#dinner gets rescheduled for her actual birthday

[david-box]

why the fuck is my mom matrying herself over going out to eat on her birthday. how

[scarletwinterxx]

won't let them break your heart - joshua hong imagine

i truly truly think this man would be the best at making the worst days better🥺🥺 and i really really really like him🥺

anywayssss i hope you like this one🤍

for my other joshua fics, check them here

if you want, u can buy me coffee(totally optional but any donation is very much appreciated!) thank you🥺💛

All works are copyrighted ©scarletwinterxx 2024 . Do not repost, re-write without the permission of author.

(gif not mine, credits to rightful owner)

With everyone busy with jobs and all that adult stuff, it's difficult to get everyone together. Your friend group do try to meet every once in a while, but most times not everyone can make it. One exception though is when it's someone birthday, it's an unspoken promise to always be there.

"Babe, I think I'll be late for Wonwoo's birthday dinner. I'll just meet you there"

Joshua looks up from where he was sitting to look over where you were, he notices the way your scrunching your brows unintentionally which means you're stressed. He knows you enough to read right through you. Heck he knows you better than he knows himself.

You're stressed about something, you have been for days. He also knows it's harder for you to admit it so he lets you come to him on your own. He never pressures to you to tell him anything.

He shoots you an understanding smile, putting his phone down to give you all of his attention. "Sure, love. Do you want me to pick you up?"

You contemplate for a second but you shook your head at him, "It's okay. I'll just meet you there, I don't know how long I'll be at the office that day cause I have this meeting with executives I can't reschedule. I'll just text Wonwoo so he knows. I feel bad if I don't go"

He stands up and walk over to you, giving you a hug you didn't know you needed. Just like that it's like all the noises in your head disappear. You don't think about work or anything else, you just think of how warm Joshua's hug is and how nice would it be to stay in his arms forever and away from the stresses of the world around you.

Joshua can feel you relax in his arms, soon he feels you hug him back even tighter. You needed this, you just didn't know how to say it. He gives your head loving pats, making you feel better even without words.

"Hey, why don't you call it a night? I can get the bath running for you, then you can go relax while I make us some snacks or anything you want" he looks down at you

"Can we just cuddle" you pout, cheeks squished against his chest. The warmth pooling inside Joshua's chest, a feeling he's all too familiar with but it's like the first time every time.

He's not sure if you know, but you got him wrapped around your finger. He'd do anything for you, he'll give you the world if that's what you want.

Leaning down, he gives your cheek a kiss making you smile up at him.

"Of course, my love. And don't worry about the party, I'm sure they'll understand"

It wasn't really Wonwoo's birthday yet, but his girlfriend wanted to surprise him that's why the dinner will be held before his actual birthday so he won't get suspicious.

When Soonyoung saw Joshua arrive alone, he immediately texted you thinking you were arriving with Joshua but he didn't get a reply so he turns to his friend to ask your whereabouts

"I thought Y/N was coming with you?"

"I offered to pick her up but she still has a meeting" Joshua explains, "But she'll come right?"

"Mhm, told her to text me if she needs me to fetch her" he tells Soonyoung.

Soonyoung just nods his head at Joshua before joining the others again. The night progressed smoothly, everyone was having fun and bonding over food and drinks. There really isn't any chance of boredom when all the guys are together.

Joshua's still distracted though, he kept on checking his phone or looking over the front door. A few of his friends noticed this but didn't comment on it. They also noticed your absence, some putting two and two together like Soonyoung, Dokyeom and Mingyu who you were with on your last beach trip.

Joshua has always been honest about his interest towards you. He never denied it. Whenever he's asked about you, he fights the smile to not raise any suspicion but sometimes he can't help it. One mention of your name and the butterflies in his stomach is rioting. Acting nonchalant is as hard as keeping his secret a secret.

He was in the kitchen when you arrived, talking with Seungcheol and Seungkwan. You greeted everyone in the living room, scanning the room for your boyfriend but you didn't see him.

"Hey Wonwoo, sorry I'm late. Happy advance birthday" You greet him, giving him a quick hug. "Sorry I didn't bring anything"

"No worries, it's good. And don't fret about it, I knew you were busy with work. There's still food in the kitchen if you want, you probably haven't eaten yet"

And he's right, but right now you need a moment of silence. "Sure thank you, I'm just going to the restroom real quick"

You excuse yourself then went the hallway, the house is familiar to you since you've been here multiple times when you hang out together.

Wonwoo then walks to the kitchen to see some of his friends laughing and having fun, "Hey, where's the sandwich we saved for Y/N" he asks

Joshua looks over at Wonwoo at the mention of your name, "Here, I set it here. Did she arrive already?"

"Yea, she just went to the restroom. Anyways do you guys want anything else?"

Joshua stayed for a few more minutes in the kitchen waiting for you but then you're taking too long and it's worrying him.

He excuses himself and walked down the hall, checking the vacant rooms until he found one with the light on. He knocks before walking inside the office, he sees the light in the bathroom open so he walks there and knock again

"Just a moment" he heard you say from the other side

"It's me" he answers, a few seconds passed before he hears the lock click and the door open revealing you with teary eyes.

He didn't even get to say anything because you immediately buried yourself on his chest, "Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" he asks, very worried but he didn't want to push you to talk when you don't want to. He just wanted to know if you're okay.

You just shake your head and sob harder. You were having the worst day ever and you just couldn't hold it together any longer. You thought you could but you were too tired and too frustrated that the tears just started to stream down your face.

Joshua just lets you be, hugging you even closer. His arms going around you as if he's shielding you from everything.

"Hey, I'm here. It's okay now, you're okay" he kept on mumbling against your hair, saying comforting words to you

"I was just having the worst day ever, sorry" you mumble

"No need to say sorry about that, baby. It's valid, what you're feeling is valid. You never have to apologize about that, especially not to me. Not ever"

You're calmer now and the tears have stopped, Joshua definitely helped to calm down the chaos in your mind.

You wipe the tears with the back of your hand, leaning your face away from your boyfriend but staying in his embrace. He looks down at you, heart breaking at the sight of your tear stained face.

He wipes the few tears remaining, giving you the most gentle smile

"We can go home now if you want" he whispers but you shake your head

"I just needed a moment, I'll be okay and you're here now"

"You should've called me, I could've picked you up if you weren't feeling okay" he tells you

"I didn't want to ruin tonight" "Nonsense, you come first always. You're my number one priority" he shushes you

"When you're having a shitty day, you tell me okay? Wherever you are, I'll come and get you. I want to be the one you call, okay?"

You look at him, not saying anything back. You really did hit the jackpot when you met him. You always tell him you regret meeting him too late, feeling like you wasted so many years but then Joshua assures you again and again. Telling you that you didn't meet him late, you met him at the right moment, right when you needed him the most.

And he's right. Ever since he came into your life, everything is better. Even your worst days are better when he's with you.

"Now, let's go get some food in you. I know you haven't eaten dinner yet, I saved you your favorite sandwich. If you want anything else we can get it later"

"You really love me huh" you chuckle at him

Seeing you smile eased Joshua's mind. At least you're not crying anymore. He's not sure what he'd do if he sees you cry like that again, he might show up at your office and give your boss a piece of his mind if he ever sees you breaking down like that again.

"I do, I have for years now. Thank you for noticing" he jokes back

You giggle, standing on your tiptoe and throwing your arms around him again. "Thank you, Shua. For being there for me always, for not asking questions when I'm stressed but knowing the answers anyways"

He smiles while hearing your words, hugging you tighter. "I'm not going anywhere, love. I'll be right here" he tells you, kissing the side of your head like sealing another promise he made to you.

