Chris: It’s cause you deserve it.

Dana: Aww you guys are too cute! Speaking of events, who drags the other out to the dancer floor?

Nikki: I can usually coax him out there for a dance or two..

Chris: She is my weakness…

Dana: Alright, slight shift here to questions about being pregnant or rather when you were pregnant. Who suggested the most ridiculous names?

Chris: That would be me.

Nikki: And your friends. Chris Hemsworth suggested we name our eldest son Thor.

Dana: [Laughing] I had forgotten about that! Alright, who read the most ‘What to Expect’ books?

Chris: That would probably be me, too.

Nikki: Though it probably should have been me. But there were some nights that Chris would read it aloud to me.

Dana: Awwww!!! Gah, I want another baby…

Mikey: I think we’re done with the baby questions…

Dana: Spoil sport. [Clears throat] Alright, here are some travel themed ones. Who always gets the window seat on the planes?

Chris: Me, Nikki doesn’t like sitting by the window

Dana: Who is in charge of the radio during road trips?

Nikki: The driver

Chris: Unless his co-pilot convinces him to let her pick the music during the drive from Boston to Georgia…

Nikki: Oh hush, you loved the mix I put together and you know it.

Dana: Who over packs?

Nikki: That would be me. I overpack for myself and the kids.

Chris: And then she packs extra stuff for me, too.

Nikki: And I’ve saved his butt a couple times for doing so.

Dana: Who, without fail, accidentally leaves something important at home?

Chris: Guilty. I’m pretty sure we have a drawer full of extra phone chargers cause I always forget mine.

Dana: Who’s the most spontaneous?

Chris: Probably me, but only because Nikki can be a bit slow at making decisions

Nikki: True story.

Dana: Who is more likely to bring home a new pet

Nikki: Well we have a golden retriever named Boston that Chris found at a shelter while filming the second Captain America movie in Washington D.C.

Chris: His name was Boston! I couldn’t just leave him in D.C., it just wasn’t right! Plus, he is like the sweetest dog ever. But don’t tell Max, our other golden retriever, that, because I don’t want him to get jealous.

Nikki: Speaking of Max, he was a surprise present from Santa for our eldest son’s first Christmas

Chris: That was Mikey’s idea, because they had one puppy left from their dog’s liter

Mikey: Oh no, don’t drag me into this.

Dana: On to the next question!! Who kills the bugs?

Chris: As long as they aren’t spiders, I’ve got it.

Nikki: Though, you have started killing spiders for Rachie

Chris: That’s because she looks at me with her big blue eyes and suddenly the spiders aren’t so scary anymore because I need to protect her…

Dana: Be still my heart. [Sighs happily] Last question, who starts getting into the holidays way before they should?

Nikki: Both of us.

Chris: We never host Thanksgiving so we start decorating for Christmas the day after Halloween

Nikki: Bring on the Christmas carols

Chris: We like Christmas. We do Christmas good.

Mikey: And loud… and bright… how many lights did you have on your house last year, neighbor?

Chris: I don’t even know. But it made the kids smile and that’s all that matters.

Dana: Thank you guys so much for joining me for this podcast. It has been so much fun.

Nikki: Thank you for having us. Or rather, thanks for recording us? We do this all the time in real life.

Chris: Best of all, Mikey and I kept our potty mouths clean! That means we get beers!

Mikey: We get all the beer!

Dana: And on that lovely note, we will say goodbye for this podcast. I will be back again next week.

All Four: Night!

Want to find me off tumblr? I’m @beccatheycallme on twitter. I also post my stories on AO3 and Wattpad.

My tag list is always open, just let me know if you’d like to be added!

[avalindin]

Drawn

AU Lycan Tom

Chapter 16: Lost

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Previous Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

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Gertie closed the office door behind her as she enclosed them all away for the good of the pack she looked around the room to Benedict, Chris, Cecil and a trembling Elsa, whom was controlling herself beautifully as she did her part and tasted Tristan’s blood to ease her transformation.

It had been hours since the trusted ambulance had taken Anita to the hospital that would keep them away from regular civilians. Gertie told the police as much as they could without bring humans into the house and into their business.

“If anyone asks, it was a home invasion. Simple as that.”

“So,” said Benedict as he ran his fingers through his hair, “What do I tell the school?”

“She suffered a miscarriage and they need time.”

“Who was that guy?”

