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riahlynn101 · 1 year ago

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"Of Headaches and Heartaches" (17).

Big thanks to @halogenrobotics for helping me with this story!

Hope you all enjoy :D!!

Chapter 17

Vanessa opened her eyes. The light in the room was dim, likely still quite early in the morning. Next to her, Gregory slept soundly. He was cuddled up next to Luis, who was sleeping just as soundly. She breathed deeply, basking in their presence.

It occurred to her then, eyes drifting closed, that her dreams last night had been pleasant. Perhaps something to dwell on later.

-x-x-x-

Luis groaned, sitting up. He doesn’t recall falling asleep last night, but obviously he had at some point. Gregory is wide awake next to him, sandwiched between Vanessa and him. Except, her side of the bed’s empty. So, either she’s awake, or moved to her own bedroom at some point during the night.

“Hey, kiddo. Happy birthday.” He pats Gregory on the head, which makes the kid giggle. “Ready to have a fun-filled day?”

Gregory frowned. “My…birthday…?”

“Your birthday’s April 9th, right?”

“Uh, huh.”

“Well, here.” Luis grabbed his phone off the nightstand. He turns it on to the lock-screen, showing it to Gregory. “See the date, there?”

He hummed in acknowledgment.

“Can you read it for me?”

Gregory stared blankly at him. “No.”

“Right ... .can you read the number at least?”

“Nine?”

“Very good, Gregory. So, that word there is April. If we put them together, we get-”

“My birthday!” He cheered.

“Good job.” Luis reached over to ruffle his hair. “Now, let’s go celebrate!”

-x-x-x-

The Pizzaplex was dead, the parking lot empty and workers and customers gone for the night. There are very few perks of being a security guard here, but one of the biggest is having the security clearance to be able to sneak in after hours. Thank goodness they haven’t switched over to their summer hours yet, otherwise this little excursion might not work. (They could only keep Gregory out so late before he started getting fussy).

She went in first, doing a perimeter check and turning off the cameras from the security room. No one checked them anyway - all the safety features were just that. Features. Things Faz-Entertainment could point to when disaster strikes and say, “See? We did something.” Besides, Vanessa had an early morning shift tomorrow by herself. If the worst came to worst, she could upload some footage from a few nights back.

Vanessa returned to the door, ushering in Luis and Gregory. The latter was snoozing peacefully in Luis’ arms. They put him down for his nap way later than normal, and the poor boy absolutely refused to wake up. He clung to Luis, face buried in the crook of his neck.

“Is everything ready?” Luis asked.

They entered the elevator. “Yep.” She pushed the button for the second floor.

“Good.”

-x-x-x-

Luis lightly shook Gregory, bouncing him. “Hey, buddy, look where we are.”

Gregory groaned, lifting his head. Bleary, unfocused eyes blinked up at the bright lights overhead. “Papa Luis, where-”

Luis put him down, turning him around.

Gregory squealed, jumping up and down. All four main animatronics, the Daycare Attendant, and some of S.T.A.F.F bots stand patiently, waiting for the party to start.

“Mister Sun!” He laughed, lunging for the robot.

Reflexively, the Daycare Attendant catches him, bringing him in for a tight squeeze. “Rule breaker,” he teased in a slightly exasperated tone. “No running inside.”

Gregory laughed again. “You’re silly.”

-x-x-x-

“Thanks again, you guys, for putting this together on such short notice. Are you sure you won’t tell management?” Vanessa asked.

They were seated at the tables near the stage. Blue and red streamers hung off of the nearby photobooth and the ends of the two tables they squished together so everyone could sit together. A large pepperoni pizza with extra cheese sat in the center of the table. The plates and cups Luis picked out at the mall sat in front of all the animatronics. Even though none of them could eat, all of them seemed delighted at being included. Freddy even chuckled a little at the images on them. They were of two dogs, one dressed in a cop uniform and the other dressed in a fireman’s uniform. The man that had helped him, said his own son had loved the show. And Gregory seems to like it, his eyes lit up when he saw it anyway. So, Luis supposed, the man was right.

Roxanne scoffed. “Those losers? No way.”

“Roxy,” Freddy started, tone mild, “remember what I told you about appropriate language in front of the children?”

“But they are. Anyways, we love kids.”

“And the little guy’s cute too,” Monty added, reaching over to ruffle Gregory’s hair.

Gregory grinned, taking another bite of his pizza.

“And thank you, Chica, for making the pizza. These tastes delicious.”

“You’re welcome!” She chirped.

-x-x-x-

After the pizza was gone, most of the animatronics started making their way back to their respective rooms. S.T.A.F.F bots quietly clean up the mess. Vanessa and Luis helped them, trying to make sure nothing was left behind, lest the corporate gods find out.

Freddy was the last to depart. He was seated across from Gregory, listening intently.

“And then…and then, I’s….I went phew really, really fast down the slide. But-but Mister Sun catched me!” Gregory said, wrapping up the story he’d been telling Freddy.

“Wow! That sounds really fast! Good thing Sunny was there, right?”

Gregory nods. “Mhm.” He tilted his head to the side. “Freddy, how fast you go?”

“Well, not fast at all. Roxanne is the fastest out of all of us, but B-” He closed his mouth, cutting himself off. “How old are you turning?”

“Four!” He shouted, holding four fingers in the air.

“What a big age!” Freddy smiled. “Pretty soon you’ll be able to play any of the games here. Maybe for your next birthday your parents can take you to Monty Golf, laser tag, Roxanne’s Raceway, or the arcade.”

“Whoa!” Gregory’s eyes practically lit up.

“Gregory!” Vanessa called, waving him over. “Tell Freddy goodbye.”

“Aw…” Gregory frowned, sliding off the bench. He waved at him sadly. “Hav’ta go. Mama ‘Nessa said. Bye-bye, Freddy.”

“Goodbye, Superstar, come again soon.”

-x-x-x-

“Thank you, Mama ‘Nessa, Papa Luis,” Gregory said. Vanessa leaned over him, buckling him into the car seat.

“No problem. But your birthday isn't over yet.”

“Huh? Where we going?” Gregory asked.

Luis looks at Gregory in the rearview mirror, smirking. “Can’t tell you. It’s a surprise.”

“Are we there yet?”

“Gregory,” Vanessa said, sliding into the passenger seat, “We haven’t even left the parking lot yet.”

Beside her, Luis hid his laughter behind his hand.

-x-x-x-

“This is the bestest!” Gregory cheered, melted vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup clinging to his chubby cheeks. A few rainbow sprinkles had found their way to his messy hair.

Vanessa sat next to him, eating mint-chocolate chip ice cream in a cone. Gingerly, she picked the sprinkles out of his hair. Every so often, she had to move his ice cream sundae away from the edge of the table.

Luis enjoyed his cookie dough ice cream.

The ice cream shop was fairly busy. Likely since the Pizzaplex was closed for the night. The owner-the son of the previous owner-runs around, fulfilling orders as well as taking them. The shop generally had workers (usually the owner’s kids and wife), but no one else seemed to be here tonight.

“Poor guy,” Vanessa said, wincing in sympathy when he mixed up two of the orders. Both of the customers looked pissed. “Maybe we should’ve come earlier.”

“It’s fine.” Luis took Gregory’s empty cup, using a napkin to wipe off the table. “Besides, John is a natural.”

Vanessa eyed him.

“Watch,” he said, pointing over to the counter.

At the counter, the two people whose orders he mixed up were now happily chatting with the owner. John continued to make orders, but also chatted with the customers. He looked completely unbothered.

“See,” Luis said, “Things have a way of working themselves out.”

Vanessa said nothing, finishing her ice cream.

-x-x-x-

By the time they made it back to the apartment, it was nighttime and very nearly Gregory’s bedtime. But since he took a nap later in the day, Vanessa made the executive decision that he could stay up for a couple more hours.

“Okay, we have two more surprises for you,” Vanessa said, guiding him to the couch.

Gregory looked up at them. “What is it?”

Luis practically ran to her coat closet. He pulled out two packages. One from each of them. Returning to his spot next to Vanessa, he handed her a package wrapped in newspaper comics.

“Here you go, kiddo.” Luis put the present in Gregory’s lap.

For a second, Gregory hesitated. He sat there, looking back-and-forth between the box and Luis, as if asking for permission.

“Go ahead.”

Gregory ripped into the paper, a smile stretching across his face. The newspaper fell away, and Luis caught it, setting it on the coffee table for later disposal.

“A box!” He shouted. “I love it.” He hugged the unassuming brown box to his chest.

Luis smiled, gently taking the box from him. “I’m very glad you love the box, but your present is inside the box.”

“Whoa! Really?” Gregory tilted his head to the side, looking at the box with all the intensity that a four-year-old can muster.

“Yep!” Luis opened the box, placing it back on Gregory’s lap. “See what’s inside?”

“Shoes!” He pulled them from the box. “Freddy shoes!” Gregory bounced in his spot. “Mama ‘Nessa, look!” Excitedly, he pointed out the small Freddy symbol on the heel. “Thank you, Papa Luis.”

He leaned forward, wrapping his tiny arms around Luis.

“No problem.”

Vanessa eyed her own gift. It was nowhere near as cool as the Pizzaplex-themed sneakers. Her’s was much lighter. She worried, watching the exchange between the boys.

“And Vanessa got you something too,” Luis said, gesturing to her. He stood up, allowing her to bend down in front of Gregory. As he passed her, Luis sent her a reassuring grin.

(How did he always seem to know?)

Vanessa put her present on his lap. Unlike last time, Gregory started tearing into it immediately.

“Gregory.” Vanessa started.

He looked at her, pausing mid-tear.

“My present ... it might not be... good. I tried to look for something that I thought you would enjoy, but…” Vanessa sighed, feeling beyond disappointed in herself. After how many weeks of knowing Gregory, and she barely knew what he liked. And, of course, it never occurred to her to just ask him. (Because that would have been too easy). “So, I made you something instead.”

Gregory giggled. “Mama ‘Nessa, you’re so silly.”

Taken back, Vanessa stared at Gregory. “Wha-”

“You already gave me the bestest present ever!”

“I did?” She asked, quirking a brow. A quick glance at Luis told her that she hadn’t given Gregory any gifts recently. Unless food counted, but that was kind of a necessity.

“Uh, huh,” he said.

“And what was that?” Vanessa asked, playing along. Anything to avoid the inevitable disappointment, and feelings of rejection from setting in.

“You!”

“Me?” Vanessa placed a hand over her chest.

Gregory nodded. “Yep! A mommy!”

Instantly, Vanessa was flooded with emotions. Some good, some bad. She didn’t know whether to hug Gregory and never let him go, or run and hide.

She felt sick.

She’d never felt better.

She’d…

…a pair of amber eyes flashed into her mind’s eye.

“Mama ‘Nessa?” Gregory tugged on her sleeve. “You okay?”

“Yes, sorry. Thank you for that.” Vanessa said, forcing the thoughts from her head.

He grinned widely, returning to her present. Just like last time, the newspaper was set aside to be dealt with later. Gregory opened the box. A framed photo of all three of them together, sat at the bottom of the box.

Excitedly, he pulled the picture out. “That’s- that’s us. Papa Luis, look!” He held the picture up for Luis to see.

Vanessa sighed in relief. “I’m happy you like it.”

“I love it,” he said, holding it to his chest.

-x-x-x-

They sat together on the couch. Luis on one side, Vanessa on the other, and Gregory in between them. Luis put on Tangled.

“Mama ‘Nessa,” Gregory nudged her, “she looks like you.” He pointed at the screen, where Rapunzel was threatening a man with a frying pan.

“Thanks, kid,” she murmured.

Gregory smiled, leaning into her side.

-x-x-x-

It didn’t take long for Gregory to fall asleep. He was sprawled out across the couch, head on Vanessa’s lap and legs on Luis’. Forcing them to scoot closer to each other. It wasn’t the most comfortable of positions, but it could be a lot worse.

Vanessa rested her head on his shoulder, idly stroking Gregory’s hair. It was getting long. Pretty soon, if his family wasn’t found, they’d have to take him to a hairdresser, or cut it themselves.

Luis hummed along to one of the many musical numbers.

She smiled to herself. What would she do without him?

Really, honestly, truly, what would Vanessa do without him?

Without him, she’d still be wearing a bunny costume murdering people.

Without Luis, she’d have to manage a sickly, traumatized toddler all by herself.

Without him, Vanessa wouldn’t be here today. Sitting on the couch, watching “Tangled,” of all things.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. His brown eyes seemed to sparkle in the low light of the TV, a smile on his face.

It occurred to Vanessa then, that despite everything she’d done not to, she kind of, sort of, really, really liked Luis. Like a lot. That kind of ‘like’ that made you want to do something stupid, like making breakfast in bed for a person on your only day off or watching ten seasons of a show you despise because they love it so much, and seeing them light up is worth the headache.

The realization made her face burn red, and she was glad that they'd decided to turn the lights off for the movie.

She needed to tell him.

“Luis?” Mentally, Vanessa kicked herself. Why, oh, why, was she born without a proper brain-to-mouth filter?

“Yes?” He whispered back, glancing down at Gregory. “Is something wrong?”

“I think…I think…I like you.” She waved her hands furiously in the air. “But it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way! We don’t have to talk about what I just said ever again. It was stupid, I’m sorry for bringing it-”

“Vanessa,” Luis interrupted, “I like you too.”

“Oh.” Vanessa’s face reddened further. “That’s good.”

“So, does this mean we’re a thing?”