You stay like that for a while, not noticing the two figures standing by the door, "Should I ask..." Dokyeom asks Soonyoung

"They're hugging, I'm seeing this right. Right?"

"They're definitely hugging"

The two share a look then look at you and Joshua again, still oblivious about your friends observing the sweet moment you were having with your boyfriend.

"Should we tell them.. should we say something..." Soonyoung asks but Dokyeom shakes his head, hurriedly pulling him away and back to the main room

"Let's let them be. What if he just asked her out or what if they're finally admitting they like each other???"

"Who like each other?" Jeonghan asks

"Y/N and Joshua"

"Huh? Why would you say they like each other?" Seungcheol asks

"Everyone knows they like each other?" Dokyeon asks back

"Huh? I thought they were together already" the youngest say, catching the attention of his hyungs

"What?" Soonyoung asks, "Yea I saw them out one time, they were holding hands and all that. Joshua hyung even kissed her on the cheek. Oh and one time when I went over at hyung's he had like girl stuff in his apartment" Dino explains

"How did you know it's Y/N stuff?" Dokyeom asks "Because she was there, she was surprised to see me but she said she was just getting something she left at hyung's car. I never said anything because they never said anything" he shrugs, some of the guys surprised at hearing all of this

The rest share looks then it was chaos, Soonyoung shouting the loudest

"YAH KIM MINGYU YOU OWE ME $50!"

[cfierce116]

No Sleep Part One

A/N: Hi. I've been wanting to write about this man since 2017 and finally got the inspiration to do. This one started off as one piece but evolved into more (whoops) so let's see how it goes. This piece is loosely connected to my prior story "I Want You Around". As always shoutout to @krysxtotheo and @lisayourworries for the encouragement. Enjoy.

*Pairings: Jey Uso/OC (black fem)

*Warnings: 18+

Word Count: Approximately 2200 words

*

Krystle exhaled softly. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Look at you like what?”

“Like you wanna kick my ass.”

“Actually I want to strangle you to death.” 

Krystle glanced over her shoulder with a slight scowl on her lips. “Don’t you think that’s a little melodramatic Imani?” 

Imani rolled her brown eyes as her sleek black stiletto heels clacked against the pavement, her legs quickly moving to keep in step with Krystle. “Can you blame me for being melodramatic? My best friend promised to take me to dinner for my birthday and somehow it ended up being a date between her and her man with me being the odd person out!” 

“Mani-“

“And then to make it even better you weren’t even gonna tell me! I had to find out because he blurted it out when you had him on speaker phone on our way over here!” Imani hissed. 

“For the millionth time I got my dates mixed up with me and Sefa’s date night. And seeing as how this is the only night we’re both free I had to combine the two. It’s fine,” Krystle reassured her friend.  

Imani silently counted to ten to stop herself from losing her composure. The fact that Krystle couldn’t understand why she was so upset and dismissed how she felt was pissing her off. She understood the need for the couple to keep consistent date nights to keep the spark in their relationship. But they couldn’t choose another day? It’s not like they weren’t constantly on the road together or lived together so Imani was certain they could’ve skipped one date night. Especially since she hadn’t hung out with her best friend one on one in over a month. Their friendship went from going bar hopping every weekend and recounting their escapades over greasy breakfast foods on Sunday morning to Krystle falling off the face of the Earth the moment she moved in with Sefa and subsequently started working on the main roster. Imani understood the two were settling into their new normal and she was happy for Krystle. 

But she also missed her friend. 

The two women finally arrived at the Brazilian steakhouse Imani selected for dinner. The duo slipped inside the foyer of the restaurant. An enormous tropical floral arrangement greeted them as they waited in line at the hostess stand. Imani ran a hand over the animal print flared dress she wore as her eyes darted around the restaurant at the busy dinner crowd. She exhaled to calm her bubbling anger. 

“All I’m saying is we could have gladly rescheduled so I wouldn’t be put in this awkward situation Krys. I would’ve been disappointed but I would’ve understood.” 

Before Krystle could respond, the hostess appeared to greet the pair asking for the reservation’s name. The two friends followed the young woman through the crowded restaurant as she expertly dodged waiters and other patrons. Krystle fell in line next to Imani and weaved their arms together. 

Krystle turned to face Imani. “I am truly sorry Mani. When I get back in town next week, we will go have a spa day with just us two,” she promised. “And furthermore you’re not the od-“

Imani abruptly stopped in her tracks. “Who the hell is that sitting with Sefa?”

Krystle’s eyes traveled towards the area Imani was staring at with a bated breath. A crooked grin spread across her lips as she watched her boyfriend speaking with the man sitting next to him. She turned to face her friend, stifling a giggle.

“Girl stop playing. You know who Josh is.” 

Imani exhaled softly. She definitely knew who Josh was. One of the most popular wrestlers in WWE, one half of arguably the best tag teams in WWE history, the older brother of Krystle’s boyfriend.

And the guy she had a teensy weensy crush on. 

One quick glance at Josh and anybody could see why Imani would have a crush on him. From his muscular physique, handsome face, & infectious personality he was FINE. Josh was the type of fine that it made it hard to look him directly in his eye without blushing and giggling. And now she was expected to eat as much steak and chicken her heart desired while sitting next to the man that she could barely mutter more than five words to before scurrying away and not choke on her birthday meal?

Absolutely the fuck not. 

“Yes I know Josh. But why is he here?” Imani asked gesturing to the restaurant. 

“Well if you would’ve let me get a word in earlier when you were berating me I was trying to tell you that you wouldn’t be the odd person out tonight because he was coming as well.”

“But why?”

“Because that man like to eat food? Shit I don’t know,” Krystle said with a shrug. 

Imani opened her mouth to ask another question but was interrupted the moment Sefa saw the two women. The couple smiled at one another before Krystle dragged her friend towards the two brothers. Once they arrived at the table, Sefa stood to greet his girlfriend, his large arms wrapping around her smaller frame. Imani couldn’t help but smile as Krystle squealed as she stood on her tiptoes to peck her boyfriend’s lips. 

“Sorry we’re late. But the birthday girl had to make sure she looked perfect before she left out the door.” 

Imani waved off her friend’s comment. “It takes time to look this good,” she responded with a flip of her perfectly curled black hair that grazed her back underneath her shoulder blades. 

“Well you definitely succeeded.” 

The sound of the deep voice caused Imani to drag her gaze away from Krystle and Sefa before landing on Josh. He was now standing as well allowing her to observe his simplistic outfit of his slightly wrinkled black long sleeve shirt that hugged his muscular physique and matching black pants. A gold chain sat around his neck and glistened under the restaurant lights which also illuminated the faint blue color at the ends of his curly mullet. 

A small smile tugged at the corners of Imani’s lips. “Thanks. Although you probably say that to all your women.”  

Josh chuckled softly as he pulled out a chair. Imani slid down into the seat which was sitting next to him. “I see Krys been tellin’ you these lies that I got a squad of women.”

“How can it be a lie if it’s the truth?” Krystle asked as she sat in the seat Sefa pulled out for her. “I’ve heard about all those women that be waiting for you at the hotels after the shows with their cut up Yeet shirts to show off their curves to get your attention.”

“They is fans. I keep tellin’ you I’m single.” 

“Mhmmm,” Krystle mumbled with a playful eyeroll. 

Imani laughed quietly at their banter as she quickly turned over the card sitting on the table next to her to indicate to the waiters she was ready for the entrees. She had been dreaming about the Garlic Picanha melting in her mouth all week long and she was ready to dig in. 