“All you need to know is that he got it through the front door and…”

Gertie shook her head and tried to compose herself. Cecil cleared his throat.

“It was Matilda, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. She used the fetus as a sacrifice. Whatever Tom did to injure her wasn’t enough.”

“Who was the guy?”

“Her toy, he was supposed to marry Anita.”

“So what happens now?”

Gertie sighed as she looked to her pack.

“Chris will take Elsa and keep her away from everyone. We’ll take the children. Ben, go back to the house and make sure everyone gets home. Cecil will help.”

“What about you?”

“I need to stay here with them. They will not understand and Anita will not be the same without the fetus. Our kind don’t miscarry. Ever. Her body will not accept this and she will need me here.”

Elsa still had the premonition of a joyous Tom and Anita at the back of her mind and now it was gone.

“Did she tell anyone yet?”

“No.”

-

She wasn’t sure why everything was hurting. She had to be healed by now. She just couldn’t understand. It had to all be a terrible nightmare.

She was still a little child, four years old as she walked from her hammock to her mother’s room. She remembered a man talking as she slept and how her mother cried when he left. The darkness shook her from her dreams as she heard the shadows tormenting her.

“Mama?”

The voices tried to follow her as she reached her mother’s bedroom door. The whisper became louder as she looked to the large shadow looming over her mother’s bed. He chuckled, stepping away and looking to the other body on the floor. She remembered his blonde hair covered in blood as she looked back to her mother. There was a line of blood around her throat as she fought to breathe. Anita’s little hands grabbed her tie dye sleep shirt out of fear and felt something trickling down her leg.

Her tears fell down her face as she looked down to the bloody patch on her stomach. It hurt so much as her whimpers got the attention of the figure. She looked up to the teenage boy through her tears as the pain got worse. He slicked back his eerie blonde hair and picked her up as his bloody hands pushed the hair back from her face.

“Now, now, sugar. No use in crying now. What’s done is done.”

He looked to the blood dripping from her stomach as he lowered his mouth to her ear.

“Blood for blood, Anita…”

Anita’s eyes snapped open as she opened her mouth and screamed. She already knew what had happened and that everything she wanted was gone. But it was there, it was right there and it was gone. She could hear the pack’s footsteps outside her door. As the knob turned, something inside of her snapped. Ben was the first one in the room as Anita got to her feet from the hospital bed and blasted him back from the threshold. She was quick to pull the tubing from her arms as Gertie raised her glowing hand.

She was thrown to the ground behind her as Anita followed the lingering blood of Matilda. She knew it belonged to her because it was all she could smell. It wasn’t the same for Tom as he stepped in front of Anita. She swung her arm up as she turned into the hallway, ready to strike him when he ducked at the last minute and spun her into the wall.

“Anita, sweetie? I need you to st…”

He grunted in pain as Anita threw her head back and struck him in the face. He held his nose and stumbled back as Anita brought her foot up and kicked him into the nearest wall. Anita turned, ready to make a break for the nearest door until Elsa ran into the hall ahead of her. She panted, sensing the change in her as she clenched her fists.

“Anita, just stop. You need to get back in bed.”

“You need to get out of my way before I hurt you.”

The pack saw through her tears as her eyes were pitch black. No one had ever been seen like this.

“No. If you go, you’ll end up getting hurt and I know that’s exactly what she wants.”

Anita showed her teeth, growing as she raced down the hall towards Elsa. She waited for the perfect moment as Elsa shot out her arm and clotheslined Anita. Her body feel back to the floor as Elsa crashed on top of her. Her strong little arms wrapped tightly around Anita as she kicked and screamed for her life. Elsa got her feet with Anita in her arms as a doctor came forward. Anita was expecting a needle but gave in to the soothing glow of his hand as her body quickly numbed.

“Alright, someone help while she’s down.”

Elsa and Tom helped put Anita back into her bed as she cried and moaned. Gertie rushed behind them and enchanted the restraints that were put around Anita’s arms and legs so she could not get out.

“There,” said the doctor as he stepped back, “You weren’t kidding, she really is strong.”

“Go help, Tom.”

Tom had already pushed his nose back into place as he sat in the nearest chair and refused to be moved.

“Tom. Not now, you need to rest.”

“No. I’m not moving from his spot and you will not make me.”

“You don’t fully understand what’s happened.”