“Like boyfriend-girlfriend?”

Luis nodded.

“Yes,” Vanessa answered without hesitation. Realizing how that might come off, she hurriedly added, “If you want.”

Gently, Luis grabbed her by the chin, and turned Vanessa’s head so she was looking at him. “‘Ness, there is nothing, and I mean nothing, I want more than to be here with you, right now. So, yes, I want to be your boyfriend.”

They stared each other in the eyes for a minute longer, Luis stroked his thumb along her jawline, before they both leaned in at the same time…

…and proceeded to bump noses.

“Sorry,” Vanessa mumbled, rubbing at her nose.

“No, no, it’s my fault.”

They laughed it off and leaned in again. This time they both remembered to turn their heads a different way. But kissing was harder than either of them realized, and they missed the mark a couple of times.

In the background, “At last I see the Light,” played.

Finally, through fits of giggles, their lips met.

His lips are blissfully warm, like slipping under the covers after a cold winter day.

They pulled away from each other. Both smiling from ear-to-ear, like the fools they are. Luis tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

This, right here, was happiness. And no one can ever take this away from her. Ever.

#cross posted on ao3 #fnaf gregory #fnaf fanfic #fnaf vanessa #fnaf au #vanessa x luis #fnaf luis #fnaf security breach

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kiddieacademyofstafford · 6 years ago

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high-society-of-readers · 3 years ago

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Don’t Take My Sunshine Away

Chapter two

Clacking sounds of footsteps and the rolling wheels of suitcases echoed across the seemingly endless hallway. The man ahead of you walked a bit too fast for your taste. But considering he was your new manager, you kept that minor complaint to yourself.

His is name was Rodger Dick the name itself felt like comedic justice, and it took an immense amount of self-control not to laugh. His name was named Dick, and he would most likely be one too, given his rough introduction to your small group earlier. Surprisingly you hadn't been the only poor soul that chose the Freddy Fazbears relocation package.

Walking behind you was your new coworker and neighbor. His name was Timothy though he went by the nickname, Tim. He was a few inches taller than yourself with a mop of red hair, a face full of freckles, and a crooked smile. All in all, Tim seemed like an okay guy aside from an occasional dad joke or two. You'd be lying if you said you didn't look forward to working with his easy-going personality.

"Hey Dick, how much longer till we get to our rooms. It seems pretty inconvenient to have to walk this far. Shouldn't it be near an exit?" Tim's voice, though quiet, seemed much louder in the expansive hall. It even managed to startle you, given how suffocating the silence was previously.

The sudden question caught you off guard, but he did make an exceptional point. Rodger looked over his shoulder with a noticeable scowl, directing a venomous glare to the now timid man behind you.

"The staff housing wasn't something the building had plans for originally. Besides, it's good to get your steps in. If you think this is bad. Just wait and see how long it takes to get to your station in parts and services, Tim. I'm sure you'll learn to appreciate the short walk." You couldn't help the pang of sympathy that crept its way onto your heart after hearing Tim quietly mutter an apology.

It seemed you had reached the end as Rodger paused to scan his badge to one of the doors along the hallway and gestured for you and Tim to follow. The doors led to a small open floor space with five doors that were lined up along the walls, two on either side and one in the middle. Rodger led you towards the door in the middle and pulled out two key cards from his jacket pocket before handing one of them over to you.

"This will be both the key to your room, and it has the security clearance necessary to do your job. Being you'll be working as an animatronic handler, this includes the rooms for the animatronics in rockstar row, the daycare center, parts and services, and some of the back hallways like the one we were just in. Tim, your pass will have all of that plus the service tunnels." Gingerly you reached out and took the small card from his hands before looking over the security pass.

"You'll also want your company-issued Faz Watch. With this, you'll be able to see your daily tasks and send messages to other employees. That being said, this gives you no excuse to be on your phone. Being caught doing so is an automatic write-up." He pauses to give a pointed stare towards Tim before handing over a Faz watch to each of you before continuing.

"These watches also have access to the security cameras. There's a camera in this room and two in the hallway outside. You may want to check it before exiting your rooms at night, but please remember we have a strict curfew here in the Mega Pizzaplex. It's strongly advised that you return to your rooms before closing and remain there. We're not responsible if anything happens. All of this was included in the liability waiver you signed when you both first arrived. Don't blame me if you didn't bother to read it." Taking a moment, you gave a nervous glance over to Tim, who mirrored your concerned expression.

What did Rodger mean by not responsible? Before either of you could pose a question, Rodger quickly continued, giving Tim his security pass, before directing him to one of the other apartment doors. Swallowing your nerves, you decided to ask about that later. Using the key card and entering your new home, the door quickly slid shut behind you, causing you to jump a bit at the sound.

Taking a moment, you looked around the small apartment, before getting to work with unpacking your things. Almost proud of your quick work, you took a moment to step back and let the fact that this would be your home for the forcible future sink in. It was a lot nicer than your old apartment. You could get used to having a bed frame and an actual tv stand. Grimacing at the memory of your old apartment, you began to hear light scraping and small metallic bangs.

Moving around, you found that the sound was coming from the air vent in the wall by your bedroom door. Peering into the darkness of the vent, you could have sworn you had seen two glowing red orbs, but when you blinked, they were gone. The scratching stopped soon after that, which was rather unsettling.

You checked your Faz-Watch in an attempt to shake whatever feeling that gave you by checking the cameras. The fact you could view the room behind your front door managed to give you some comfort. You watched as Tim entered his apartment, leaving Rodger. The only problem you had with this was that he stared at the camera unblinking for a solid minute before turning to leave. Creep.

Sitting down, you messed around with the other options and were able to figure out your work schedule. From the looks of it, you'll be orientating with another employee tomorrow at six am. Checking the time you decided to get ready for bed given how early you'd be needing to wake up. After a shower you tuned out the light and climbed into bed and tried to get comfortable under the stiff covers, you tried settling in, but before you could get comfortable, you could hear scratching in the vent again.

Not as loud as before, but it was still extremely unnerving. Closing your eyes, you tried to sleep, but the scratching got louder, making it impossible.

A metallic clang rang in your room.

The sinking feeling of fear hit you, immediately throwing back the covers you rushed to find the bedroom door in the darkness. Your hands fumbled to grasp the doorknob, the adrenalin had taken over your body, and your hands were left a shaking mess. Once your hands wrapped around the knob, you threw it open and forced yourself out of the room.

Before slamming the door shut, you had a chance to look up and into the vent. A small face with a cracked and bloody smile stared back at you with a soulless unmoving expression. By that point, half of its small body was already protruding out of the now open-air vent, its hands reaching towards you.

It was then you realized that it wasn't scratching you heard in the vent. It was several small footsteps scraping along the walls of the vent.

White-hot fear clouded your ability to think soon after that. When you had come to, you found you had locked yourself in the bathroom. You managed to stay there the rest of the night, too afraid to check if it was safe to leave.

The sound of a distant alarm woke you. Sitting up from the floor of the bathtub, you took a moment to remember how you got here. Now fully awake at the terrifying memory, you quickly stood up on shaky legs, carefully approaching the bathroom door and putting your ear up against its cold surface.

Other than the sound of the alarm, you heard nothing. That thing could be out there, but at the same time, if you were late for your first day, you might as well already be dead.

Taking a deep breath, you quickly opened the bathroom door. Nothing. Rushing, you opened the bedroom door. Still nothing. Just your bedroom, nothing changed, the vent cover was still on the ground but what had ripped it out of the wall was no were to be seen.

Not wanting to take any chances, you moved to turn off the alarm and quickly got to work with getting everything you owned out of there and into the small living room. You were never sleeping in there again. Checking the time you rushed to get ready before bolting out the door, you were going to be late if you didn't hurry.

Out of breath, you took a moment to give credit to your literal dick of a manager. You hated to admit he was right, the walk from the exit to your dorms was nothing compared to how long it would take to get to your work areas. Navigating the twist and turns of the huge facility was difficult when you had to hold your watch to your face squinting at the tiny screen like an idiot.

Eventually, you made it to RockStar Row. A short man who seemed to be in his mid-twenties stood impatiently tapping his foot.

"You finally made it. You know your commute is a lot shorter than mine. I would have thought you would at least be on time." His snarky attitude dropped when he looked at your face.

"You look like shit." You couldn't help the pathetic laugh that escaped your lips.

"Yeah, I feel like it too. Sorry about being late, I uh... I couldn't sleep. Something was crawling in the vents last night, the scratching sounds kept me awake." Not wanting to appear crazy you quietly kept the fact that a Lil' Music Man was crawling around in the mega pizzaplex air vents to yourself. He nodded with a pointed stare before he laughed himself, great, so glad he found sleep-deprived state amusing.

"Right... you should probably fill out a formal complaint about that. We have a private contractor that takes care of those things. When you're filling out the report, ask for a guy named Keith to check it out. Now hear me out, if I had to stay in this place after hours, I'd look just as messed up as you. The place gives me the creeps, but hey, it pays well. Who cant say no to money, am I right? Anyways, names Dave. You're going to be working with me today while I show you the ropes here, but tomorrow you'll be on your own." Tomorrow seemed insanely short would you seriously only have one day of orientation?

Before you could ask about it, Dave was already walking away, leaving you to quickly chase after him. As you both walked, you passed by a few of the displays. Each one housed one of the four Glamrock band members, making them look like prized possessions. Dave had led you down the hall before approaching and entering the room for Roxanne Wolf.

The animatronic wolf was a lot taller than you had originally anticipated. She seemed a lot smaller on TV. Roxanne turned away from her vanity mirror to take a look at you up and down before rolling her optics with an audible scoff and returning to fawning over her own reflection.

"Rockstar Row is typically where you'll start your day. I'm Roxy's main handler, so you're going to be with a different animatronic. Sucks for you though Roxy's one of the easiest robots to work with aside from Freddy, before his malfunction that is. You'll be scheduled to cover for Donovan tomorrow before being assigned to a more permanent position. Hes the daycare attendant's handler. Dudes been on sick leave for the past week leaving everyone else to cover his ass. The daycare center isn't exactly sanitary." Dave gave an exaggerated shiver before continuing. Must not like kids, but considering dave was coming off as a prick you doubted the kids liked him very much either.

"Anyways, you'll only be stuck there for a day. All you need to do is stand there and watch the thing, but don't worry, you dont have to help out with the little shit. The robot does that by itself, thank god!" This was the first you've heard of this.

You really needed to take a minute and read the work schedule again. From the sound of it though, it didn't seem too bad, plus you're good with kids, you didn't see it as much of an issue as Dave did. Yes, they were messy, but the amount of energy kids have never failed to impress you. Plus, they could be sweet when they wanted to be, but you'd admit in your coworker's defense, kids could be complete gremlins sometimes. It is his fault though for choosing to work in a place intended for children.

Dave took a moment to move over towards the vanity before vaguely gesturing to the animatronic behind him.

"All you have to do as a handler is make sure the robots make it on time for their shows and guide them around so the kids can interact with it. It's pretty boring, but it pays insanely well only weird bit is the turnover rate is pretty high. Most of the people I started work with just up and quit or diapered. Honestly, the only hard part is getting these things to do what you say, especially Roxy. It always gives me an attitude or rolls its eyes at me." He turned his nose up at the wolf behind him with a small sneer, looking like he wanted to say more on the matter but refrained from doing so.

oddly, the way he referred to Roxy as an "it" didn't sit right with you. From what you've read online, their AI was top of the line. An article had even suggested they could learn things through their own experiences and even develop a personality over time. This would make Roxy the equivalent of a coworker. With this in mind, you cautiously approached the animatronic before you.

Your daring advancement caught the wolf's attention almost immediately and turned to face you. Her yellow eyes seemed to brighten as she glared at you, looking as though she was seeing right through you. Almost as if trying to determine if you were a threat.

Dave gave you a worried glance. "You really shouldn't-"

You quickly raised your hand to the she-wolf, in a weak attempt at a handshake, but she merely flicked her passive-aggressive gaze towards your hand and then back to you.

Not one to back down, your hand remained where it was.

"It's nice to meet you, Roxanne. My name is Y/N, and I look forward to working with you! Also, I like your fur, green was never my favorite color, but you pull it off amazingly. Now, do you go by Roxanne or Roxy?" If you were reading her right, she looked almost surprised. Her jaw slightly parted in shock before snapping her maw shut.

After what felt like a minute of her staring a hole into your soul, she finally blinked and took your hand, shaking it as gently as she could muster despite her clawed fingernails slightly digging into your skin before pulling back.

"My fur is beautiful, isn't it?" She moved her manicured claws through her hair as if to emphasize her point, before looking down at you. If you didn't feel small before you certainly did now.

"Roxy is fine. Now let us go, it's time for my concert. My fans are waiting. I can hear them calling my name already."

Taking a back exit in her room, we led her down into parts and services where the other three band members stood on an elevated platform. Seeing all the Glamrocks together before the show made it feel like having backstage tickets to a concert. It was a nice feeling. You've only seen them perform in videos, you wouldn't say you a fan, but their music wasn't too bad, just not worth the hefty entry fee. Apparently, your excitement was palpable as one of the animatronics took notice. As the platform rose up to the main stage Montgomery Gator himself dipped his shade to give you a sultry wink before diapering to the main stage above. How that made you feel was something you'd defiantly need to hash out in an intense therapy session. Finding an animatronic hot was a whole new low even for you.