“My fault for just insertin’ myself into you and Krys girl’s night.” 

Imani’s attention landed on Josh again, his dark brown eyes staring intently at her. She wiped her palms on the front her dress and cleared her throat as she felt her earlier anger slowly disappear. 

“Don’t worry about it. At least I don’t have to play third wheel with those two.” Imani gestured to Sefa and Krystle who were cuddled close together and whispering amongst one another. She shook her head with a smirk as she watched Sefa poke Krystle in her side making her giggle quietly as she playfully pushed his hand away.

Josh smacked his lips. “Never thought I would see the day Uce became such a sap,” he stated. Imani laughed. 

“Be nice. They can be a little sickening but they’re happy.” 

“I guess you right.” Josh’s eyes traveled over Imani’s frame causing a rush of warmth to course through her body. She inhaled quietly as he leaned closer to her, his musky and rich cologne invading her nostrils, her fingers fidgeting with the gold tennis bracelet on her wrist. “So what you drinkin on tonight birthday girl?” 

Imani shook her head with a wave of her hand. “Not a thing. I’m just here for the meat- I mean the food.” 

Josh twisted his mouth in disbelief. “What chu don’t drink or something?”

“I don’t drink like I used to but I’m not against it. I just have to be at work early tomorrow.” 

“One drink won’t stop you from waking up early. Let loose a lil Mani,” Josh goaded with a grin, his dark brown eyes sparkling with mischief. Imani inhaled deeply. “Come on I’ll buy you whatever you want.” 

Imani watched as Josh stood, his 6’3 frame towering over her as she still sat in her chair. She tilted her head to the side pensively before grabbing his extended hand and following him towards the bar.

*

Three shots of Jack Daniels & a never ending amount of steak & chicken later and Imani was feeling good. Once Sefa and Krystle finally stopped acting like lovesick teenagers and started interacting with Imani and Josh the night turned out to be exactly what Imani needed despite her earlier resistance. The laughs were endless whether it was a result of Josh and Sefa retelling humorous stories from their childhood or Krystle and Imani reminiscing about their outrageous moments they shared in undergrad and their early days of working in NXT.  As the liquor continued to flow, the more relaxed and comfortable Imani felt, a feeling she hadn’t felt in quite some time. 

However reality slowly crept in as the night winded down to remind her that after spending close to two hours at dinner it was time to go back home to prepare for the week of work ahead. For Sefa, Krystle, and Josh that meant going back to the couple’s house to sleep off the liquor and prepare for a day of travel the next day to the location of the Smackdown taping. For Imani that meant returning to her own dark and lonely condo to face plant in her bed until her alarm jolted her awake the next day so she could report to work at the Performance Center to record some digital content for NXT.  

Well that was her plan. But Krystle wasn’t exactly onboard with it. 

“The night is still young Mani! And it’s your birthday! Why you in such a rush to go home?” Krystle asked as crossed her arms over her chest with a pout. 

Imani rolled her honey brown eyes as she stared at her cell phone trying to place a reservation for an Uber. “So I can go to bed. I got a long day of work tomorrow.” 

“Work that you can do with your eyes closed. I remember back in the day when we used to stay out until the sun came up the next day.” Krystle glanced at her phone. “Now you ready to go to bed before 10 PM?”

“That was when I was 25!” Imani replied with a laugh. “I’m 35 now and unlike your young energetic self I am washed. I need my bed.” 

Krystle smacked her lips. “Oh girl please. First of all I’m only 32 so stop acting like you’re way older than me. Secondly you’re not washed. Women that are washed don’t look as good as you do in this dress.” 

“She’s right.” 

Another shiver rolled through Imani’s body as she slowly turned around. Josh and Sefa stood behind her, having returned from their trip to the bathroom as Imani and Krystle stood outside to enjoy the warm Orlando night breeze. Imani fought the urge to squirm under Josh’s gaze as his eyes dragged over her frame, studying every inch of her body before finally returning to her face.

“What the hell are you two over here arguing about anyway?” Sefa asked, his voice interrupting the moment between his brother & Imani. He wrapped his muscular arm around Krystle’s torso and pulled her body closer to his. 

“I’m trying to convince her to come back to our place so we can hang out. But she wants to be a lame and go home.”

“Come over to hang out until you and your man ditch us to go have sex?” Imani asked with a raised brow. She rolled her eyes as Krystle turned her head with an embarrassed expression, burying her face into Sefa’s chest as he sheepishly grinned. “Thanks but no thanks. I’m going home.” 

“So you just gonna leave me to be the third wheel and listen to them?” Josh asked. “That’s fucked up.” 

Imani laughed lightly. “Y’all just really won’t take no for an answer huh?” 

“Not a chance,” the trio answered.

Imani sighed as she glanced back at her phone, the screen waiting for her to confirm her Uber request staring back at her. Before she could second guess herself, she locked the phone and tossed it into her purse. “Fine. Are y’all happy now?”

Krystle clapped her hands excitedly as she detached herself from Sefa’s embrace and looped arms with Imani. “Don’t give me that look Mani. It’s your birthday! Stop acting like a Grandma and live a little,” she told her with a grin.

*

[harryforvogue]

i’d DIE for the hurt/comfort trope would you pleaseee feed us some yasmine and harry hurt comfort?? like it’s even easier than for other couples because poor yasmine is hurting 80% of the time 😭😭 if you don’t wanna do it for them because it’s too obvious save the idea for another couples night please!!!

Harry eyes Yasmine holding her fork with a death grip. Normally, he’d laugh about it and ask her what's wrong, but by the way she refuses to take her eyes off her food, he thinks it’s a little more serious than that. Best not to make a joke about her wanting to kill him.

So he puts his own utensils down and waits for her to say something herself. It takes some time, but when it happens, it happens very quickly. One second Yasmine’s cutting into the steak Harry’s prepared for her, and the next, her knife and fork are clattering on the plate and she’s pressing her hands into her eyes, her shoulders shaking. "Fuck!" she whispers.

Harry immediately stands and rounds the table to get to her. “Hey.” He sits beside her, cradling her head. “Yasmine. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

She cries softly as Harry pulls her into an embrace. Despite her moodiness and frustration, it’s rare to actually see her cry. And if she does end up crying it’s out of pain. That is something Harry can handle – it’s fixable. This? This is still new territory.

“It’s okay,” he whispers, kissing her hair. “Whatever it is. We’ll do something about it.”

When she finally starts mumbling what’s bothering her, it takes him a while to piece everything together. He understands that she’s upset at herself for canceling a dinner with her friends and that it’s not the first time. And because she’s done it so many times, she thinks her friend hates her. It’s also that friend’s birthday, which makes it all the worse.

He holds her tighter, bringing his chair so close, she’s practically in his lap. “It’s not your fault,” he murmurs, resting his cheek on her head. “Oh, Yasmine. You can’t control that.”

“It’s just that she always reschedules the dinner for a weekday. If she did it on a weekend, I’d have enough time to feel better between therapy and all, but first she chose a Wednesday.” Yasmine suddenly raises her head. Harry’s heart breaks at the sight of her red eyes. “Wednesday! I need Wednesday to relax! I already hate going to work Wednesday morning, you know?”

“Yes, baby, I know,” Harry murmurs. He runs the heels of his palms over her eyes. She sniffles. "Take a breath, please."

“And then she picked Tuesday. Which is when I go to therapy.”

“Yes.”

“And then last Friday but…” she trails off.

“You went out with me that night,” he recalls.