“That bitch took our child and resurrected herself. What else is there to understand?”

“She’s had no family for a while and now she’s had it taken from her like her mother was. Your presence isn’t needed for right now.”

“You pulled me into this. Asked me to get her out of Baton Rouge, marry her so that she could be protected from Tristan and I watched as he helped kill our child and fucked her in front of me. Don’t fucking insult me, Witch. I’m staying my wife and will do whatever it takes to get her through this, whether its grief or fury, now get the fuck out!”

Gertie was stunned at Tom as she turned and marched from the room and closed the door behind her.

Anita slept. She forced herself to sleep until she woke up and found Tom between her legs the first morning she got to the house but the dream was too beautiful as she deduced. Maybe she’d wake up and still be stuck in the attic manor as the coven of 20 strong elevated their power ahead of her.

She felt a soft hand at her head as she slowly woke awhile later.

“Mama?”

“No, child. Grandma, though I never have really given thought to you calling me grandma.”

Anita ignored her chuckle, not feeling Tom in the room for the first time in a long time.

“I can’t go back,” she whispered.

“I don’t plan on letting them take you from us.”

“I can’t go back to the house. I can’t face him.”

“You need Tom. He’s your husband.”

“I never wanted him. I was gonna kill her on Halloween. I had wolf’s bane and was so close to spiking the bowl, then he fucked it all up. I was gonna kill them all…”

“Damn.”

Gertie shook her head and held Anita’s hand, knowing what she was about to do would test Tom’s bond to granddaughter. Tom talked to the doctors, telling him he would have to keep a close eye on Anita in case she showed any suicidal episodes. It was refreshing and uncomfortable to get out of the room but more than anything he wanted to get back to Anita.

He finished his coffee and stopped in the door when he saw a nurse changing the sheets of Anita’s empty room.

“Where is she?”

“I was just called to take care of a discharge, sir. You’ll have to talk to the head nurse at the desk.”

Tom was already turned around as he raced to the desk with the crush paper cup in his hand.

“May I speak to who’s in charge please?!”

The ladies and men around jumped at the sound of his voice. A small woman no younger looking than Gertie stood and ushered Tom aside.

“This is a hospital, sir, and you’ll need to keep it that way if you wish to stay here.”

“Who discharged my wife? I wasn’t even gone for an hour.”

“May I see ID?”

Tom controlled his emotions long enough for the nurse to look to Anita’s chart.

“Her grandmother took her home, looks like half an hour ago.”

Tom unclenched his fists and took back his ID as he stomped back to the truck that he left in the parking garage. He could feel the steam rising from his skin as he tried not to run straight to Gertie’s. He threw his truck in reverse and put his foot to the gas pedal as his fingers flew through his phone. As suspected, Gertie wasn’t picking up her phone. Five tries later, Tom was nearly there when he finally left her a message.

“Gertie, where the hell is my wife?! Call me back or answer your front door. I’m here.”

Tom pulled onto the long driveway, meeting Gertie’s eyes as she stood on the edge of her porch steps. He climbed out, driving his heavy feet into the freshly covered lawn as he smelled Anita somewhere in the house.

“Tom, stop…”

“I told you to leave us alone, Gertie!”

Tom was forced to stop as a stinging bit of energy flowed through his body. He grunted as Gertie smoothed her head back. He opened his mouth and roared to the sky.

“Anita!”

Gertie lifted her hand sending Tom to his back. The pain stopped as he got to his feet and felt a lump in his throat.

“You know that wasn’t me, Thomas. If it was, you would be in a world of hurt.”

“Drop the barrier. Please.”

“That isn’t for me to decide.”

“What did you tell her? You can’t take her away from me!”

“Stop it!”

Tom ignored her, looking up to the second to last window on the left side of the house as he heard Anita’s sobbing and Cecil trying to comfort her. It broke his heart that Anita and in pain and it was worse that it was clear she didn’t want him around.

Tears filled Tom’s eyes as he tried to step towards the barrier again. He stopped, feeling the tingle of Anita’s magic. He cried as Gertie rushed to him and flung her arms around his neck.

“How did this happen?”

“This isn’t permanent. Look at me, Tom.”

Gertie held his face between his hands to make sure he was looking only at her.

“What do I do? Tell me what to do…”

“I’m taking you home and you are going to give Anita space. The scent of you could sent her into a more feral state than she was at the hospital. This will be temporary, I promise you.”