While waiting for their performance to end you and dave took a lunch break before returning to escort Roxy back to her room. You couldn't help noticing the smug look the gator had as you struggled not to make any form of eye contact with the bass player.

On the way back to Rockstar Row you tried talking to the she-wolf, commenting on her performance. Was it bad to stroke her ego, maybe? However, she appeared to be more willing to follow directions when you were the one giving them. Whatever you were doing seemed to be working. It was kind of funny to see her stare blankly at Dave when he told her to do something.

Dave was right about the job being boring. However, you didn't see any difficulty coming from the wolf or even a hint of the aforementioned attitude. She was arrogant for sure but was highly corporative. Dave wasn't very pleased with the fact Roxy was only listening to you by this point. You could see why she didn't though, Dave sucks.

After having Roxy attend to few birthday parties, the day flew by, and your shift was over before you had even realized it. Dave decided to leave early, figures, you watched as he made his leave from Roxy's room and headed for the exit. Once his figure passed the glass display window, he was gone, leaving you alone with a wolf who now stared directly at you.

Her ear twitched in an apparent show of agitation before she spoke.

"All-day, you've been trying to talk to me. You call me "her" instead of "it" I don't get it. What do you gain from this?" There was a slight accusatory snarl in her tone, and her eyes appeared to almost glow in the dim lighting. Trying not to focus on her open maw and aggressive posture you answered the wolf without hesitation.

"I don't need to gain anything by treating you as a person, referring to you as an "it" and treating you like an object isn't an option for me. It's not right." Roxys intimidating expression fell immediately after hearing that, her shoulders relaxed, and appeared almost speechless.

The she-wolf stood completely still, her piercing gaze never leaving your face as though to try and discern whether or not you were lying. Though you had been honest, you couldn't help but shrink and fidget under her uncomfortably harsh gaze. Before any more could be said, the overhead intercom announced that the facility would be closing soon. Not wanting to get caught out in the open after hours you decided to take your leave.

Getting up and making your way to the door, you said your goodbyes to the unusually quiet wolf, but she stopped you halfway through the door. Her clawed hand dug into your shoulder tightly preventing you from leaving. Not hard enough to hurt but enough to make getting away impossible.

"It won't leave the air vents."

To anyone else, that would mean nothing but to you it meant the world. Your eyes widened at this.

How Roxy knew of your incident last night didn't matter to you. If she was telling the truth, it was probably the best news you've heard all day. Maybe tonight you'll have a better chance at getting a decent amount of sleep. Considering you'll be working with kids tomorrow, you'll certainly be needing the energy.

Placing your hand over to one that held you in place and gave her a genuine smile.

"Thank you, Roxy."

#fnaf security breach #fnaf #glamrock monty #sunnydrop #sundrop x reader #moondrop #moondrop x reader #gender neutral reader #slow burn #roxanne wolf #fnaf glamrock

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terra-writes · 6 years ago

Text

Mystic Messenger Pokémon AU

This wasn’t a request, but it’s something I’ve thought about off an on for almost a year and a half now. I might expand on this more one day but if any of you guys have suggestions about this feel free to send them in! Also I didn’t include MC in this because I left it open for you guys to interpret and determine how your own MC falls into this AU! Anyways I hope you enjoy! Also sorry to everyone wanting Vanderwood but I don’t feel comfortable writing for him as I don’t feel like there’s enough content with him in the game for me to get a handle on his character and do it confidently.

Also big thanks to my friend Mary @maruthor for helping me out with this AU! And putting up with my shit but

Warning: Spoilers for character’s routes below, read at your own risk

Yoosung:

This boy

This sweet boy

Of course, he ends up running his own Pokémon clinic

It’s not a Pokémon Center, they’re weirdly ornery about having to have a Nurse Joy run those

But it’s a small clinic in a more remote area of the Kanto region and it suits him just fine

He probably ends up doubling it as a mini Pokémon daycare service after and incident with Seven’s ditto and two of his own Pokémon

And the fact that Seven gifted him a ditto of his own after said incident because he’s “just trying to help his friend continue to earn a living”

Yoosung doesn’t have a lot of Pokémon of his own, but he’s acquired a few that were given to him or left behind by patrons who couldn’t keep them anymore for whatever reason

Those Pokémon include: a Glameow from Jumin, Blissey, Noctowl, Pikachu, Glaceon, Lillipup and Rattata

The Blissey came from a Nurse Joy as a Happiny as a thank you for his help during an outbreak of a Pokémon illness that had shown up one day

His own personal partner for his clinic was an Audino from the Unova Region where he went to study Pokémon medicine and care

Occasionally he’s called out of the clinic to care for a sick or injured Pokémon

So he does travel some, but not as often as other members of the RFA

He’s the only one Jumin trusts to care after his many cat Pokémon and precious Elizabeth the 3rd

Not that he himself is too thrilled about that

He even takes the overflow from a nearby Pokémon Center occasionally and probably most often travels out there to help out when needed

Zen:

Zen is obviously still an actor

But instead of just doing musicals, he now does full-fledged Pokémon movie productions

He has two partner Pokémon he’s had since before his career that appear on stage with him

One is his Milotic, and the other is his dusk form Lycanroc

He’ll never forget the day his feebas evolved

He credits his Milotic as one of his biggest inspirations to keep going

Since it was his Feebas at the time that helped keep him positive during the time before and after he ran away from home

It was one of his days that he was feeing more down than usual

It was a complete accident that he had come across a prism scale

And at first he didn’t know what it was, let alone that his Feebas could even evolve

But he had thought it was pretty and wanted to give it to his friend as a thank you for being there for him

When his Feebas started to evolve to say he was surprised was an understatement and he was blown away by the sheer beauty of its evolved form

But seeing his now Milotic in front of him gave him a new sense of hope and self confidence

He didn’t meet his other partner until after he was running with the biker gangs

He had come across the little Rockruff at the time digging through some trash cans in an alley

Remembering the hard times he faced while still living on the streets, he decided to take the Pokémon home with him without a second thought

He was once again awestruck when his Rockruff evolved

He decided to do some research about his new friend, and so he was aware of the two evolutionary forms of Lycanroc, and the rarer third evolution form

He had been visiting his favorite spot up in the mountain with his two Pokémon

Trying to clear his head, and train his Rockruff to help it evolve

When it started to glow and change form, he thought it was going to be the Midday form, he didn’t realize how low the sun had gotten during the time he had been up there

When the evolution light faded and he saw the Dusk Form staring back at him

He was over the moon with excitement

Since that day he worked harder on his acting career, and with the three of them on stage he was quick to draw the eye of many fans across the regions

Occasionally he is propositioned to work with other Pokémon as is partners, but he always refuses

His dream was to preform yes, but he would never abandon his two closest friends who helped get him where he was today

Occasionally he takes his two partners to compete in Pokémon Showcases in and around the Region

It helps keep him and his team in top shape for the cameras, and it allows him to enjoy friendly competitions with his friends

Once he joined the RFA, Jumin had gifted him an Eevee for one of his birthdays

When it evolved into an Espeon, Zen was a mix of emotions

Even though he knew that Espeon was a fox Pokémon, the fact that it still vaguely looked like a cat was enough to set his allergies on edge

He refused to give it away though, he’d never abandon one of his Pokémon, but he swears that the trust fund kid planned it

And though Jumin would never admit it, in a way he knew that it was a likely outcome given Zen’s personality which was why he did it

Jaehee:

She currently runs a Pokémon Café in Lumiose City

She needed a break from all the stress working under Jumin brought to her life so one day she just turned in her resignation letter and opened up a café

With a little help from Jumin

He felt a little betrayed at first, but he got over it fast and offered to open it up under his company

As a parting gift he gave her a shiny Swirlix as well as it’s needed evolutionary item

Only after he tried to give her a cat Pokémon for the mascot on several occasions with which she had to put her foot down

Eventually she decided to use her Lucario as the café’s mascot, since it was with her since before her parents passed away

It took some time, but eventually she was able to make the business take off with the help of some of her Pokémon who also worked as staff

Some of her Pokémon include: Leafeon, Shuckle, Miltank, Mienshao, Stufful, Kirlia, Vespiquen, Chesnaught, and Lurantis

Jumin:

He’s the Ceo-in-line of his father’s company

Which produces a wide variety of Pokémon items as well as things for their trainers as well as regular citizens

C A T D A D

He has so many cat Pokémon

It’s probably why Jaehee quit tbh

The main problem, is his Skitty, Elizabeth the 3rd who was gifted to him by none other that Jihyun one year after his Delcatty had an egg

Elizabeth is a hyperactive Pokémon with an eye for destruction whenever Jumin isn’t around

I like to think that his Skitty is like May’s from the anime

Other than Elizabeth, he has: Persian, Alolan Persian, Purugly, Liepard, Luxray, both genders of Pyroar and Meowstic, and Incineroar

He also has an Espeon which he adamantly refuses to admit looks a little like a cat to Zen in order to keep messing with him

And to further mess with Zen (partly) he has a statue of Elizabeth the 3rd on display in the park near C&R, which so happens to be a park Zen has to walk by every day to get to work

He also has a Dragonite, an Urasring and a Kindra for extra protection

Is habit of trying to make cat-related projects is still a big thing with him

He one day wants to open up an entire island just for cat Pokémon

Jaehee had been able to narrowly keep avoiding that disaster every single time, but his new assistant is going to have some work cut out for them

Probably inadvertently the reason Mewtwo exists

He heard Mew being described as “the pink cat Pokémon” and that was all it took

He often travels to watch Jihyun compete in contests when he can

Especially if he hears that he’ll be using his Delcatty

He’s also seen quite a few of Zen’s showcases but he’ll never say anything to him

Also keeps trying to use his position to get really rare Pokémon and Mega Stones/Z-Crysrals for the other members of the RFA because he knows he can be quite hard to get along with, but he does care about the other members whom he considers his friends and in some cases family

Saeyoung/707:

Since Saeyoung loves space so much, he works at an observatory or at the Space Center in Mossdeep City in Hoenn

His Pokémon have a lot to do with Space and technical work, so he ends up with an interesting mix of Pokémon

He used to work initially as a Professor’s assistant studying fossil pokemon, but the work proved too much for him

He left amicably to work at the space center, so he could still be involved with the RFA and his brother more

Still has an Aerodactyl and a Tyrantrum from that time whom he bonded with and was allowed to take with him

He was also gifted a Torchic from the professor when he first started working there

Also owns a Chatot for the sole purpose of playing pranks on his co-workers and the rest of the RFA much to their annoyance

His Pokémon include: Clefable, all 7 colored Minior plus a shiny Minior, Starmie, Lunatone and Solrock, Beheeyem, Porygon-Z, Reuniclus, Vikavolt, Ditto, Castform, and Rotom

Absolutely won’t stop asking Jihyun if he too could have a Skitty, to which Jihyun always finds a way to politely avoid answering the question and changing the topic

He also owns an Espeon, which is from his childhood and is part of a set of twin Eevee’s him and his brother had befriended before they were rescued from their home

It’s his ultimate goal to one day own a Deoxys and maybe a Jirachi

Ends up owning a Poipole for research after a trip to the Alolan Region to help investigate Ultra Wormholes ends up going haywire

Jihyun/V:

He definitely travels a lot across all the regions

He’s still an artist, so he often takes pictures to paint later on in his studio

He was a nature photographer, so his Pokémon are a lot of grass types supplemented by a few other types of Pokémon to even things out

His starter Pokémon was a Bulbasaur, and it’s his most trusted companion that he takes with him everywhere

He probably shed a few happy tears each time it evolved

The first thing he did when he learned about Mega Evolution was to get a Venasaurite for his most trusted companion

Jumin probably offered to acquire one for him, but Jihyun declined, wanting to make the journey himself

He also participates in Pokémon Contests

His Pokémon definitely reflect that artist side of him

Some of his Pokémon are: Florges, Delcatty, Beautifly, Bellossom, shiny Sylveon, Alolan Ninetails, Togekiss, Gallade, Altaria, Roserade, Cherrim, Gastrodon, Leavanny, Whimsicott, Lilliagnt, Cinccino, Sawsbuck, Volcarona, all patterns of Vivillion, Riombee, Smeargle and Bewear

Definitely has every single grass type starter

And probably a Primarina

Jumin does worry about him though, so he made sure to gift him some pseudo-legendary Pokémon for his own piece of mind over his friend’s safety

especially after hearing about some of the more dangerous areas Jihyun tends to end up in for the sake of his art

Not that he thinks Jihyun’s Pokémon are weak

So from Jumin, his Pokémon are Aggron, Tyrannitar, and Metagross

He was also gifted an Amaura from Jumin, who thought it would be enough to fit his aesthetic while still being a somewhat powerful Pokémon

And Jumin just likes spoiling his friend with cool Pokémon when he’s allowed to

Since Jihyun is rich, he definitely has a house with a lot of land around it so that he can keep so many Pokémon

They’re some of his biggest inspiration for his art, and he likes capturing them in their natural element when he’s not traveling or competing

Definitely has seen and befriended a Celebi on one of his trips and visits as often as he can

Seven also gifted him a Bruxish one year as a joke knowing it was an eyesore of a Pokémon

None of them were expecting Jihyun to absolutely fall in love with it and make it the subject of his art for the next 8 months

No one has the heart to tell him how they really feel about it

He’s just so happy to share everything about his splotchy fish someone please save him

Saeran:

He used to be an admin under Rika

But he ended up leaving

He was persuaded by Saeyoung to become the regional professor’s assistant

He was skeptical at first, but he found the job surprisingly rewarding and healing after everything he had been put through with Rika and his past