“And she probably thinks I hate her. And this is how I lost all my other friends. I never saw them. And all my excuses were so stupid and I didn’t want to tell them what was really happening because then people treat me differently and you know I hate when people do that.”

“I know.” He cups her face, tilting it upwards. He presses a few kisses to her cheek. “But, Yasmine, like I said, this isn’t something you can control.”

“I can control it if I take like 5 Advils before I go out.”

“Which I don’t want you to do.”

“I don’t want to either but now it’s been three weeks since her birthday and I haven’t seen her and I’ve only given her excuses, and–”

Harry shakes his head. “That’s okay. You come first.”

“It’s her birthday!” Yasmine argues, tears spilling down her face again. Harry never sees her like this. It’s so difficult to look at her face. “She comes first!”

“I understand it’s her birthday,” he soothes. “But I’m also sure she wouldn’t like it if you had to leave the dinner early because you weren’t feeling well. Wouldn’t it be worse that way?”

Yasmine’s brown eyes remain glossy and utterly devastated. Her eyelashes stick to each other. “If she reschedules, Harry, I don’t think she’ll invite me.”

“Then that’s completely on her.”

She doesn't say anything, letting Harry pull her back into his chest. She wraps her arms around him and cries softly into his shoulder, Harry’s hand rubbing her back gently. 

“I hate it so much,” she says between breaths. “I hate this. I hate it all. I want to be normal and have friends again. I don't want to hurt anymore."

Harry’s jaw tightens and he closes his eyes, fearing they’ll begin to tear up as well. Her voice breaks, long hair unraveling from her usual bun, sticking to her face. He holds her tight as if he’s the glue keeping her together from breaking. She trembles in his arms, and Harry decides that he hates this feeling the most in the world. It’s as if he’s being torn apart from the inside, a brief twinge in his chest.

“Yasmine,” he whispers, pushing her hair off her face. “It won’t always be like this.” He forces himself to look down at her wet face. “Just this morning you were telling me about how much stronger you feel. How usually you get tired by 4, but recently you’ve been making it until 6. That’s progress.”

“I can’t wait for it to get better,” she says, a desperate whimper emerging from her throat. “It’s been years. I can’t take more years of this. Harry. Before you…before you it was so–” She balls her hands into fists. “I can’t do that again.”

“You can,” Harry says. He wipes her face again, his entire palm drenches with the residue. “And when you look back, you’ll see how brave you were. How strong. I tell you all the time, don’t I? You are the strongest woman I’ve ever met.” He gives her a small shake. “I can only dream of being half as strong as you.”

To his horror, Yasmine only cries harder, hiding her face again. He swears under his breath and holds her wrists, trying to see her face again.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to–! Fuck!” He pulls her back into a hug. “I’m the worst at this. I’m sorry!”

Yasmine only shakes her head, throwing her arms around his shoulders. “I love you,” she says into his neck. “And I hate you for that.”

“For what?” He clutches her so tight, she squeaks. “For loving you so bad? Unfortunately I can’t regret that. You’ll have to suffer for it, it seems.”

“For making me cry again!”

“I was trying to comfort you!”

“You did!” She sniffles, taking several deep breaths to calm herself down. Harry could stay here for days, just holding her – minus the crying of course. He could do the rest of his life without seeing a single tear shed by his baby. He wants her to laugh at him. He’ll happily take her brooding over this. He’ll even take her anger. Anything over this.

So to fix it, Harry does the only thing he knows that will make her stop crying. He dramatically clears his throat. “I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new–”

Yasmine groans, melting into his chest. “Please no.”

Their dinner has gone cold. Harry reaches for her plate, about to tell her that he’ll go reheat it for her.

Her phone on the table suddenly begins to ring. Slowly, she unwinds herself from around Harry and reaches for her phone. She returns back to him, crawling into his lap. He loves her weight on him.

“It’s her,” she whispers, panic in her eyes. “Should I pick up?”

“Yes.” Harry tucks her hair behind her ear. “Let’s hear her out.”

Yasmine nods several times, swallowing. “Yeah. Yeah. Okay.” She answers it, putting it on speaker. “Hi.”

Yasmine’s friend says, “Hi Yas! Good news. I was able to reschedule the dinner plans without being charged so how’s Friday for you? I thought before I made the new reservation that I should ask you.”

Yasmine glances up at Harry. “This Friday?”

“Yup!”

Harry smiles encouragingly and nods. He takes her hand and kisses her palm.

“Give me one second, I’m going to check my schedule.” She scrambles to put the phone on hold. Harry raises his eyebrows mid kiss.

“We made a plan to go out with your family on Friday,” Yasmine whispers, worrying her lower lip. “I can’t go to this dinner. I’d rather–”

“Baby,” Harry laughs softly, holding her chin. “Tell the bloody woman you’ll come.”

“But I promised you–”

“It doesn’t matter. I see you every day and I can’t take you away from your friends.” He runs his knuckles over her cheek. “Go on. It’s okay.”

“Will you be upset with me?”

“Not even in the slightest.”

“Will your parents?”

“No, baby, they’ll be fine.”

She swallows. Then nods. Takes a few breaths. “Hi,” she says when she unmutes the call, “that sounds great. I promise I’ll be there.”

“Great!” her friend chirps. “And hey. You can talk to me about anything, you know?”

Tears form in Yasmine’s eyes again. She pulls the phone away from her to sniffle. “Yeah.”

“I’m just assuming you’re going through something, and I want you to know that even if I can’t help you, I’ll always listen.”

Yasmine’s lower lip begins to wobble again. “Thank you.”

Harry leans in and kisses the corner of her mouth. She then softly says goodbye and ends the call. She shifts her head down and kisses Harry properly. His lips are warm, his kiss the sweetest it can be, and his arms are around her, making her the safest person in the world.

“Thank you,” she whispers against his mouth. The tears slide down her cheeks. “Thank you so much.”

Harry doesn’t have it in him to tell her off for thanking him. Instead, he lets the love he feels for her take over, and he brings her back for another kiss.

[glorious-spoon]

Fuck-it Friday

@neverevan tagged me a few days ago to share some of my WIP - thank you! this is from an episode tag i started writing this morning, which is currently almost 3k words long. in which eddie is having a very bad day for at least five different reasons, most of which are his own fault.

-

"I was just wondering, because, uh, she was texting me asking for birthday ideas for you. Since it's coming up. She said she wasn't sure what to get you."

"Oh." Eddie's heartbeat kicks up again. He focuses on the buttons. "Yeah, I, uh, I told her she didn't have to get me anything."

He didn't. They haven't talked about his birthday. He hasn't actually talked to Marisol at all this week, beyond a text message last night telling her that he couldn't make it to dinner. They're rescheduled for Thursday, and he'll have to find someone else to watch Chris this time, because it's all getting to be a bit much. Buck has a boyfriend, after all, and he'd probably like to spend some time with him on his days off.

He takes his shirt off and tosses it at his locker. Stoops to pick up his uniform shirt and pulls it on and gets to work on those buttons. Behind him, Buck sighs. "Eddie."

"What?"

"Come on, man. I know you weren't with her last night."

It's not judgemental, Buck's voice. He sounds careful. Worried. He sounds like if you can't talk to Frank, at least talk to me and like is that enough? and Eddie is suddenly, poisonously furious for absolutely no reason he can explain.

"If you're trying to imply something, maybe you should just come out and say it," he snaps.

-

not tagging anyone because i don't know who's already seen the episode, but if you feel like playing, consider yourself tagged!

[foster-the-world]

Keys??

My husband accidentally took my keys this morning. Our extra set is with our house guest. Annoying way to start the day.