“What happened to him?”

“He’s in the basement.”

The color drained from Tom’s face as Gertie was quick to calm him.

“I’ve severed the right cords in his spine. Everything from the neck down is useless to him. Believe me when I say that he is in a world of Hell. He has no way to escape, not even projection. He can feel pain and when the time comes, you will have your turn with him.”

Tom broke away gently and wiped his face with his sleeve. His instincts wanted to storm the house and drag Anita home but he knew Gertie was right. He was still a stranger to her. Anita needed her grandmother to help her through her trauma but Tom needed her too much.

“Gert, I-I’ll take myself home. Can I just sit here for a while?”

Gertie smiled and was proud of the man Tom had become. She left him on the front lawn with his thoughts. She wandered to the kitchen to make tea for no reason. Someone would end up using the hot water for something. She turned to Snowflake patting on the front window. She looked as she saw Tom lay in the cab of his truck.

His sobs mixed with Anita’s attempt at steady breaths. Cecil came down the back staircase with his bowl of used water.

“I gave her an Ativan. She should be better when she wakes, unless you want to give her something.”

“She needs to rest. I need to bind the house in case she runs.”

“Where is she going to run to?”

“Damn, I can’t bind her. She’s still new. I can replace the blood with my own, she’ll have to understand.”

“Donovan will be coming soon.”

“Another week.”

He placed his hand on his wife’s shoulder and looked to Snowflake trying to get outside to Tom.

“This will be for the better.”

“It has to be or they both crash and burn.”

-

One week later

It had stopped snowing that morning.

For some reason, the snow wasn’t as white. Anita went back to washing the dishes as she gave them a good scrubbing. Her sides curled as she willed the feeling away. Curled, but not hurt or cramping. They reminded her of what wasn’t there anymore. She trained herself to ignore the feeling and that of the tears that were no longer there.

There was no use in crying anymore, she told herself. It was gone. The baby was gone and so was her scent for revenge against Matilda. Her aunt’s scent was gone from her nose and things felt like they were going back to normal for her. Every time she would turn, she would expect to see Tom there to touch her but she kept forgetting it was not her home. Gertie was gracious enough to open her home to her so that she could have some air for the first time in her life.

The years of being sheltered by the coven, the years alone on the run and then her “marriage” to Tom. She drained the water in the sink and looked out to Snowflake in the mounds of snow. The dishes were dried and put away one by one as her thoughts tried to call out to her.

There was Tom, alone, missing her to death. Gertie and Cecil welcomed her but she had had enough of family and knew her welcome would be outstayed sooner or later. She dried her hands on her warm knitted sweater and listened to the wind for a sign.

“Come on. There’s something I want to show you before we go.”

She remembered she promised Gertie she would go into town to pick up dinner for that night. It would just be the two of them since Cecil would be gone for a day or two for an errand. Anita followed Gertie from the clean sink as she watched over the older woman’s shoulder. Gertie waved her hands, unbinding bits of wood from the wall of her pantry. Gertie smiled for Anita as she waved her forward.

“Elsa isn’t gonna jump out with an axe and scare us or some shit, right?”

“No but try not to act out when I show you this.”

“What is it?”

Gertie’s hand took her own and led her further down the dark stairs. She let go and flipped a switch as Anita’s eyes reacted to the harsh lights. Spells and enchantments were splattered across the walls as she followed the table of chained boxes and the sealed destroyed charms that were found in her furniture.

She stopped as she looked to the inclined table in the corner.

“Anita!”

Anita had backpedaled hard into the nearest wall as Tristan’s eyes burned into her. The breath shortened in her chest with each inhale. Gertie reached forward for Anita as she turned for the door upstairs and ran. The pantry whizzed by as did the kitchen, the back dens and the large patio.

Her feet flew underneath her as she ran at a normal pace through the forest. The whine of the trees dulled out the sound of her now racing thoughts. Anita forced herself to slow. If she ran any faster, she was sure that she would have run to the ends of the earth and it’s not that she didn’t mind but she knew better than to abandon her family. She wanted to tire herself so she wouldn’t hunt down Matilda. As much as she wanted to, it would only end in unwanted bloodshed no matter how much she wished for it. Now that Matilda was human after being powerless for so long, she would remain in hiding until she was strong enough.