The Pokémon didn’t judge him for the deeds he had done, and it allowed him to work through his own issues as well as atone for all the misfortune he caused under Rika

While still pursuing a greater cause that would benefit everyone

Ends up as they kind of person who befriends Pokémon really easily, so he ends up with a lot more than he started out with

Which makes it even better that he works for a Pokémon Professor who is more than willing to help house and care for all his Pokémon

The Eevee he had from his childhood evolved into an Umbreon, which is the only reason Rika had allowed him to keep it

He also had befriended a Swirlix while he was working for Rika, but had to keep it a secret lest she think it made him “weak”

He was able to evolve it after joining the RFA with the help of Jumin and Jaehee

He absolutely adores his Slurpuff and will fight anyone who tries to talk shit about it

He has quite a few Pokémon from his time as Rika’s admin

Most of them were ones she gave him to make him look “strong” and keep him in the mindset of the Saeran she created

She wouldn’t tolerate him having any Pokémon she deemed “weak” that might bring out Ray

His Pokémon include: Shiny Charizard, Nidoking, Arcanine, Alolan Marowak, Rhypherior, Granbull, Weavile, Houndoom, Staraptor, Sharpedo, Krookodile, Bisharp, Braviary, Hydreigon, Pangoro, and Midnight Form Lycanroc

Has a Magikarp and a Wimpod he raised in secret because he related to how people perceived it as being weak and useless

He may have shed a few tears when they finally evolved into a Gyarados and a Golisopod respectively

Jihyun probably also gifted him another Eevee at some point to help him reconnect with his brother and he absolutely cried when it evolved into a Sylveon because that’s only possible if there’s a strong bond of love between trainer and Pokémon

And it helped him prove that he was on the right track to healing all the lingering wounds from his past

After he joins the RFA, Jihyun probably gifts him several Flower Pokémon knowing how much he loves flowers

So he ends up with a Megainum, a Sunflora, a Florges, a Bellossom, a Roserade, and a Comfey

Eventually befriends a Zoroark on the professor’s grounds that he uses to get back at his brother and his Chatot

He eventually stumbles across a Mimikyu during one of his business trips to Alola

He absolutely falls in love with it and relates to it

Eventually with permission he grows a field of flowers that Shaymin need to switch forms and absolutely loves watching them all migrate, and that time is always one of his happiest

This boy just needs a lot of love in his life and he probably ends up with so many Pokémon because he can’t just abandon any Pokémon he finds that are hurt or struggling

Rika:

Founder and leader of Team Mint-Eye

Which also operates under the name “Magenta” in some instances to avoid authorities

This is still mostly the same Rika from the game that we see

Someone who wasn’t able to find a healthy way to cope with her past trauma and mental illness

And only got worse through the unhealthy relationship her and V had with one another

She uses Pokémon that she thinks represent the darkness and her “devil” within her and some that she uses to help control and manipulate her Believers and Admins

Her Pokémon include: Delphox, Gengar, Hypno, Honchkrow, Mismagius, Girafarig, Solrock & Lunatone, Sableye, Cacturne, Seviper, Banette, Dusknoir, Haxorus, Musharna, Cofagrigus, Gothitelle, Chandelure, Malamar, Dragalge, Trevenant, Salazzle, and Nihilego

Used to have a Darkrai and a Cresselia captured for her own use but Saeran ended up freeing them on his way out

Has plans to add more Ultra Beats to her lineup and the lineup of her Believers

She also has a Wigglytuff that Jihyun had given her when they were still together to try and help her stay on the right path but she doesn’t like using it and keeps it far away from her in the other end of her base

Not to say she’s abusing it, because despite everything Rika has done she’d never, but she just doesn’t like being reminded of that time

She operates largely out of the Alola Region but before she was in Sinnoh on account of Darkrai and Cresselia

87 notes · View notes

strangeroseart · 6 years ago

Text

Home Video

After Krolia left to continue her mission in space, Nathan started taking pictures and videos to document all the things he knew Krolia would be crushed to miss.

At 10 months Keith’s first word was the same as thousands of other children on Earth, but his father was still thrown into a quasar when he heard it. Anxiously getting out his camera, he tried getting Keith’s attention.

“Hey Keith, look over here. Can you tell daddy what you just said?” With a deep belly laugh, that he learned about a week before, he flails his pudgy hands and slaps them down on the soft baby blanket in front of him.

“Ma ma!”

For a moment all Nathan could manage was a sharp intake of breath, but his sons antics soon drew a smile on his face.

“What’s that, firefly?” he said. Keith’s response is to giggle and and slap his hands again. He chuckles, a little sad, but he keeps that out of his voice. “Nooo, that’s your blanky.”

It’s then that the baby boy screws up his face in an unpracticed look of consternation, grabs fists full of the blanket, and brings it up to his chest.

“Ma Ma!” He yells

“Keith that’s....” That’s his blanket, his purple baby blanket. He didn’t even realize the color when he bought it, just that it was soft and Keith seemed to like it. With a shaky voice he continued his one sided conversation.

“Do you remember your mama?” He slowly comes down to the floor on his knees, leaving the camera forgotten on a side table; father and son off center in its view finder. His voice now strained from holding back his sadness and the thought of his son recognizing the color of his mother’s skin.

“I miss her too, firefly.” He says while gently hugging his son on the floor.

It’s Keith’s first birthday and his father sprung for one of those small infant cakes instead of a simple cupcake. Close up, the one year old looks confused yet mesmerized by the singular lit candle on the cake.

“You have to blow it out like this,” Nathan says and proceeds to lightly blow on the candle making sure not to blow it out himself. Keith picks up on the example quickly and tries to mimic his father by blowing raspberries.

“That’s not going to work kiddo” he says with a chuckle. The boy tries two more times and his father decides maybe he should do it for him. Suddenly with the biggest intake of breath his little lungs could muster he leans dangerously close to the flame and blows the biggest raspberry he can. Just enough air and spit hit the wick to snuff out the flame.

“Well that’s one way to do it.” Removing the candle, he gestures toward the cake.

“Ok there spitfire, dig in.”

His son just stares down at the cake mesmerized by the designs in the frosting. With a chuckle, Nathan swipes some frosting onto his finger. Making sure he has the attention of his son, he pops the sugary substance into his mouth. Taking another swipe he brings his finger to Keith’s mouth and with curious eyes he opens his mouth and sucks on the finger. His eyes immediately go wide with elation. Licking his lips he stares in excitement at the rest of the cake and his father takes a step back in preparation of the decimation of the cake, and decimated it is. Keith grabs a chunk of the sweet and presses it to his mouth, smearing icing on his face in the process. He wiggles in his high chair unable to contain himself before continuing his destruction of his birthday cake; his father chuckling all the while.

Nathan is in the kitchen humming a melody he can’t quite remember while grabbing a snack for him and his now three year old son. Just as he finishes plating the food he hears the most alarming sound. A high pitched scream that borders on a young growl and a loud thump of something thrown against the wall. Briskly walking into the living room he sees his son in the center of the space, clenched fists on either side of his head covering his ears. A small turn toward the left wall reveals a group of blocks and a booklet on the floor; the wall sporting red and blue marks from the impact of the toys. Any other time he would have been angry at such destructive behavior, but it was more than clear that his son was distressed.

Quickly going over to the small boy, Nathan crouches down to Keith’s level looking him over for any injuries. Taking in the boy’s face, he notes the gnashed teeth and eyes screwed tight; his breathing erratic and on the verge of hyperventilating.

“Keith, hey, what’s wrong? What happened?” he said while gently, ever so gently, grabbing his son’s hands and bringing them down from his head. The boy gasped as his eyes shot open wide, pupils and irises shrunken to near slits surrounded by yellowed sclera. His eyes dart around his father’s face unable to find a point of focus. With a wail, he closes them again becoming inconsolable.

“Oh, this is what the daycare lady was talking about.” Nathan murmurs to himself. Releasing Keith’s hands, he lightly places his larger ones on his son’s small shoulders. “Sssh, firefly, it’s ok. Take a deep breath.” he says providing an example and Keith follows with a kind of shuddering breath that only children can do. “Ok, now can you tell what’s wrong? I can’t help if you don’t say.”

Through dry sobs and clenching teeth the small boy says in a near whisper, “It’s too big.”

“What is?”

“I..I don’t know!” Keith responds becoming more distressed again.

“Ok, ok we can just..”

What was he suppose to do? His heart ached; his son was experiencing something that definitely stemmed from his mother’s heritage. Without her here he was at a lose of what to do. How was he to care for Keith when he couldn’t even begin to understand what his son was going through?

Taking a calming breath of his own and shoving down his thoughts he made a decision.

“We can just sit here until you start to feel better. How does that sound?” he says while leaning to fully sit on the floor. Keith responds with a small nod and Nathan turns him around to pull him into his lap. They sit there through long, tension filled minutes until Keith finally sighs and leans back against his father’s chest.

“Feeling better now?”

Keith nods and asks “Can I have my snack now?”

“S-sure you can, firefly.” he says, hesitating before running his fingers through Keith’s soft hair and then continuing his initial task in the kitchen.

Nathan is filling out some forms for work at the kitchen table when he hears thumps of fast moving feet coming down the hall.

“Daddy, Daddy I got something to show you!” the soon to be five year old boy says hopping up and down using his father’s chair to steady himself in his excitement.

“Oh yeah, kiddo? What you got?” He says instantly forgetting the papers on the table as he pulls out the camera from his pocket, that has become permanently attached to his person by now.

“My tooth is loose! Look!” Keith says as he proceeds to tuck in his top lip and blow air in and out through his bottom teeth. One tooth in the front wiggles back and forth in time with each breath, and his eyes cross in concentration.

With laughter in his voice Nathan says, “Well look at that; it sure is. You know what this means don’t you?”

“No, what?” he asks with bright eyes.

“Means the tooth fairy will be comin’, soon as that baby comes out.” he says bending just a little closer to his son like he’s telling a secret.

“Tooth fairy?” Keith asks with a look of incredulity.

“Yup, when your tooth comes out. We’ll put it under your pillow and then the tooth fairy will come and take it and give you some money.”

Looking grossed out and confused the boy shoots off question after question. “Why would they give me money for my teeth? Why do they want my teeth?”

Nathan is taken aback by his son’s rapid fire questioning. Keith is definitely his mother’s son. “Well it’s their job and they give you money because you’re bein’ nice enough to give it to them,” he says

“That’s dumb,” he says matter of fact as he puts all his weight on his heels, and leans back using the chair to prevent himself from falling.

“Well, what were you going to do with it?” Nathan replies.

Shrugging his small shoulders he says, “I don’t know. Eat it, I guess.”

“What?! Why would you eat it?” His father questions, truly surprised at his son’s words.

Standing flat on his feet, he cocks out his hip, rests his hand on it, tilts his head to the side, and like it’s the most logical thing in the world replies, “It’s already in my mouth. Why wouldn’t I?”

The older man can’t help but to completely lose it and just laughs until there are tears in his eyes. Keith smiles, happy that he made his father laugh though not knowing why. When Nathan calms down, he says through lingering giggles. “Well, we don’t eat our teeth so let’s be nice and let the tooth fairy do their job. Want me to show you how to take it out?”

Keith nods hoping to make his father happy again while his father gets up to grab a tissue. The man then gets down on one knee to be at his son’s level. “Ok open up.” Keith follows the order and Nathan using the tissue pinches the loose tooth between his fingers. “Alright, kiddo, on the count of three I’m going to pull it out.”

“Uh huh,” is all the boy can manage to give the go ahead.

“One..” and he pulls it out with a quick jerking motion never intending to count the other numbers. “There we go.” Keith is in shock of the now vacant space in his gums as his father shows him the now removed tooth. He takes the offered tissue from his father looking at it with curiosity.

“So what do we do with this?” Nathan leadingly asks.

“I’m going to put it under my pillow, right now.” Keith says becoming excited and quickly runs to his room. Once he’s out of sight, his father plops down into his chair and chuckles while running a hand through his hair.

“He was going to eat it... God that kid says some crazy shit.” He says to himself, turns off the camera, and resumes filling out his work papers.

The kitchen table is covered in the rainbow colors of construction paper and crayons. The boy with a mop of dark brown hair falling into his eyes is sitting in a chair next to his father while they both are making masterpieces of similar caliber. When done they show off to each other the drawings of blue skies and hover bikes. Keith can’t help but giggle at his father’s attempt of drawing birds in his sky. He then grabs a blank piece of paper and starts something new. After a few minutes, Keith suddenly stops with a frown. He turns to his father interrupting the man’s drawing.

“Daddy, how come I don’t have a mom?”

“What? Who told you that?” says Nathan , preparing to fight any number of kids’ parents.

“There’s this girl at school who says we should be friends because she doesn’t have a mom neither.” Keith replies going back to adding details in his drawing. His father follows the motion and notices the drawing his son has done of their house, him and his father, but there’s an obvious space where another person should be. Somehow that empty space reflects rather perfectly the aching space that has grown in him over the past five years. In this moment it hurts just like the day she left.

He takes a long look at the camera on the table remembering why he bought it; to share these memories with her when she.. if she comes back. He turns in his chair to fully face Keith for once not attempting to keep his complicated emotions off his face. He knew this question would come up sooner or later, but he never figured out how to explain all the Whys and the Hows. Keith is still a bit too young to know the whole truth now, but he can’t even think of lying to him.