For his Birthday I arranged a night away and a dinner on his actual Birthday. He went to play music at a place in farout Brooklyn he used to play at every weekend in his mid/late 20s. The next morning he went to another Jam + watched the marathon. His parents came to watch the kids so I could meet him for dinner on Sunday. We went to a new Burmese place. Tea leaf salad is so good. I had not found it since I was in Myanmar in mid 2000's.

Weather is beautiful. 75. So strange but may as well enjoy it before we all die from the impact of climate change.

Bee was supposed to start actual ice skating today but it's too warm to put the ice down. They are hoping by Friday but that seems doubtful.

Clinical's at a huge health center focused on LGBQT care on Friday. So interesting. Such good work. So many complex cases. The commute wasn't bad. Maybe I'll try to work there. Ten years ago I spent about nine months working at a HIV clinic in Malawi. Listening to the discussions at Clinical reminded me of some things I had learned there.

Rebel's parent teacher conference went very well. She's a "pleasure" to have in class. She's super stubborn with us - so always kind of surprising. They had outside people do the curriculum checks. Her teacher noted that they said she couldn't do some of the things that she does regularly in class. EG: reading end sounds of words. Doesn't matter anyway but I was glad her teacher knew she does it regularly.

Bee's teacher had zoom trouble. As I had checked in with her a few weeks ago I said we could reschedule for her weekly office hours. She did say her "reading has exploded." I was happy to hear as we've been really dedicated to making sure she gets reading practice everyday and she's been working really hard. I def see the changes at home but wanted to make sure it was translating at school. I was surprised her report card listed "counting 1-10" I feel like a majority of two year olds can do that. She's in first grade. The other criteria includes reading paragraph books. What kid can read paragraph books but not count to ten?? Her teacher said she has an insatiable desire to learn math. Another reminder that just because I love reading doesn't mean that needs to be what my kids like best.

[missegyptiana]

I relate so much. My friend never asks me out, I always ask her. And when we're hanging out, she's all nice and warm but ultimately she mostly talks about herself. And when the hang out is over, it's like I don't even exist for her anymore. I'm not sure she even thinks about me when I'm not in the same room as her.

i hate that this is what we get. i’m so sorry that u relate to this :( it sucks. u deserve so much more than that. she should realize how lucky she is to have u as a friend, it seems like u do a lot for her. u deserve a friend who wants to know how ur doing and text u and check up on u. and wants to hang out with u.

don’t feel obligated to read all this it’s a lot lol. i just have no one to talk to. all i have is tumblr to rant on.

but i feel the same way. the only time i hang out with my friend is when my mom tells her mom that i’m having a bad day and that hanging out with them would make me happy. so it’s not really even my friend asking to hang out it’s either my mom or me. but when we text she always tells me how i’m like a great sister and how much she loves and adores me. and trusts me more than anyone and rants to me. and talks abt how she misses me. and always tell me i’m her best best friend. i used to ask to hang out all the time, or invite her to things ALL THE TIME but i just stopped. she never puts in the effort like i put in. it’s always been that way with everyone in my life. even on her or her moms birthday, my mom and i tried to plan something for the both of them and it never went thru cause they didn’t care enough. we tried to plan a family dinner with them and they canceled cause one of their family members was on vacation and they never cared to reschedule. we hang out once a month and then i see her hanging out with other people all the time and it’s just painful. and even my mom wants to hang out with her mom but we both never get invited to anything. and we’ve done nothing wrong. we’ve actually done a lot for them. but we just stopped trying. my friend has told me stuff that she’s never told anyone cause she trusts me, and i appreciate it sm. but i guess i’m just here to comfort her when she needs me but then never puts in the effort to hang out or get to know me more. idk it’s just a messy situation

[memoirs-of-learning-dad]

People are just mean, everybody is so busy living their own lives and doing their own jobs, just selfish and self centered or is it me who's just too selfish and narcissistic?

I am no saint, but is it too much to have little expectation from the ones who you love? My spouse has been having a rough time since yesterday. We had some disagreements yesterday and I still reached out and thought we were ok. Then all morning I've been getting the cold shoulder and when I approached her she said she wanted to be alone and that it wasn't me. Ok, I can do that.

Then in the evening there was this other incident. Paapu loves grabbing this chair and climbing on it and doing stuff on the counter - I hate it. I think it's unsafe but my wife thinks "it keeps her occupied and quiet", "she's just exploring and experimenting", so let her be. I have been saying 100s of times this is not at all safe and she'll fall. Today she fell, and she fell on her f'ing head. In a rage of fear, guilt, panic and anger I scolded them both, aggressively said I told you so to my wife, and then said that I'm just going to trash that f'ing chair if anybody climbs on it ever again. paapu is ok thankfully, or at least she looked ok. I was losing my mind, so I just stepped away when it was her dinner time, went on a drive and calmed down. came back and tried to make small talk and received cold shoulder all night leading up to dinner.

Then this other thing happened. She had told me a couple of days back that I had to take paapu to her doctor's appointment on Tuesday, and I had to reschedule my own appointment from Friday to Monday because she wanted me to spend time with her on my birthday. Then today she tells me that my daughter's appt is actually on Monday and guess when, at the same time that I rescheduled my appointment on. Well no issues, happens, she was doing some office work on her laptop, and she's the one who manages the online stuff for the pediatrician so I asked her if she could please reschedule the appointment to another date, her exact words "I don't have time I'm busy doing office work, I'll do it later". ok, all good. Within 2 minutes her sister calls her and they chat about some bull**** for 15 minutes? Like no, I'm not making this shit up - I am bipolar, but I'm not a psycho. And no kidding, it really was a bull**** topic, like literally her sister was talking about "how a taxi driver was treating her on a trip, being rude and disrespectful" blah blah blah.

Eventually the "more important than work or rescheduling my daughter's appointment" call ended. At this point, I would sincerely like to thank my therapist! She kept telling me, to keep practicing the coping techniques, they will come in handy and they did. I immediately distracted myself, started grounding techniques, listing the colors that I was seeing around myself, counted the number of balloons we had left from paapu's birthday party week. I could feel myself coming back to reality. The fast and aggressive breathing stopped, my heart rate stabilized, hands stopped shivering - I had not realized all this was happening until it stopped. I intervened at the right time and had regained my composure by this time and asked one more time, and the whole schedule thing got sorted out. At this point I really felt like we were not in the right headspace to go out on a date tomorrow. And anyway she's been complaining about how her work had piled up and as I said she's been working extra, so I suggested she didn't need to take me out and should work instead if she wants. Oops, big mistake. Poor girl, didn't see a therapist like me, so she doesn't have the tools I have, lol /s. She got visibly angry, and told me that she's going to take the day off anyway and go do the things she has planned for us alone. There aren't really any reservations or tickets or activity planned or anything mind you. It was a quiet dinner, she finished and immediately got back to her work, I finished the rest of my dinner, set the dishes, took out trash and quietly came upstairs to the room.

Around midnight she called me downstairs. She had a big chocolate made out which contained smaller candies. She hugged me and I am expected to get a hug, forget everything and move on and just smile and take pictures? Hmm. What would've happened if the roles were reversed? Women are tough, man. They're insensitive to others feelings, unpredictable and extremely complicated. How does one live peacefully with them? I think they can't take it when they see their other halves peaceful, they just need to mess with it. The hug was it, no other convos, no I love you nothing. I'm genuinely interested in learning how to deal with women from anybody who's reading this. Because soon, paapu will grow up and once she hits teens, I AM FINISHED! These two girls are going to drive me crazy.