Maybe it was a sign. Anita stopped against a large trunk that stretched out over her head and braced herself against the chilled bark. She listened to nature easing her breath as she closed her eyes. The cold howling winds blew snow from the tops of the branches, showering her face in soft, white powder. Her skin enjoyed the snow, as it decided, making her hair stand on end to feel the chill.

She broke, though she was trying to rid herself of the habit, putting her hand to her stomach, still feeling what was no longer there. She accepted the terrible things that happened on Christmas. She missed Tom badly but she missed being alone. Felix, she assumed, must have stayed in the house with Tom to give him some company. Time apart. It was all they needed.

Anita pulled her hair apart and turned for town to try and clear her head some more. She was hard on herself for running out in the middle of winter without wearing anything proper. She may have been turned but it was still cold as all hell. She only needed a few hours of quiet and then she would go back to Gertie.

She stood on the sidewalk near the high school watching the large student parking lot being cleared by tow trucks for the day after New Year’s. She’d forgotten completely that a week had gone by. People were coming back from the holidays and using the town to get to their natural destinations. Her own was three streets east. Her frigid nose led her to the town’s bookshop. That she’d become so familiar with over the past few months. She stopped at the door and kicked off most of the snow from her boots as she let herself inside. Anita could hear someone but she knew it wasn’t a customer.

“Hello?”

Anita stopped in her tracks as one of the employees poked their head to see her turning back to the door.

“I-I’m sorry for you are closed. I can leave…”

“You can stay if you want,” sniffled the young woman as she wiped her tear-stained eyes with the back of her sleeve.

“Are you okay?”

Anita was ready for anything amiss.

“I’m just a bit overwhelmed. Katie’s on vacation and Peggy’s funeral was yesterday…”

“The owner?”

“Yeah, her heart gave out the day after Christmas and I came in and thought she was sleeping at her desk…”

She broke down sobbing into her hands and Anita’s only instinct was to comfort her. She held her and didn’t let go.

-

Anita walked on her own in the evening, now freezing as she decided to make her way back to the forest. She stretched out the time as much as she could. The happiness around her of the late night filled her with some relief. She remembered looking back on the year to the fight and the energy she spent running as she looked up to the wind pushing the high branches. For once she didn’t have to rush, to flee from whatever may have been after her.

Her boots crunched the snow under her feet as she stopped and was drawn south to a familiar area. The backyard of the house looked different, bigger for some odd reason as she stood at the tree line. Snow covered everything but the walkway from the house to Anita’s green house. Her feet dragged underneath her to the freeze metal of her sanctuary as she let herself in. The blast of warm air was enough to send her inside as the metal door closed behind her. Her natural instinct for her busy as she tended to as many as she could.

Anita sneezed, realizing that she’d shed her sweater and had pulled her long hair pulled up into a flowing ponytail. She touched her hair and no long felt a like for it. She reached up behind her neck and waved her glowing hand, chopping off her hair at the base of her neck. She could hear the strands fall to the ground and Tom groaning in pain as Anita turned for the house. She peered out the window and looked to the back of the house. She was only gone a few days and she wanted more than anything to come back.

She left her tended plants behind her and made her way up to the house. She unlocked the back door, stepping into the back hall near the laundry room as the familiar smells of the house calmed her. She cursed to herself hearing the tiny scratch marks as Felix hauled himself across the kitchen floor and into Anita’s arms. She closed her hand around the bell and kissed her friend as much as he needed. She could hear in the way that she meowed that she was sorely missed.

“I know, fur ball. I don’t know if I’m back or not.”

He jumped from her arms in disappointment and fled to his tower near the den. Her nose lead her forward from the sad food smells to the needing smell up the stairs. She didn’t need to worry about the stairs as she made her way through the halls and stopped at the door, the door that had made her terrified and heartbroken. Her hand pushed the broken wood of the door as she looked in to the destroyed nursery.

Anita felt she would have done the same thing, using her strength and her power to rip the room to shreds now that she wasn’t pregnant anymore. She turned for the next closest room as Anita heard Tom moaning in his sleep. Her mouth watered for him, needing to be with him as he slept.