“You have a mom.” Nathan finally answers pulling Keith into his lap and grabbing a new piece of paper to start drawing. “She’s tall, smart as a whip, and strong, but the most beautiful thing about her was when she smiled. I think she smiled the biggest when she had you.”

“If she smiled so much, then why isn’t she here with us?”

“Because she had to leave...” He chokes up unable to finish the thought. “I’m sorry, firefly.” With a tear rolling down his face he looks away from his son and murmurs to himself. “I promised myself I wouldn’t cry.”

“Daddy! I’m sorry.... I’m sorry.” The boy pleads to his father, beginning to tear up himself. He hugs him tight around the neck and Nathan can’t help but reciprocate by wrapping his arms tight around the small body in his lap. They stay that way for a while, rocking back and forth as the tears run their course. Keith’s breathing evens out as he’s apparently cried himself to sleep. Having calmed, he notes his son’s sleeping face and brushes back the over grown bangs. Then he gets up carrying young boy out of frame to put him down for a nap. Left on the table, is a rudimentary drawing or a woman lined in purple.

He’s washing dishes when his soon to be eight years old son calls for him from up stairs. “Pa.”

Pausing to wonder when Keith stop calling him Daddy, he calls back, “Yeah?”

“Pa!” Now said with fear and definite urgency. Nathan throws the dish towel on his shoulder and drops the dish in the sink to immediately turn and run up the stairs. Is it another of his episodes? It’s been so long he thought Keith had grown out of them. He stops when he reaches the top and calls out.

“Keith, where are you?”

“Pa! In here.” His voice carrying the short distance from his father’s bedroom. Nathan quickly enters and is shocked into stillness at the scene before him. Keith is practically swimming in his work vest with one foot in a far too big boot, and he’s cradling a hand that’s freely bleeding down his arm. His scans the room frantically to find the cause only to spot the luxite knife on the floor out of its sheath, and an edge of its wrapping undone. He’ll deal with that later; first, is to fix his son’s hand.

He takes the towel from his shoulder and presses it firmly against the cut in Keith’s palm while instructing to hold it the same way. He then grabs the boy’s shoulder and leads him to the bathroom. He sits him down on the toilet lid and gets out First Aid Kit #2, he’s got four of these around the house. Nathan holds out his hand waiting for Keith to offer his wounded one for inspection. Thankfully, the cut isn’t too deep and he can get away with not sewing in stitches. Keith has gone silent refusing to look in his father’s direction while he cleans and wraps the wound. While raising the hand above Keith’s heart, he lets slip some of his worry and anger.

"Keith, what were thinking?”

Panicking, Keith tries to explain, “I was just playing when it fell out of the closet. I didn’t know it was that sharp.”

“How many times have I told you, that knife is not a toy.” Nathan says in a stern voice.

“I wasn’t playing with it! I was just looking at it,” says the kid; going on the defensive.

“Then how did you hurt your hand?” Nathan asks.

“I just... wanted to see what was under the wrapping.” Keith says, again avoiding eye contact.

“It’s there for the same reason I keep it in a sheath, because it’s dangerous. You’re lucky you didn’t lose a finger.” He sighs “You about gave me a heart attack.”

Keith pouts saying, “I’m sorry... I won’t do it again.”

“Good, now go to your room,” he orders letting go of the injured hand.

“But-”

“No buts. You’re staying in your room for the rest of the evening.”

Keith slowly rises from his seat on the toilet lid and slips passed his father to his room. He shuts the door louder than usual, but not enough to be considered a slam lest his father start yelling at him. Meanwhile, Nathan walks back to the bedroom and cleans up the few scattered clothes and shoes in front of the closet. He lingers on the knife just a moment before expelling a long sigh of frustration and putting it away.

It’s a week day, and he’s driving Keith to school for his fifth week of fourth grade.The early morning is beginning to warm with the ever rising sun despite it being early autumn and with the promise of another warm day Nathan glances at his son, taking in his bored expression.

“Your birthday’s coming up soon. You ready to finally be in the double digits?” He asks.

“You mean so I can start aging in decades like you?” He replies with a wry grin.

“Hey! You don’t do that at ten.. You start at forty, and then it’s down hill from there.” He replies with a smile, making his son laugh. They fall into a comfortable silence as he rounds a street corner; the school becoming visible in the distance.

“So, you got anything you just been dying to have for your birthday?” he asks as he pulls into the designated drop off area of the school.

“Can I get my own hover bike?!” Keith quickly and with much enthusiasm replies, his eyes shining with hope.

“Well, I don’t know about a hover bike.” He says trying to avoid eye contact.

“Then, can we at least get a store bought cake?” Keith offers.

“What’s wrong with the cakes I make?” Nathan asks in indignation.

“Nothing, except the last two were more like moosh than cake.” He says as he makes a the most sour face at the memory.

“Ok, ok, you have a point. I’ll get store bought. Now, you better get moving before the lady behind us starts popping a vain.” Keith then gets out and rounds the front of the vehicle, but before he makes his way to the front doors of the building his father calls out. “Oh Keith, I’ll try and get off early today ok?”

“Ok! See you later.” He replies.

“Ok, love you, firefly.” His father says emphasizing the ‘love you.’ Keith just rolls his eyes and makes a sound of exasperation before failing to resist smiling and turns to walk into school.

For the next ten minutes Nathan drives to work quietly singing along to the radio and sometimes making comment on the commercials. After pulling into the station, he makes the usual rounds of morning greetings and stops at his locker to get changed. Only when he removes his shirt does he remember the camera that’s been recording most of the morning drive. He’s about to turn it off when a thought occurs to him and he flips it back around to place himself in frame, revealing a large scar on his right shoulder. Not for the first time, he directly addresses the camera.

“He’s turning ten soon, can you believe it? It’s been almost ten years.” He pauses with a look of contemplation before continuing. “Maybe it’s time I tell him about the knife.. and about you.” He smiles at the thought of Keith’s mother before getting distracted by the sudden alarm. The last frame of the video is a look of determination on Nathan’s face before it blurs and goes black.

#strangeroseart #vld keith #vld texas #vld krolia #keith's dad #writing #vld fanfic #angst #fluff #i don't usually write but this really wouldn't leave me alone until i got it out #this came from the fact that i and everyone i know has box of all our childhood photos i figured Keith would be similar

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selenelavellan · 7 years ago

Text

Alternate Modern AU, Part 3

Part One Part Two

Dirthamen and Mythal are @feynites

It's a short walk back to her apartment.

But one better made with company, she thinks.

Dirthamen (sweet, deceptively naive given his sense for business, Dirthamen) keeps one hand hovering behind her the whole way. As though genuinely concerned she might be so inebriated as to suddenly fall backwards, but too polite to actually touch her unless absolutely necessary.

It is surprisingly endearing.

He shifts awkwardly from one foot to the other during the elevator ride, a soft classical song playing through the old speaker system. The doors ding as they slide open to her floor, and Selene steps out to unlock her door; the only one actually on this floor, Dirthamen realizes as he looks up and down the hallway.

“Are you staying at a hotel?” Selene asks as she walks into her apartment, expecting him to follow. “I can call you a car, or send someone to pick up your luggage...”She trails off as he freezes in her entryway, eyes roaming over her home.

She supposes it can be a bit...much.

Solid oak covers most of her walls; bookshelves custom built to take advantage of every inch of space afforded to her by her raised ceilings and stuffed full of books in every language she's managed to learn. Cove style lighting gives the living room a soft white glow, and the only wall not attached to her open kitchen (which she still needs to remodel, come to think of it) or covered in books is made entirely of windows, stretching from ceiling to floor and giving her an expansive (and expensive) view of the city.

There is a long, round couch in the center of the room, covered in soft blankets and pillows and surrounding a coffee table made from the same oak as her bookshelves. It's still littered with spare phone batteries she needs to charge and a few other documents that still need to be signed outside of the view of security cameras.

“Make yourself comfortable,” She instructs, pulling two water bottles out of her refrigerator along with a tupperware filled with pre-washed grapes. “I'd ask you to take off your shoes, but you don't seem to be wearing any.”

He nods, slowly making his way over the couch.

“Have you read all of these?” He asks, eyes scanning over her private library.

“I'm still working through parts of the East wall,” She admits, handing him one of the bottled waters. “And many of the harder to find and out of immediate reach books are too old to actually handle. But for the most part, yes.”

“That is...quite a lot.”

“I suppose,” she shrugs, quickly stacking the loose papers from her coffee table and stuffing them into a nearby empty folder. “They are time well spent. You didn’t answer my question earlier; would you like me to call you a car, or do you have luggage I should send for in a hotel somewhere?”

“I do not have a hotel,” He informs her. “I was expecting to be making the journey home by now.”

“Well, if you'd like to simply sign a yes...”

He gives her a wry look.

“Worth a shot,” She laughs. “You can stay in the spare room then.”

“I do not wish to be any trouble.”

“It's no trouble. Though it has been out of use for some time, I may need to change the sheets.”

Dirthamen nods, clearly feeling awkward. “Since your husband died...?”

Selene blinks, and then lets out a small laugh. “No, my husband never stayed here. There was a house we owned out near Ostwick where he spent most of his time. I'd visit frequently since trade in the area is good, but this is my home, and my space. My sisters used to come by for sleepovers when my parents were traveling, and Des-you met him earlier, my assistant- used to use it before I gave him one of the apartments downstairs.”

“You own more than one apartment in this building?”

“I own the building,” Selene hums. “Well, the company does. We rent out to high-level employees, sometimes the accountants and their families during tax season. No need to worry about our workers getting stuck in traffic, and if there's an emergency or I need to reach someone, I can just knock on their door.”

“That is very...”

“Practical.”

“I was going to say intrusive.”

Selene pops a grape from the tupperware into her mouth. “I haven't had complaints so far. We have an in-house daycare for their children, a security guard to covertly watch the bus stop, and my father always fills the lobby with gifts in the wintertime. Not to mention the local schools are top tier, and we have a team of doctors who make house calls at all hours. And that is before their salary. It's a good package.”

“And of course your own apartment is the entirety of the top floor, where they are below you even outside of business hours.”

“It's not supposed to be a subtle metaphor,” She grins.

Dirthamen silently eats one of the offered grapes, eyes boring into her face.

It would be uncomfortable, she thinks, if she weren't equally interested in staring at his own.

“Am I correct in assuming you don't have a change of clothes?” she finally says.

Dirthamen blinks, cheeks fainting a light pink. “I will be fine.”

“I can have your outfit dry-cleaned by morning if you're uncomfortable in other clothing styles,” Selene offers.

“And in the meantime...?”

This time it is Selene who goes red, a heat rising in her lower stomach at the mental flash of the elf in front of her undressing.

“There are sleeping clothes in the drawers of the spare room you can use. And it has its own stocked bathroom and towels, if you'd like a shower.”

He thanks her, dismissing himself for just that as she instructs him to leave the dirtied clothes outside the bedroom door. She makes a quick call to the buildings housekeeping, and then locks herself inside her own bedroom and makes another immediate call to Des.

“I'm not coming in at midnight just so you can steal some land for a stupid road,” he grumbles into the receiver in lieu of a greeting. “I was in at 6am this morning, have a heart. The dirt and the trees will still be there when the sun comes up.”

“I brought him home,” She declares, hand tapping nervously on the wall beside her even as she says it.

“...You brought him home?” Des repeats.

“The meeting ran long-”

“Well I already knew that.”

“-and I was hungry so I invited him out to dinner, and I had a glass of wine and then he walked me home. And now he is in the spare room, showering by the sound of the running pipes and probably naked-”

“Do you really believe people shower any other way?”

“-and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. You have naked elves in your apartment all the time; what am I supposed to do with him?”

“...You never actually had sex with Dick, did you?”

Selene sighs. “No.”

“Do you want to have sex with Dirthamen?”

“That's...” Selene stammers “That's not-that's-how would I even know something like that? Who looks at someone and thinks 'gee I'd sure like to stick your genitals in my orifices' or-or-or whatever else sort of...sweaty, vulnerable mess is involved.”

“All that money and you never bothered with therapy...” He mutters, and she can hear his hand dragging down his face.

“DES!” she hisses urgently.

“Look, if you're not interested in sex, then don't have sex. Just because he's naked doesn't mean you're required to do anything about it. You know that, you managed a sexless marriage.”

“Because I didn't want to see him naked, or have him touch me, and he wasn't...”

“Attractive? Dreamy? Sexy in that forbidden fruit sort of way?”

“I've met plenty of attractive people. This is...I don't know what's happening. I should be able to handle this, right? It's perfectly normal?”

“Mmm...” Des muses doubtfully.

“You're fired,” She says flatly. “You're absolutely useless, and you're fired.”

“Does that mean I can go back to sleep?” Des teases.

“No, help me!”

“Can't, you fired me.”

“Fine, you're rehired.”

“No no, woo me. I want a raise. My boss keeps waking me up at night to tell me she's not getting laid.”

“Bite me.”

“Shouldn't you be saying that to the naked elf in your apartment instead?”

Selene lets out a long groan.

“Do you even have underwear for him?”

“Oh fu-” She curses, clicking off her phone and opening the door, meaning to go down to the concierge's apartment and get a package of emergency briefs.

Only to be greeted with Dirthamen.

Wearing the spare blue pajama pants.

And her immediate, halting realization that those are absolutely the only piece of clothing on him.