Sorry, this turned into a rant. I just, I want to be paid attention to for once. Nobody usually asks me how I'm doing you know? I just want my loved ones to come up to me themselves unprompted and tell me they love me for once. I need to go tell my daughter that I love her at least 100 times before she might decide to say it back once. I have to go tell my wife that I love her just so she can tell me "I love you too", because the assurance that I'm wanted and loved makes me feel safe. We don't say it often enough to each other, nobody sees that we all are just craving to hear it all the time, for our love to be reciprocated. But no, our insecurities and vulnerability, we have to wait for the other person to say it first, always, right? No matter how badly you are craving it. I have learnt over the past many years, nobody cares about how a man feels, I'm not trying to sound like one of those alpha male or incel or whatever, just stating what I experience. There's this expectation that men are tough, that they aren't emotional, they run away from feelings, they don't feel bad. My secret? I just keep them to myself, because nobody asked and I don't think anybody genuinely cares.

No wait, my mom cares. She shows me that me she loves me. Let me get this out of the way first, mom has issues, she's not perfect. She introduces a lot of drama, is manipulative, our relationship is complicated. But she's the only person in this world who loves me unconditionally - not my father, or my brother or my wife or daughter. Don't get me wrong they love me a lot and I love them a lot. I consider myself genuinely lucky to have all these members of my family, but there's an expectation of you there, like they each have a bar that you need to meet for you to get their love, it's the harsh reality of this world. But mom? No matter where I am, or how I am, what I say, or how I treat her (I have treated her really well as well as really horribly), she'd always just give me love. Moms are just like that, aren't they? They have a special bond with their kids, it's inexplicable. They're like this 24 hours all you can eat buffet where they serve love, affection, mercy and attention in unlimited supply. And guess what? I have lifetime free coupons for it!

Anyway, that's what's been going on with my life. How is everybody else on Tumblr doing? My last posts have 0 views I think, lol! Is there anybody reading this out there? I mean it's nothing special, just a bland, ordinary, guy struggling with day to day issues, but I just want to share. To understand if there's anybody else who feels the same feelings and emotions, thinks the same thoughts, lives a similar life! Am I doing it right? Am I making mistakes?

[flishlish]

Just venting about shit lol

I have had some kind of mental breakdown on my birthday for the last like 7 years and I'm frankly fucking tired of it. Like just for once I would like my plans to go smoothly and not either be canceled by a literal disaster, or get stood up by a "friend" or have a big fight in my family. It's a week away and my family is already pissing me off. It's not like there treating me any different than usual i suppose but it really does shine a light on how I bend over backwards for them constantly but they can't be bothered to inconvenience themselves for me in the slightest unless I practically beg them to even on my own fucking birthday.

Like I'm going down to my dad's house because even though he lives like 3 hours away I visit nearly every other weekend and it been like 3 weeks since I've been down and he's been guilt tripping me constantly about how he never sees me. Not that he ever comes to visit me where I live. He literally comes here less than once a year on average, and only if he also has other business in the area. But fine. whatever. I guess I agreed to it before I realized I would have to drive there for 3 weeks in a row.

Then my sister called me this morning, to ask what I was doing, and she can't come on my actual birthday because her partner agreed to visit his aunt that day??? Like I don't care if he comes actually! You can miss that! And then she complains for about half an hour about how she's gonna have to do all this driving around that week so can I do dinner closer to her place (another hour away) instead of our dad's. Like bitch I drove 4 hours each way to your fucking birthday party last month and you can't drive 45 minutes to have dinner with me?? I get that she's busy but I fully know she drives between the 2 cities constantly to see her friends, and I'm not even asking her to reschedule anything. AND THEN she asked if I could do her a favour by dropping off her partner's child (who I've only met once) at his ex's house in yet another city, which would add 2 full ass hours to my drive home?!?! That's fully insane what are you even talking about?

And, both of them spent half the time they talked to me today complaining about each other so I'm sure the atmosphere is gonna be just fucking great between the two of them at dinner. I know that it's like, at least partly the mental illness or whatever but I'm just so sure it's going to go terribly just like it always seems to. I guess that's on me for having any expectations ever about anything.

[la-appel-du-vide]

09•02•23 - Lake Powell, and the day we could have died

Since we didn't make it to Lake Powell last year, it was extra important to get out there this year. Beach already had Labor Day weekend off for her birthday, so we decided to make that work! Jason hasn't ever been to the slot canyons at Powell, so she was excited to show him some of our favorites!

Luke Bryan getting rescheduled threw off our original plan of getting to head down to Powell Thursday night after work, so that we could actually be in Powell on her birthday, but we readjusted and made it work. We spent Friday morning celebrating her birthday here, with a group breakfast at Jeremiah's where Kena and I could give her our gift (new bluetooth running headphones). Then Beach, Jason, B, and I went down to Boondocks to mini golf. Beach won both games, which is fitting for her birthday activity haha.

We ran home to get a little work done, and pack, and then Jason, Beach, and I made the long drive down to Powell. We did stop at a Chinese restaurant in SLC on the way, so that they could check it out as a possibility for their rehearsal dinner. But otherwise, it was a pretty straight-forward drive down. B decided he wasn't up for coming this year, which is totally understandable given how busy we've been. He loves Powell, but doesn't like to spend that much time on a wave runner, especially when riding doubles. So it was just the three of us!

We checked into our hotel at about midnight, and it was the first time we stayed in a hotel rather than an Airbnb. It was nice though, and I'd stay there again. We were all ready for sleep before an early morning to pick up the wave runners!

We were able to grab breakfast at the hotel first, and they had waffle makers! I was thrilled. It's been so long since they've had those at a continental breakfast, and it always brings me back to that excitement I felt seeing that as a kid. Then we picked up the wave runners, stopped at Maverik for snacks for the day, and went off to launch. We couldn't pick them up until 8, so we were launching at a busier time, but the wait still wasn't awful. Beach still backs the trailer like a champ, and everything went very smoothly getting them in the water.

The first stop of every Lake Powell trip is over to the dam, for the first dip of the trip! So that's exactly what we did. The water is nice and warm, but still refreshing, so it was great. Then we had to brave the channel, which is always a nightmare hahah. I was not mad to have my own wave runner this year, and even less mad to not have to ride with Beach while she tries to hit waves as hard as she can hahah. Good luck out there, Jason. We filled him in on how badly she hurt me the last time!

We knew flash floods were "probable" and weren't planning to visit any slot canyons that day, but when we got out on the water, it was such a gorgeous, clear day that we decided it might be worth a shot. That way, we could split up the slot canyons, doing one per day as usual, to help preserve gas. Antelope Canyon is always the one we do for Day One, so we started looking for it.

After a while, we realized that we had gone way too far. We forgot our map, so we were going off memory alone, and were both mixed up. Beach suggested that we just go on and find Labyrinth Canyon, since we were probably close by that point, but I said that I didn't think it was worth trying to find without a map, since we couldn't even find Antelope Canyon - and that's the easy one.

We ended up deciding to go back to find Antelope, but drove through Navajo Canyon in the meantime. You can always count on finding nice, still water at the end, where you can cruise SO fast over the glassy surface, and that's my favorite thing in the world. We played there for a while, and then made our way back out. We were scouring the shoreline looking, and eventually figured out our mistake. When we actually did find it, we couldn't believe we'd missed it! It was so obvious.

We drove down the canyon, and found that Antelope Canyon was as mucky and thick as Labyrinth was last year, so a bit of swimming was required - so gross.