“Anita…”

Her nails dug into the doorframe as she pushed herself forward and knelt to the side of Tom’s bed. Her knees hit the carpeted floor along with her tears as she looked down to her husband. She pushed back his matted hair. She was no longer in control of herself as she leaned forward and kissed Tom’s lips. She could taste him, wanting more as she cupped the side of his face. He moved underneath her, not scaring her as his hand drifted to her waist. Her legs pushed her off the ground and onto the side of the bed as he kissed her back. Anita’s hips grinded into Tom, making him groan as she looked into his opening eyes. She saw the hazy, bloodshot blue and forced herself away as Tom tried to roll after her.

“Anita…”

She hurried down the hallway as she heard Tom hit the floor.

“Anita?”

His nose filled with the scent of her, following it as her footsteps thundered down the stairs.

“Anita!”

Her feet dug into the snow as she ran north as west as fast as her feet could carry her. Tom saw the last bit of her as she disappeared into the forest. He wanted to run for her but it would have only made her run further away. He looked down to the footprints in the snow leading to the greenhouse. He pushed the metal open, seeing her corrected work for her plants. His bare foot stepped in her cut black hair. He collected enough in his hand and brought the mass to his nose.

He listened to the howling wind behind him and sobbing as he laid on the warm floor and held Anita’s hair close to his chest.

-

Four weeks later…

“Have a good day. May I he…”

Anita stopped and tried to keep her calm as Gertie stood with a pile of books for Anita to ring up.

“Child.”

“Hag.”

“Do you have what you need?”

“Please don’t, not here.”

Gertie smiled as she held Anita’s hand. She knew.

“I am not here for that. Donovan’s in town.”

“Okay. Keep him away from the damn bookstore. I will tear his head off.”

“No. You are coming home, at least with me.”

“Why?”

“Ren would like to meet you.”

“Who?”

“Donovan’s fiancé.”

“Okay, so what? She’s some Twilight ridden freak that said yes?”

“Anita, I will make a scene if I have to. You either come with me or I’ll get Tom to drag you.”

Anita clenched her hands and rolled her eyes. She’d been staying well on the other side of town and in the other direction of the packs’ homes. She was used to the cramped hotel rooms.

“Fine but I’m in the middle of a shift.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll come find you if those bedbugs haven’t.”

She held her spine strong as her fingers ran over the spines of the many, many books that were restocked and reshelved. She liked how the children left the books just so she could enjoy putting them back, enjoying seeing her, the woman in love with the store. Anita roamed in her thoughts, dusting the top shelves when something rolled from the tops of one of the bookcases. Her hand shot out and caught a bit of wood. She turned her wrist, seeing it to be the bit of the staircase she broke off when she found a book that she wanted.

It was the first time that she and Tom went somewhere public.

Her breath trembled as she put the wood back on top of the bookcase. Some things would be left in the past but Tom was not. Anita held back her emotions and finished with her work as she met Gertie by the front door.

“Let’s go.”

“Nope, we’re using the truck and I’ll put my foot in your ass if you try and run.”

“Whatever. It seems like running is hereditary.”

Anita was nervous. The last time she saw Donovan was the first few days she had arrived and he planned on making her a meal. A smile formed on her face when she remembered how fast his veins blackened when she paralyzed him with a single finger. He was convinced that Anita was to be his and it only confused her that he was filling to marry someone else. She pulled her thick sweater down and rested her head on the side of the car.

Her eyes closed and could see the house again. Not Gertie’s but her home, hers and Tom’s. Her hair had grown back as it rained down her back. It was thundering outside and she swore she could smell fresh rain. Anita watched herself, shocked as she turned with a fussing baby in her arms. She was frozen in place as she tried to follow herself. Her eyes turned down to a mist that had her held in place.

“No,” said the voice.

“W-Who’s there?”

The mist slowly began to form into something with a strong arm. Near the top of the mist, she could see a pair of eyes, blue eyes that were very familiar.

“Not this path, my child. Go back before you are consumed…”

She woke as Gertie hands formed around the ends of the staring wheel. Anita opened her eyes in time as she looked up and met Tom’s eyes. She turned back to Gertie, meeting the deception as she turned the car off.

“Let’s go, child. Don’t run.”

“Is Donovan even here?”

“Yes, they’re inside. Please don’t run.”

Anita jumped as her car door was calmly opened for her. She turned, starting at his hand stretched out to her, then up as she saw the small hopeful look that she would take it. If her body wasn’t going to run, it sure as hell was stuck in the front seat.

“Hello, Anita.”

“Hello, Tom…”

She took a chance by taking his hand and moved from the car.