Her eyes (her treasonous, perverted eyes) drift down to the front of his crotch, where she knows only a single button in the middle of the front seam keeps it closed and allows him his privacy. They make sure to take their time trailing over the expanse of exposed skin offered on their way down; a toned chest, well formed from an active lifestyle and marked by the occasional light scarring that has left small pink marks scattered over the tempting plains of his shoulders and stomach.

Marks she would very much like to touch and taste for reasons that elude her.

Her mouth suddenly feels very, very dry.

“You....found the pants,” She manages, trying to regain control of herself, and her rapidly emerging libido. “Good. That's good.”

“Yes. They are very comfortable,” he says, shifting awkwardly again in a way that draws her eyes to the lines of his hips. “Thank you for your generosity.”

“It's no problem,” She assures him, trying to pull her eyes back to make contact with his own, her tongue darting out to lick her surprisingly dry lips, the remnants of her lipstick. “Do you need anything else?”

“Uh...” he stammers, face flushing again as his own eyes drift down to her mouth.

Oh, she thinks. The blush goes all the way down his chest.

That's....certainly interesting information to have.

“I believe I will be fine for the evening,” He finally says. “Thank you.”

Selene nods, swallowing and offering a polite smile. “Good night then.”

“Good night,” he returns as she disappears into her room.

She quickly changes into her own sleep clothes, crawling under the too-hot covers with her current night stand book. This is normally her time, when she gets to unwind with an hour of her own choice of reading before bed.

But tonight...

Her skin feels flushed and warm, her sheets thick and uncomfortable against it. Nerves alight, and head spinning with thoughts of the other elf only a living room away.

Was this intentional on his part?

Was he trying to affect her this way, maybe? Throw her off her usual tactics in an attempt to unbalance her...?

She certainly feels as though her steady ground has been ripped out from under her. Each step, each word, each twitch of his finger makes her dreadfully aware of her own body. Another sensation to be unfamiliar with, a pull from her own instincts and a weight in her chest to pull him closer. To see if his body is being tortured as much as her own.

...however pleasant the torture might be.

Her shower is quick and cold, and after her third unsuccessful attempt to read and absorb the next paragraph of her book in bed, Selene resigns herself to a night of fitful sleep and staring at her ceiling. To focusing on keeping a steady flame at her fingertips, in a fruitless attempt to feel less internally lit.

It is a very long night.

–

Her mother calls exactly 5 minutes after her morning alarm.

“Good morning mother,” Selene greets into the receiver, stifling a yawn.

“Good morning dear,” She returns. “How did the meeting go? I heard the Dalish representative gave you trouble and ran later than expected.”

“Ah...” Selene stalls, memory of the previous night returning, mind working to decide exactly how much of it to share. “Yes. I had Des reschedule the meeting with the accountants to next week to accommodate.”

“That's fine of course,” her mother approves “Did we get the approval then?”

“Not quite yet,” Selene evades. “Their representative was more stubborn than I anticipated.”

“Is there an issue?”

“Only a rigidly straight moral compass,” Selene jokes, trying to keep the notes of admiration out of her voice as she stares at her closed door. “Nothing a little more time and persuasion won't fix.”

“I trust you to handle this,” her mother says in the tone she knows actually means 'get this done'. “If you require assistance...”

“I can handle it,” Selene assures her. “I'm meeting with him again today.”

“Oh? I didn't see it on your schedule.”

“It's only 5, and the meeting last night ran late. Des likely hasn't gotten in to update it yet.”

“Hm. I will see you for our lunch this afternoon?”

“Of course,” Selene agrees . “I'll see you then mother. Good bye.”

“Good bye dear.”

Selene looks down at her cell phone as the screen dims out, biting her lower lip nervously;

She can handle this, right?

#alternate modern au #dirthalene #selene lavellan #des #selene 'oh shit im demisexual' evanuris

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i-may-have-a-point · 8 years ago

Text

Chicago Chapter 4

So, since the actual show is dragging out Japril’s story, I’m just going to continue to write my own version and share it with all of you. Thank you to everyone who is reading and letting me know what they think. Hopefully some of these fanfics can help make this Japril drought less miserable. Anyway, here is chapter 4 of Chicago:

Chapter 4

April wrapped her arms around Jackson’s waist and smiled up at him. She couldn’t believe that he was in Chicago. He must have left Seattle right after they got off the phone.

“How did you even get here? Were you flying all night? Wait. Where is our daughter?!” April’s expression changed from adoring to frantic.

Jackson laughed quietly. “Harriet is with Ben and Bailey. Well, technically she is in the hospital daycare right now, but Bailey is picking her up and taking her home after her shift. I felt bad asking them at the last minute, but they actually seemed pretty excited to watch her.”

April was happy to hear that Harriet was in good hands, but that still didn’t answer all of her questions. “Okay, so how did you get here so fast? There is no way you were able to get a straight flight out of Seattle to Chicago at the last minute.”

“April. Have you forgotten? I have my own plane. You just rode on it. I guess you weren’t that impressed with it after all.” Jackson reminded her.

She didn’t know how she could have forgotten about the Avery’s plane. She had been so impressed when they took it to Montana – the reclining, leather seats, the stewardess offering them champagne, and the food. The food was probably the best part. On second thought, no. The best part had been the trip home. Montana had been exhausting for both of them. Physically and emotionally exhausting. They sat together on the long, plush couch after boarding the plane and recounted the details of Caroline’s surgery. Neither of them could really believe they had pulled off creating a valve for her out of her own appendix. This was a surgery they would both remember forever. It wasn’t long before their conversation slowed, however, and they sat in comfortable silence allowing the tiredness to take over. April’s head slowly fell to the right and rested on Jackson’s shoulder. For a moment, they stayed just like that, their bodies relaxing and their minds drifting off. Then April realized she was leaning on him and sat up quickly. Her movements brought him back to reality as well. “Sorry.” She said avoiding eye contact. “I didn’t mean to do that. I mean – I don’t know if we…” She began to scoot away from him when she felt his hand against her thigh. She turned to look at him and saw he was looking back at her with that smile that made his eyes light up – that smile that was only for her. “Don’t be sorry.” He held his hand out to her. “Come here.” She took his hand as he laid back on the couch pulling her down next to him. Her head was resting on his chest and his hand was absentmindedly tracing the outside of her arm. Jackson sighed contentedly, “I sleep much better like this anyway.” Within moments sleep overtook them both and they didn’t wake again until their plane began its descent into Seattle.

April opened her mouth to respond that she had certainly not forgotten the plane, but before she could do so, the door next to hers opened and Catherine stepped in to the hallway.

“Jackson! I thought I heard your voice! Baby, what are you doing here?!” Catherine hugged her son and looked from Jackson to April. “Did you know about this, April? Did he tell you he was coming?”

“Nope. I was just as surprised as you are.”

Catherine caressed Jackson’s cheek and smiled, “Well, I think it’s wonderful. It has been too long since you have been to the Avery Trauma Center. You can go with us to the hospital this afternoon. Has April already told you all about her first day?”

His eyes darkened a bit and he cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, she did. That’s actually why I’m here.”

Catherine looked puzzled, “Oh? I don’t understand.”

“Mom…we need to talk.”

___________________________________________________________________________________

Catherine, April, and Jackson sat together in the small living room area of April’s hotel room. Telling Catherine about her assault proved no easier than telling Jackson. Explaining the details of what happened in Dotson’s office forced April to relive the events again in her mind. She could almost feel his hands on her body, holding her in place, grabbing her without permission. She hadn’t even realized she was crying again until she looked down at her hand in Jackson’s and noticed their hands were blurry through her tears. Catherine listened silently to everything April needed to tell her. When April stopped speaking, a quiet stillness filled the room as each of them tried to process what had happened and what to do next.

Without a word to Jackson or April, Catherine pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed a number. Catherine crossed to the window and stood looking out over the city while she waited for her call to be answered.

April couldn’t read Catherine’s expression. “Who is she calling?” She whispered to Jackson.

“I don’t know…Mom? Who are you calling?” Jackson called over to Catherine.

Catherine turned from the window to face Jackson and April and spoke into the phone, “Susan, it’s Catherine Avery. I need Johnathan Griffin on the phone. Now.”

April saw a small smile cross Jackson’s face, but she didn’t understand why. “Who is that? Who is Johnathan Griffin?”

“Johnathan Griffin is one of our attorneys. It looks like my mother has a plan.”

Two hours later Jackson, April, and Catherine were standing outside the Avery Trauma Center waiting for Johnathan to meet them. During the ride from the hotel to the hospital, April had grown increasingly anxious about the idea of seeing Dotson again. She knew that Jackson wouldn’t let anything happen to her, but he couldn’t change what had already happened. And the thought of facing Jeff Dotson created a nauseas feeling in her that she was unable to ignore.

“I don’t think I can do this.” April blurted out.

Jackson and Catherine, who had been scanning the parking lot for their lawyer’s car, both turned to look at her.

“Do what, honey?” Catherine asked.

“I – I can’t…I don’t want to see him.” April quietly admitted.

Jackson stepped toward April and wrapped her in his arms. She laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes, grateful for his strength. She would need it today to get through this.

“You won’t. I placed a call and Dotson’s presence was suddenly required at the medical conference being held downtown today. He won’t be in at all today. You don’t need to worry about a thing. Besides, I wanted to make sure I have plenty of time to review all of his administrative records and take my time looking through his office. Men like him, April…there’s a good chance you aren’t the first woman he has assaulted. And we need to know if there is any evidence of that before we move forward.” Catherine reassured her.

“Maybe there are cameras in his office?” April thought if they could see for themselves what had happened that would be all the evidence they would need.

“Unfortunately, there aren’t. Just in the hallways. We can view you entering and leaving his office, and although I am sure you look quite upset leaving, that doesn’t prove anything.” Catherine rubbed April’s arm and turned back to the parking lot as a black sedan pulled up to the curb. “There he is.” Catherine stepped toward the car to meet their lawyer.

April leaned her head back to look up at Jackson. “Thank you.”

“For what?” he asked.

“I don’t know if I could do this without you here.”

“You could, April. You are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. But you don’t need to. I am right here, and I’m not going anywhere.” He bent down to rest his forehead against hers and whispered, “ever.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________

They spent the better part of the morning combing through Dotson’s personnel files. In the ten years he had worked at the hospital, seven women had filed complaints against him for either sexual harassment, intimidation, or discrimination. The reports were full of stories of Dotson abusing his power but none of them were quite as severe as April’s. Their lawyer photocopied all of the reports and advised April to write a statement detailing her assault. He assured them that all of the evidence combined would be more than enough to create a case against Dotson.

Jackson tossed one of the files he had been reading on to the desk. “How has he gotten away with this for so long?” How is he still working here? He has seven complaints in his file – seven! Why the hell hasn’t anyone addressed this before now? If someone had done their damn job, he never would have been anywhere near April!“

“Oh, believe me, Jackson. I will find out. I will not allow any of our employees to overlook matters that are this serious. They will be dealt with as well.” Catherine assured him.

Their lawyer gathered all the files together and put them in his briefcase. “Dr. Kepner, if you could go ahead and write down your account of what transpired yesterday then I can begin preparing our case.”

“Sure.” April replied.

“April, why don’t you write up your statement in here while we go see if there is anything we can use in Dotson’s office. This room isn’t scheduled to be used for any meetings today, so you should have plenty of privacy.” Catherine suggested.

The last thing April wanted to do was to step foot in Dotson’s office ever again. She was grateful to Catherine for understanding that without her having to say anything. “That would be great. Thank you.”

She picked up a yellow notepad and pen from the table and sat down in one of the oversized, brown, leather chairs. Catherine led their attorney out of the room to Dotson’s office. Before following them, Jackson knelt down next to April’s chair. “You gonna be okay here alone for a little bit? It shouldn’t take long to check out his office.”

“Of course,” April smiled. “I’ll be fine. Go.”

“Okay, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Jackson kissed her softly on the forehead and left the room.

The silence was strangely nice. April hadn’t had much time to herself since she ran from Dotson’s office the day before. She hadn’t really been able to process any of it. And as much as she didn’t want to relive the details one more time, the idea of putting it all on paper seemed somewhat cathartic. Once it was on paper, it wouldn��t just exist in her mind. It would be concrete, tangible in a way. Her words would have more power and maybe Dotson would have less.

Once she began writing the words flowed easily. She described arriving at the Avery Trauma Center and meeting Dotson and his ER team. She included the surgeries she scrubbed-in for and the painful staff meeting she sat through. She didn’t leave out any detail. His subtle, misogynistic jokes. His touches that sent shivers up her spine. His angry jealousy of Jackson. Her fear.

Her pen moved quickly across the paper without pause. She needed to get this story out, to make sure it was heard, so he couldn’t do this to another woman. She wasn’t quite finished when the office door opened and she knew the others had returned.

“I’m sorry.” She said with her eyes focused on her page. “I’m not quite finished. I just need another minute.”

The door slammed closed behind her, startling her, and the pen made a stray mark across the page as she jumped. She was struck by a sudden wave of lightheadedness as she turned her chair toward the door. The pen she was holding fell to the floor and rolled under the table.

Her mind willed her body to react, to move, but she couldn’t. She stayed frozen in her chair as Jeff Dotson walked closer to look down at her with a smirk. “Hello, April.”

#japril #japril fanfiction

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hhmoto · 9 years ago

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7/30/15

Dartmouth Nova Scotia, Peggy's cove and Halifax for the day

We slept until 8 and the house is empty. Brenda and Tim are at work and their daughter is at daycare. And us, the single kids, are lazing in bed, getting up for breakfast slowly, and only worrying about ourselves. No jobs to rush to, no kid to bathe.