While we were beaching the machines, there were so many people hanging out, either kayaking in or out. It still seemed like pretty clear weather, so we started hiking in, with a few other people. As we went along, clouds started coming in. It began sprinkling, and we kept asking each other if we should turn back. But we'd kind of look to Jason as the flash flood expert, and he kept saying, "Well, if it rains any harder, we'll turn back." So we kept going. The rain would stop and start, and we'd get some good thunder every once in a while, but we just kept going. Finally, we decided that it was probably smart to turn around. I'm not sure what finally got us to do it, but we turned around to head back out. As we were walking, the rain picked up a bit. Jason noticed the water accumulating into a stream on the canyon floor, and advised us to pick up the pace. We were feeling fine though, making jokes about how "funny" it would be if we all died in a flood just weeks from the wedding and things like that. As it started raining harder, we started jogging, and Jason started filming - not sure what inspired him to do that, but I'm glad he did.

At the beginning of the video, we're all still laughing. My flip flop broke, so I was jogging barefoot - which didn't feel great with so many rocks and a lot of debris. But as time goes on, it starts to get REALLY scary. The rain started coming down STRONG, and there were waterfalls pouring in on us from all directions. In my mind, a flash flood happened because there was a wall of water behind you, which probably can happen too, but I never considered that the canyon just floods from water pouring down the walls. You can feel the moment in the video when things get tense. We stop laughing, and start asking each other if we're scared. The river we were running through started getting deeper, and stronger. My lungs were on fire, but by this point I really believed our lives were in danger. Every time we'd round a corner, I'd hope and pray that it was the last one and we'd see our wave runners waiting, but it was a let down over and over again.

At one point, I rounded the corner and found a massive river running perpendicular to the canyon, because of a HUGE muddy waterfall coming down. Because it was running the opposite way of the canyon, I thought that was the shoreline, and I didn't see our waverunners. My heart sunk, thinking we were going to be trapped. I turned around to look at Beach and Jason, and he told me they were further, and to keep going. I was so scared to run across that powerful river, in case it took my feet out from under me, but I did it. We were all soaked, and shaking, and so scared. I had so much adrenaline running through my body. In the video, you hear Beach's little voice say, "I'm scared" and you know it's real. There's a point of the video where Jason is showing the massive waterfall, and Beach says, "We need to get going." And Jason very calmly says, "Yeah, we should get going." And that's so funny now, but wow, scary.

I can't really describe the terror of thinking we could really die. Even when we did finally round that last corner and see the wave runners (plus two boats waiting to make sure we were ok), I didn't feel like we were in the clear. We threw ourselves into the water, muck and all, and started swimming for our lives. As soon as we were able to, we jumped on and started the machines, and CRUISED out of there. I was still waiting for a massive wall of water to come swallow us up. After we'd made a few turns, we calmed down and just sat there trying to calm down. None of us could get over what we'd just been through. My whole body was shaking. The point is, take flash flood warnings seriously. It is not worth it. Even if it "seems" like a nice day - believe me. It's not worth the risk.

We ate some candy to get some blood sugar going again, and as Jason put it, they were the "best peach-o's we have ever tasted." A near-death experience sure makes you appreciate things more! I will admit that once we were safe, it was awing to be in a tight canyon like that, and just see all of the waterfalls pouring down all around us. It felt so magical - like a scene straight out of a movie.

After we'd calmed down and enjoyed the waterfalls for a bit, we made out way out of Antelope Canyon completely. We were all feeling done for the day after what we'd been through, and it was still rainy and windy which doesn't make for great jetski weather, so we decided to turn back. Getting through the channel was absolutely miserable. The waves were massive, and the rain was hitting us like a million little sharp needles because of the wind. If we weren't done for the day before, we sure were after that. I was so relieved to load the machines and be on dry ground again. We were all freezing, so we went back to the hotel to take hot showers, and relive the trauma by watching Jason's video footage together. Then we had a well-deserved dinner, and went to bed early. The exhaustion, both mental and physical, was so real.

We had an even earlier start for day two, since we had to have the machines back and turned in by 5, and there was still a lot to do! We skipped breakfast, and just got snacks at Maverik while we filled up with gas. We got a couple of gas cans to take for the day, and strapped them onto the backs of the machines. We were a little nervous that they'd fall off or cause problems, but they never did, so that is a good hack. Launching went a little less smooth this time, since Jason and I bumped into each other, but worse things have happened so we'll take it.

We checked, and flash floods were not likely for today, and we had the green light for Labyrinth. We also talked about how much worse it would have been if we really had done Labyrinth yesterday instead of Antelope, like we considered. Labyrinth is WAY tighter, and the water level would have risen so much more quickly. It still makes me shiver even thinking about it. But we didn't, and everyone is ok. Ugh.

So we made the long drive out to Labyrinth first thing. The channel was so much more calm that early in the morning, so we made good time. There was a couple of boats there by the time we made it all the way down the canyon to the shoreline of the hike, and I've never seen boats that far down. We even swam the wave runners part of the way because of how tight the canyon gets, and they had BOATS?! Crazy. It was significantly less mucky this year. Thank goodness. We had enough of that at Antelope.

We hiked quite a lot of it, as we always do. There were some differences this year though. First of all, there were a million frogs. Big ones, baby ones... Weird. I've never, ever seen a frog in this canyon before, and now we couldn't get away from them. There were still lizards, but way more frogs. Beach pet a big frog, caught a baby frog, and caught a couple of lizards per usual haha. Second, the canyon was SO MUDDY. Obviously from the flooding, everything was still wet. We were walking through ponds and some pure mud pits, and were just getting sucked down into it. Everything became so slippery, and so much harder to hike than normal years. We all ended up pretty muddy by the end, so overall, neither slot canyon was as good as usual haha.

After we got out, we drove up to Padre Bay, which is the most picturesque spot I swear. You're surrounded by rock formations everywhere you look, and it's just amazing. We played around and tried to find some new canyons to try, but never did find what we were looking for. Jason looked at his phone and panicked about the time. He said we needed to haul out of there if we were going to make it back in time. We cruised back to the marina as fast as we could, including a miserable ride through both channels. I was hating it. My butt bones and knees were so beat from hitting some good waves the day before, and I wanted to take it slow, but apparently we were late. When we were in the final wakeless zone, I pulled out my phone to discover that Jason had been looking at UT time, not AZ time. So we had a whole other hour before we needed to be back. That sucked haha. We could have kept looking for our other canyon, or just hung out in Padre Bay for another hour, but now we didn't have time to get all the way out there again and back. So we hung out by the dam for a bit, eating snack and swimming, and then spent the last of our rental time playing around Wahweep Bay. I did get embarrassingly lost looking for our ramp for some reason - I could NOT find it, and I'd lost Beach and Jason. By the time I found them, we were 20 minutes later than we'd hoped to be loading. We went from being very early, to late, because I couldn't figure it out. Oops. But we actually loaded really quick, and were able to be back at the shop in time. No damage, hurray.

We stopped for dinner at a local chicken place, which was great - especially the mashed potatoes - before the long, long drive home. I fell asleep for quite a bit of it, but poor Jason had to drive well into the night. I was so glad to have the next day off.

So, yeah. What a trip. It's one we'll never forget, and not really for good reasons. We're now trauma-bonded for life.

So PSA: Check for flash flood warnings. Every time. And LISTEN.

Thanks.

[livingwithlosingyou]

Living with Losing You - 9/27/2022

What an insane day.

I woke up to my alarm blaring before 6am because I had to go onsite to address a situation. I also has to take Sadie to camp because I was going to eb gone ALL day with appointments, meetings, practice, etc. 