These are the days, I guess. Sometimes I find myself wanting more. But I think of before, when I was wishing things would hurry and get on with it, and then when they did I would get stuck, wishing I was back where I used to be. For now I'm having to try and be content. Free. Lazy. Young. Stop wishing ahead.

We finally got ready and packed up the top luggage box with cameras and jackets and made our way through the city to Peggy's Cove. We stopped for a patio lunch a bit outside the town first, and then came to explore the tiny cove and rocky shore. This is the most photographed lighthouse in Canada and it is a crowded town considering it only has 40 residents. Gift shops souvenirs, one restaurant and a visitor center, and hundreds of tourists ambling up the narrow streets and on the rocks by the lighthouse.

It's beautiful. The rocks are huge bare granite mounds with fissures running through and different levels right to the surf where we see weeds and barnacles being pounded by the low waves. Warning signs not to walk on the black rocks, 2 fatalities already this year, we stay up high but others get too close and waves come nerve-wrackingly close. I got two postcards and we took a few photos before getting away from the crowds again.

It's hitting me today how long we've been gone and how far we've come. Thinking about the cabin in Marlboro, and feeling like I have so much unfinished work since then. I feel fragmented. Far from home. Like I've left myself and my ideas in too many places and they're fraying apart from stretching too thin. I didn't realize how much I'd needed the rebound between trips every 2 weeks.

This is becoming my life, the road. It's making me a little anxious, on top of the mole worrying, day to day anxieties about the motorcycle and road conditions and traffic and days slipping away since I spoke to my editor or parents. Jesse and I are getting along great though. We're learning each other's habits and rhythms more, like that Jesse needs to eat often and he gets testy if he's hungry, and that I'm a slow poke and he's more patient than I give him credit for.

We leave Peggy's Cove and drive into Halifax, through the narrow streets of beautiful old houses. We make our way to the waterfront and find a parking lot near the marina. I take off my jacket, pants, boots, and leave them in the top box, with our helmets hanging on the pegs. Then we walk up to the Maritime Museum and spend the next two and a half hours wandering through the displays: Canada's naval history, the Halifax disaster, the Acadia ship tour on a rickety gangway from pier to boat and around the offices and decks, upstairs to a video about the Titanic response in this, the closest port town with the ships and resources to recover the bodies they could find, and some pieces of the ship's wreckage still floating in the cold Atlantic.

Some of the remnants are on display. A deck chair with a little carved star on it. A piece of a doorway into the first class lounge. Part of the grand staircase, intricately carved wood from the prime cut of an oak tree. A pair of small shoes from the mystery child found. And pictures and videos from the survivors and the burial of the rest in a few Halifax cemeteries. It's strange to see this side of the story, after visiting the museum at the port where the Titanic was built in Belfast. There's the whole ocean between here and there, and a hundred years of history, and two summers of my life swirled away since I walked around the replica riveting and cabins. This continent's history is so abridged. The museum was cool though, and after we'd seen the original set of Theodore the Tugboat, we walked back out onto the piers to find dinner.

It was some sort of festivity day, and there were huge crowds around the water. Street performers, musicians, souvenirs. The first restaurant patio we tried was closed for a wedding, so we found another. The service was terrible because the place had too many tables and not enough staff, but the food was good, and I got some much needed water into me after a long day of dehydration. After dinner we continued up the pier for a beer at Upper Deck and I had an iceberg and we watched people on the docks. We were there for ages, the only people on the upper floor of the restaurant. Just chatting, slowly drinking our beverages, tired after our day but in good spirits even though our patience was worn thin. We went downstairs and stood in a long line for Cow's ice cream, intoxicated by the smell of fresh waffle cones drifting over the wooden plank pier. I got Apple crisp flavor and Jesse had Messy Bessie chocolate stuff and we found a bench on the end of the dock to eat our cones in view of a floating dock with a golf hole where some car dealership had set up a golf-and-win-a-car booth.

After our ice creams we drove back across the bridge to Dartmouth and had a beer with Tim on the deck and got eaten by Mosquitos. Brenda had water, and then we put in some laundry and I had my first bath in three weeks, luxury! And we all went to bed.

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justworksmartjen-blog · 6 years ago

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How To Choose A Daycare

Many people have a misunderstanding about what a daycare is. Some people think that a daycare is simply a daylong babysitting service. And, trust me, I've heard every excuse in the book for doing so, but the only legitimate reasons for doing so are in the event of an emergency during the early stages; nighttime diapers initially (and only for a very short time); and/or if your daycare provider has specific rules.

Outlet covers in the wall, child proof latches on doors and cupboards and appropriate safety gates on stairways are a fine place to begin.

An eye on things: this point is related to the daycare centers manager more than the staff itself; If you as a manager can't be at the daycare center all the time, but like to know what's going on, a security camera can help do just that (security camera must be IP security camera to do that).

Daycare near me - Having a great place where you can entrust your furry friend is indeed a wonderful feeling. They acknowledge that in child care setting, a culturally knowledgeable person is an individual who has made a commitment to learning about the cultural group as a whole, and finding accurate information about the uniqueness of a family's individual culture. For more information, please visit our website https://www.leacademyonline.com/.

#Many people have a misunderstanding about what a daycare is. Some people think that a daycare is simply a daylong babysitting service. And

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batsandbugs · 4 years ago

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The Great IKEA Game

Chapter 4: The Three Stooges

AN: At least it hasn’t been two months again 😅. Let’s check in with the other batboys and see how they’re handling Damian and Marinette’s chaos.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Tim wondered when his day took a solid dive off the cliffs of normal and into the waters of weird.

It probably started when Dick dragged them out of bed at eight in the morning – on a Saturday – piled them into the car, and drove them an hour and a half out of the city to an IKEA. If they had actually been there to shop they would have either burned the store down or killed one another.

Not that those things were off the table yet.

Tim had work, actual work, that he could be doing. But no, instead he was playing a demented game of hide-and-go-seek, which was careening into an all-out war. The destroyed shelving units, shopping carts, and forklift were unmistakable evidence of that.

How had the demon spawn accomplished this in less than a minute?

Bruce would kill them, once he came back from off-world.

That is if Alfred didn’t get to them first.

“Uh, order 177? Shit, my pay isn't enough for this.”

The words shook Tim from his stupor. He walked over to the counter.

“Hi,” he said, flashing his most charming CEO grin. “I have a quick question?”

The server's fixed smile contrasted with his dull eyes.

“I need to know what way the boy who ordered this headed.”

“No.”

Tim sighed, “Look, it’s important. My brother-”

“I mean, no, it wasn’t a boy.”

Tim paused. “Huh?”

“It was a girl, a teen girl. Black hair, big blue eyes, French accent. She was sitting over there,” he waved at an empty table. “But I think she walked away before that happened.” Referring to the giant train wreck occurring a few aisles over.

“Oh,” said Tim. “Thanks.”

“Do you want the order?”

Tim held back an annoyed sigh.

“Sure.”

So that’s how he, Jason, and Dick, sat at the abandoned picnic table, staring at the abandoned meal bought with Damian’s credit card. Jason grabbed a couple of fries and shoved them in his mouth.

“That’s evidence, nitwit,” hissed Tim.

Jason ignored him, stabbing a meatball with the plastic fork. “What? It’s going to go to waste. Girlie obviously ain’t coming back for it.”

“We should be more worried about how a random girl used Damian’s credit card!”

“She could have stolen it?” offered Dick.

“Demon spawn would have broken her arm before getting pickpocketed,” countered Jason, eating another fry. Silence. A weird glint appeared in Jason's eye. He turned to Tim. “What did you say the girl looked like again?”

“Black hair, blue eyes, French accent.”

“Shit,” muttered Jason.

“What?”

“I think I ran into her earlier, about an hour and a half ago. Asked her if she had run into demon spawn – she sounded confused and tourist-like. But maybe…”

“Maybe she’s working with him?” offered Tim.

“Could be.”

“Damian? Working with another person? A stranger?” Dick shook his head. “Doesn’t sound like him.”

Jason shoved another fry into his mouth. “The brat’s a competitive little shit, if he thought teaming up would help him get ahead, he’d do it in a heartbeat.” He pointed a fry at Tim. “Can you look at the security footage?”

“I’m already two steps ahead of you,” Tim said, flashing his phone with the hacked in security camera footage on-screen. Jason and Dick huddled in close as a small girl walk on screen and stood at the counter.

“Yep, that’s her. Can you ID her, Timmy?”

Tim rolled his eyes, “This is a smartphone, Jay, not a laptop.”

“I thought Mr. World’s Second Greatest Detective would be prepared for anything.”

“Well excuse me for not having facial recognition software, on my phone.”

“Guys chill.”

“Shut up, Dick,” Jason and Tim said in unison.

The footage played out and they watched the girl order two meals and pay with Damian’s credit card. They switched to another camera when she left and sat at the picnic table. A few minutes later Jason and Tim walked into frame.

“Look, there! She tenses. Look at her body language, she’s panicking. She knows who you two are.” Dick looked shocked that, yes, Damian had teamed up with a partner.

They watched the girl panic, although she managed to keep her body from reacting too much. She placed her phone to her ear and walked away from her spot.

“Who is she talking to?”

“Maybe Damian was watching out of sight?”

“Shoot, Tim, she’s out of frame. Do we have another angle?”

It took another minute or so, but Tim found the right security camera catching the mysterious girl leaving the food court. As she walked away the image on the screen flickered, and a moment later the shelving units fell.

“Oh crap,” swore Jason. “Do you think she has magic? Fuck, it would be just our luck if demon spawn teamed up with someone dangerous.”

Dick shook his head. “It could be a coincidence. We didn’t see her do anything. The chaos could have been a coordinated effort between her and Damian.”

Tim wasn’t so sure. “Come on Dick, you’ve been in the game long enough to know just because something looks one way, doesn’t mean it's true.”

They watched the girl hurry out of sight, this time it was much more difficult to follow her progress through the store. She would randomly duck in and out of showrooms, coming out differently than how she came in. If the three boys hadn’t been trained in stealth and detection for years, they would have had a challenging time tracking her.

Jason whistled low. “Who is this chick? I’m impressed. She has serious skill.”

Finally, she ducked into a showroom and didn’t come out. Tim couldn’t find a camera giving them an unobstructed view, but it didn't matter. They had a destination.

“This was ten minutes ago, they could already be long gone,” said Dick.

“Or they could still be hiding there,” countered Jason.

“We’ll find out when we get there.” They walked out of the cafeteria and past the closed aisles. The forklift that had been buried under the collapsed shelving unit was being unearthed by a flock of bewildered employees.

“Ten bucks says she has magic,” said Jason.

“Yeah, no.” Tim was good at math and the odds of everything happening just as she left was too big to be a coincidence. “I’m not stupid enough to take that bet.”

“Come on you guys, let’s focus here,” chided Dick.

Walking back through the showrooms Tim kept an eye out for any sign of his brother or his accomplice, but it was as if they had disappeared into thin air. Arriving at the last location they had spotted the girl, they waited for a touring couple to leave before descending on the tiny, boxed room like the detectives they were trained to be.

It didn’t take long to discover the lasered off vent.

“Shit,” groaned Jason. “They could be anywhere by now.”

“Tim can you-”

Tim had his phone in hand, “I’m already on it. I’ll have the vent layout in a minute.” He felt insulted they even needed to ask.

Jason peered into the vent, “Damn, I think we’re too big to follow.”

Dick sighed. “I miss my vent crawling days; they just don’t make them as big as they used to.”

“That’s what she said,” snickered Jason.

“Focus you two,” Tim snapped. “I’ve pulled up the air duct plans.” He flashed the screen to his two brothers who settled down. “This particular vent runs a couple of places. We have one entrance at the back of the store in the storeroom. Then another veering off near the daycare center, and the last which comes out near the unloading dock.”

“I’ll take the one next to the daycare center,” said Dick. “I’m the only one who isn't demented,” pointing to Jason, “or sleep-deprived,” pointing to Tim.

“Hey!” exclaimed Jason.

Tim sneered, repressing a Damian-like growl, “I wouldn’t be so sleep deprived if you hadn’t dragged us out of the house at eight in the morning. I arrived in from patrol at three.” He hadn’t had coffee in hours, and the weight of his body pressed on him like a panini maker.

Dick ignored them. “Jason can take the one at the loading docks, and Tim you’ll be able to bypass security and get into the back the easiest.”

“Sounds good to me,” grunted Jason.

“Alright,” agreed Tim. “The second any of us spots them, text the group chat, will box them in from there.”

They nodded and headed off their separate ways. Despite the tiredness in Tim's bones, there was a heady rush of the hunt thrumming in his veins. Damian, and whoever he had decided to pair up with, were going down.

Tag List: (Closed, sorry!! I’m so glad you all like it though.)

@multplelifes @bluesimani @justhugefangirl @nik-nak-3@redscarlet95 @purplesundaze @incredulous-reader @k-poplunardreams @our-preciousss @blackmagicforever @vgirl-10123 @lozzybowe @wannajointhecrabcult @dast218 @chaotic-mess-of-a-life @fidget-eep @kawaiigiantjudgefish @queenmj10@tumbling-down-hills-and-stuff @crazylittlemunchkin @fandom-writer642 @nach0ava @ladybug-182 @sam-i-am-0222@spyofthenightcourt @how-to-fuction-properly@emotionalsupportginger @dreamykitty25 @tomanyfandomsonmy-mind @mystery-5-5 @theatreandcomicfreak @weird-pale-blonde-person @whatthechickenfriedfuck @myazael@pawsitivelymiraculous @urbanpineapplefarmer @karategirl119@consumeconstantly @hauntedstudent99 @ertyzeta @thornalchemist23 @iloveitwhen @animegirlweeb@byronsacademics @i-wanna-be-a-ninja @moonlitjiminie@iglowinggemma28 @constancetruggle @catgirlkittypryde @waffelyunsure @maskedpainter @lilkymilky @unhappyraspberry @avengerthewarrior @quotesandanime @tbehartoo @clumsy-owl-4178 @g-arya @chocolateherringtacofan @jalaluvsu @crazyrandomrebel @fatimaabbasrizvi @thenillabean @goblinwhoships @bluefyoto94 @nerinalith @loopingtangent @demonicbusiness @hecate-hallow @themcclan @tropestropestropes @paintedhope7 @whitetiger1249 @glitchon @vulpixmina @kitkat81804 @kissa-chan @beautiful-disasters-sunshine

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kansascityhappenings · 7 years ago

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KC mom freaked out after stranger gets caught on camera trying to take her three kids from day care

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the last year, Donisha Taylor says her three children have been going to Emmanuel Family and Child Development Center near Swope Parkway and Prospect in Kansas City without any problems.

However, last Monday Taylor said a stranger gave her the scare of her life.

Donisha Taylor

“I was crying. I was panicking,” Taylor told Fox 4’s Robert Townsend. “It’s just crazy how people are really out there trying to pick up people’s kids. It’s just so scary. I’m still shaking.”

Taylor said her heart kept racing because on Dec. 19 an employee at her children’s day care called her at work with some unbelievable news.

“She said a complete stranger was their trying to get her to release my children to him,” Taylor said.

The “complete stranger,” a man, was caught on video by a day care security camera.

Taylor said the guy told the front desk worker he was there to take Taylor’s two- and six-year-old daughters and 11-year-old son with him.

“He stood there in the front lobby, and he was like, ‘Well I’m here to pick up the two girls and a boy.’ I just want to know why did he want my kids? I never, ever saw this man with dreadlocks in my life. It was just so scary,” Taylor said.

Scary indeed because a baffled Taylor said the stranger apparently knew her kids’ names and knew that they would be at their daycare at night.

“Even though my children all have unique names that start with the letter ‘Z,’ he kept trying to pronounce them to the the worker and he even knew one of my children’s last name,” Taylor said. “I still don’t even know how he would even know what day care they would go to. I don’t bother nobody. All I do is work and take care of my babies. They’re my pride and joy.”

Taylor said fortunately, the alert day care worker became suspicious.

“And she was like, ‘Sir, what’s your name?’ He was like, ‘I have my ID,’ but then he said, ‘Oh I can’t find my ID,’ so then he started fumbling around, feeling on his pockets and just said, ‘Well mom’s outside.’ The worker was like so can you go get mom?” Taylor said.

By then, the center’s director said the now spooked stranger suddenly left the day care.

“Very scary because you know today’s world, and people are so crazy and wicked,” said Deborah Mann, executive director at Emmanuel Family and Child Development Center. “You don’t know what he had in mind. We’re just thankful my staff knew what to do.”

Mann said security cameras are throughout the day care, and she’s now considering increasing the security measures at her center.

In the meantime, one week later, a frightened Taylor struggles to forget the day care stranger scare.

“It has made me more protective,” she said. “I just keep looking around now and making sure nobody’s following me. I’m also still scared he can come back. You just never know. I hope police can find him.”

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports http://fox4kc.com/2017/12/26/kc-mom-freaked-out-after-stranger-gets-caught-on-camera-trying-to-take-her-three-kids-from-day-care/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2017/12/27/kc-mom-freaked-out-after-stranger-gets-caught-on-camera-trying-to-take-her-three-kids-from-day-care/

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wallythayer · 7 years ago

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Stronger Together: Christina Coleman’s Success Story

It was a cold December morning in 2015 when I waited anxiously in a brightly lit doctor’s office with my young son, feeling both hope and dread in anticipation of a diagnosis that would explain his recent behavior. Max, then 2 years old, sat in the middle of the floor ignoring the various toys scattered around him. He seemed distant and wouldn’t look at me. Shouldn’t he want his mother right now? I thought. Shouldn’t he be anxious?

As a baby, Max had been lively and sweet. He loved our bedtime-reading routine and playing with his stuffed animals. But my boyfriend, Eric, and I started noticing changes in Max’s demeanor around his second birthday. He stopped making eye contact with us. When we sat on the floor to play with him, he seemed uninterested, almost as if he was lost in his own world. He wouldn’t respond when we called his name.

I don’t know what I was expecting that morning, but I think part of me hoped for some reassurance that my son would simply progress in his own time. So, when the doctor told me Max had autism, I didn’t know how to respond. A flurry of questions arose in my mind: Would Max ever start speaking? What did this mean for our family? If Eric and I got pregnant again, would that baby have autism, too?

Suddenly, I was trying to recall every detail of my pregnancy: the nights I’d stayed late at work, what I’d eaten, how I’d slept. Had I done something wrong? Was this my fault?

I work as a TV news anchor-reporter, and I’m often first on the scene to cover homicides and other high-stress events. I’ve always been able to remain calm and confident under pressure. For the first time in a long while, I felt scared. What would the rest of my son’s life be like?

Slippery Slope

The first few months after Max’s diagnosis were overwhelming. I often felt like every parenting choice I made — the groceries I bought, the places I took him to play — would have a significant impact on his well-being. Suddenly, the weight of those decisions seemed twice as heavy.

Eric and I didn’t know whether to put Max in daycare or to look for a place that could offer him more specialized attention. Our calendar quickly filled with new appointments with specialists: occupational therapy, speech therapy, behavioral therapy.

Trying to balance it all while also working full-time — and working with Max at home — began to wear on me. I worked in the newsroom until midnight sometimes and then had to be up early the next morning for Max’s therapy sessions.

Eric and I had opposite work schedules and were like ships passing in the night. When we were together, all we talked about was Max’s cognitive development or whether we should join a support group for help in coping with parenting a special-needs child. It began to feel like Max was a project we were tackling rather than our son who just needed our love and support.

I started eating when I was stressed, which was nearly all the time. If someone brought doughnuts to the newsroom, I’d go back for seconds. I began to linger at the office into the wee hours, poring over books on autism while munching mindlessly on popcorn.

In just a couple of months, I gained 15 pounds. I felt sluggish and weary; I didn’t recognize my own reflection.

I was once an active person — I played basketball in high school and college and loved running and working out. I always imagined having a child who would play sports with me, who I could take into the newsroom to cavort with my colleagues. I felt confused and uncertain about what Max’s diagnosis meant for the life I’d envisioned for us.

Most of all, I wasn’t the best mother that I could be — and I knew my son needed me.

One Step at a Time

Max’s therapists recommended that we try to socialize him as much as possible, and we immediately thought of the Child Center at the Life Time near our home. Eric and I had often brought Max to the club with us when he was younger, and he crawled around on the mats at the play center while we worked out.

I knew I needed to recommit to a regular fitness routine; it would be a better stress reliever than late-night snacking. Plus, it would be a win for everyone: Max could spend time around other children, and Eric and I could get some much-needed exercise.

Each time we opened the door to the Child Center, the staff there greeted Max with huge smiles and called him by name. That spring, he started looking them in the eye and smiling back. Outside, he climbed on the jungle gym and ran around with the other children. He looked just like any other 2-year-old: active, boisterous, and happy.

Eric and I began going to the club more regularly, excited about the progress Max was making. It was such a comfort to take him to a place that embraced what makes him special. Driving home after each visit, we were relaxed and happy, a far cry from the overstressed, disconnected family we’d been just a few months before.

Walking the Walk

Once I got back into a regular fitness routine, I realized what I’d been missing during all those months of sleeplessness and stress-eating. It was like a chain reaction: I’d found an active outlet for my stress, so I was sleeping better; that gave me the energy to make healthier choices. I started prepping meals with fruit and lean proteins to take to work, which made me less likely to reach for chips or popcorn. I began drinking more water — and less coffee — and found myself feeling vibrant and energized.

These days, I’m showing up more fully at work and at home. Feeling more rested and purposeful has made my mornings less hectic, so I can have quality time with Max before I head into the newsroom. I’m able to work ahead on stories, so I feel more prepared and less rushed. And since my clothes are fitting better, I’m more comfortable on camera.

As we watched Max become more active, and as Eric and I grew stronger and fitter, we realized how important it is to take care of ourselves. Last October I ran a half-marathon. I felt so proud crossing the finish line, knowing I’d accomplished something great while also modeling healthy behaviors for my son.

That summer while I was training for the half-marathon, Eric and I would take Max to the pool at Life Time. Watching him giggle and splash around in the water was a welcome reminder that while Max may have his challenges, he’s still so full of life and love. And we know that living a healthy lifestyle will make us better prepared for any challenges the three of us might face together.

Get the full story at https://experiencelife.com/article/stronger-together-christina-colemans-success-story/

#brain

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saltysadtrombone-blog · 7 years ago

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Some assembly required

Jeff had done it A month of planning Reconnaissance missions Hours and hours of research He memorized the placement of every camera Every laser tripwire

It was touch and go for a minute But as he saw that last yellow shirt leave He knew

This IKEA was his for the night

This was everything he had ever wanted as a child After a long and trying experience

He had it

Now he just had to figure out what to do with it

“Meatballs ™” He thought “I’m going to get some motherfucking meatballs ™”

As he headed to the cafeteria He stopped

He was being watched

“Are you running from the real world too?” An extremely old man bald and clean shaven, but surprising good posture, and dressed in a bathrobe comes out from behind a Blitzkrëig ™ bookshelf

“You aren’t the first” The old man continues as Jeff listens, honestly a little frightened at the weird occurrence “Second one this month trying to find comfort somewhere between the Allen wrenches and fake plants”

“What do you mean? I’m just living out a childhood fantasy, I’m just here to get meatballs ™ and sort of Dick around, you know rearrange some stuff”

“Well then let’s continue this in the cafeteria”

He follows the old man When they reach the kitchen the old man takes a small silver key from his pocket and unlocks the walk in freezer to grab a bag of meatballs ™ And throw them in the microwave

“Not the oven?” Jeff asks

“This is how they do it” The old man replies

“Damn, that really bums me out” Jeff says

The microwave goes off and the old man hands a plate of like 50 meatballs ™ to Jeff As Jeff scarfs them down he asks “So I guess if we’re going to be friends for the night I should know your name”

“Ralph”

“Seriously?”

“So did you come here tonight just to make fun of an old mans name?”

“Haha no, like I said” Jeff pops the last meat ball ™ in his mouth “these things and shenanigans”

“Haha like the rest” Ralph starts walking out of the kitchen “You might have walked in to a little more than you’ve bargained for”

“What do you mean? And who are the rest?”

“They should all be emerging now, follow me”

Jeff and Ralph go back toward the office demo rooms, to Jeff it’s like a completely different world now, flooded with people too many to count How long had they been here?

“How the hell?…” Jeff thinks to himself out loud

“I was the first years ago” Ralph explains as he continues to lead Jeff through the newly appeared crowd “two of my old friends and I right after my divorce, all three of us had a reason for coming, but in the grand scheme it was all the same, just like for these poor souls, we are all running”

He turns a corner and continues “ex wives, dead wives, debt, lies we’ve spun, broken promises”

He looks at Jeff “fathers”

Jeff tries to hide a reaction

Ralph continues"We all come to this fake world to try to make sense of the one out there"

He points to a few more strung out looking residents “Most of us can’t leave anymore, we just can’t deal with what’s out there, but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about”

Jeff finally speaks up “you make it sound like you have a job for me”

“Like I’ve just pointed out, to many of us this is our home, our safe haven, and it’s in grave danger” he sighs “there are two, a brother and sister, they came here not to deal with the outside world, but rather to deal with each other, they have brought the outside conflict in, they have rallied many people to their sides, tensions are growing, fights breaking out everywhere from the daycare center to the wall of couches, there are very few neutral areas anymore”

Jeff argues “listen old man, not that I can’t empathize with you, but like I said I’m here to mess around I don’t have some deep emotional problem I’m trying to work out, or child support payments I’m running from, just a childhood fantasy I’m trying to bring to fruition, I’m sorry but I’m not your guy”

“Please” the old man begs “there is so much more at stake than you realize, I’ve managed to maintain peace for a time because I hold control over the food” he shows the key to the deep freeze to Jeff “But it won’t be long before one of them makes their move”

“I’m sorry” Jeff replied “ I’m just not your guy”

Jeff barely managed to get that last word out when all the sudden a gang of ten people wielding weapons clearly fashions from the extra part/clearance section near the registers, you know the area I’m talking about, where they put all the scuffed up and broken crap?

Anyway so these guys are coming at Jeff and the old man, takin them by surprise the manage grapple them both

Jeff breaks free from the hold but the grunt that had him smashes him with a plywood board that used to be part of a Kallåx ™ bookshelf

Everything goes black

Jeff wakes up in a bathroom stall his hands tied to the handicap rail

He tries to get free, but can’t

“Hello?” He calls out

…………………………..

It’s 4 am That’s all I got right now I’ll post Pt 2 sometime tomorrow hopefully

#writingprompt #writing #ikea #herosjourney #monomyth #meatballs #balancetotheforce

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