My work morning meetings were very effective and went very well. I was glad that the team was able to work together to make that happen #teamworkmakesthedreamwork. I was there for a few hours, but had decided to leave at around 11:30am to try and meet my dad for lunch. In that thought process I realized that I actually had a therapy meeting at noon. So, I had to cancel on the pops (it was fine, he had lunch packed already) and then I started to drive towards Scripps Ranch to take my therapy call, eat lunch, and then go to my rescheduled OBGYN at 2:10pm. Like I said, very busy day.

I got the the parking lot and parked as my therapist joined the call. It was honestly perfect timing. I had a good session today. I think I was more blunt and honest in a respectful way about how i was feeling. Since my therapist was also an addict herself, she really understands some of the feelings you were having James. I have definitely had my ups and downs, and she constantly reminds me that it’s normal. I just really have been messed up since the storage unit. I have noticed that I really go back and forth primarily between gratitude, anguish/devastation, and anger. I feel so lucky to have loved you and been loved by you, but I am also so sad that you’re not physically here. On top of that, I am mad that you abandoned me when you promised that you’d never leave me. Balancing all of those very different emotions has been the hardest things, but I am starting to learn that “opposite” emotions can coexist. It’s a learned skill that I am still very much learning. 

After I hopped off the call I went to go and pick up my lunch. I got a sandwich from Jimbos custom made and some snacks. I ate my lunch at their patio outside and started working on my computer. I love working outside like that, it’s nice to have a change of scenery every now and then. Perks of having a job like I have. 

I realized that it was coming up on my appointment soon, so I quickly packed up my things and worked my way south a few exits for that OBGYN appointment. I will not get into details, but it was a very refreshing first step in the right direction. This doctor had an action plan, and took the time to review the birth control options that were already on my chart. I will say she did not review my whole chart, because she started asking me a much of questions about current partner(s), etc. She asked if I was irregular and I said yes because of my recent stress and she gave me the “look” of like “we are all stressed you need manage it better”, but also basically said that. Just more eloquently than I just typed it. Once i told her what was going on she was very apologetic, and it all made more sense to her. Anyway, all in all it was productive. Hoping she can help me!

By the time the appointment ended it was already almost 3pm. I was supposed to be a practice by 4pm. Keep in mind the HS that I coach at is likely around 45 mins or more from Scripps Ranch. I ended up booking it home (allegedly) and changing into running clothes really fast so I didn’t overheat at practice. Plus, i wanted to run again today. My goal is to get 150 miles by EOD of your birthday. I still have a ways to go!

I was able to get home at around 3:30pm, so i quickly got changed and grabbed my stuff then was back out the door. Practice went well today, the boys had a recovery form yesterday. We did some kettlebells which was fun to lead as well. As long as they are listening. 

I was supposed to go to GriefShare tonight, but honestly practice didn’t end until closer to 6:30pm, and that group starts at 6:45pm. Even with how busy my day was in general, I decided to skip this week. I also still had to pick up Sadie from camp and grab myself dinner. I ended up stopping at nothing Bundt Cakes to pick some up for out GNI (girl’s night IN) and then grabbed In N Out for myself. I figured I would get it since it’s not in KY and I won’t have access to it for weeks. Once I got home, we had a BIP (IYLKYK) watch party. Marissa and Bri came over for it. while we watched it I started packing. I still have SO much to do, it’s insane. I wrote a list on my notepad on the counter. Tomorrow is going to fly by, then I’ll be in KY! Crazy!

I ended up finishing all of my coaching training as well, so I am officially a cleared coach, yay! Now I will get my badge! I also talked to the producer today. I am VERY excited about the music part of this KY trip. I hope that it will continue to help me heal, and also eventually spread awareness. You’d be so proud of me, I know you would have been. You probably currently are. 

It’s past midnight at this point, and I still have not showered. I need to get ready for bed. Today was just SO busy, and tomorrow is the same. 

I hope that I feel you more in KY. I miss you.

Love you, always! Can’t wait to see if that note is still up in the science center. )(quick story, I called the LY science center that we visited in May because they had an exhibit where you could write a note and pin it onto the wall. i do not remember exactly what it said, but it was something very cheesy and cute. Well, when I called they said it was still up, and that they’re taking it down this weekend. I am going to take you mom’s car on Friday to Louisville to check and see if it is still there. Fingers crossed you will lead me right to it <3.

I love you, James. Always will. 

Oh, also your mom sent me a cute picture of Biggie today, and said he is excited to see me (we both know this is true). 

Rest in Peace, James Burton Nichols

10/1/1993 - 7/16/2022

[dredshirtroberts]

I’m mostly just glad I didn’t try to make myself more feminine in preparation for the video call cause that’s one less thing i gotta get rid of from tonight.

[wyattjohnston]

not as bad as it seems - tyson jost

series: this is getting good now

summary: tyson gets traded to minnesota.

word count: 1,960

note: it's entirely unedited because it's 1am and i want to post this before i go to sleep. if there's anything glaringly wrong please tell me.

Flick still felt remnants of an anger she didn’t know she was capable of just over a week removed from finding out that Tyson was going to play with a broken jaw.

Even his birthday had been more tense than previous years, despite them only having the morning together before he got on a plane to California. There had been presents and sweet kisses because, despite the lingering anger, she loved him. She had to trust that he knew his limits when it came to playing injured. They even spoke on the phone after he was taken out for dinner by the boys.

Nothing could have prepared her for the next day. An over exaggeration, maybe, given all the trade rumours involving his name but she never expected the day to actually come.

She was sneaking in a quick lunch between client when the notification banner appeared at the top of her phone.

Peter Baugh tweeted: The #Avs have traded Tyson Jost to Minnesota for Nico Sturm.

“You alright?” Jane, her boss, asked as she walked into the salon’s backroom. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Flick didn’t raise her head when she said, “Tyson just got traded to Minnesota. I have to move to Minnesota.”

There were tears at the edge of her vision yet she couldn’t make them fall. Beyond the sadness there was an emptiness-she had no idea how to process any of what was going to happen.

“I can call your clients and reschedule if you need to be somewhere.”

“No, I can—I can work. He’s—god, he’s in LA.”

Jane didn’t look convinced and Flick knew she was going to be monitored for the rest of the day. She packaged up the remaining half of her sandwich, ignored the next tweet that came with through Nico Sturm’s stats, because the bell above the door chimed and her next client walked in.

Flick’s phone started to buzz when she was talking to her client about what they were going to do with her hair. It started to ring again as soon as it stopped—and then again. She focused on the hair between her fingers and the colour she was mixing. The call vibrations turned to text messages and they were more easily ignored.

It was much harder to ignore the door flying open and Piper appearing in the mirror, glaring holes in Flick. Piper continued to do so until it was time to wait for the hair dye to prove, at which point she hooked her hand in Flick’s elbow and pulled her into the backroom.

“What’re you doing here?” Flick asked in a mumble.

“We thought you might be dead,” Piper said tersely, her arms crossed. “Judging by the look on your face, there’s a reason you’re ignoring calls.”

“How do you even know?”

Piper might as well have been tapping her foot she was so mad when she said, “Nate called me.”

“I didn’t think you and Nate were talking.”

“We aren’t. That should tell you all you need to know about how fucking worried Tyson is. He’s having a fucking breakdown.”

Flick closed her eyes, inhaled through her nose, pushed the idea of Tyson having a meltdown out of her mind and said, “I’m working.”

Piper’s hand touched Flick’s forearm. “Felicity,” she said, the use of her first name enough for Flick to open her eyes, “Tyson needs to talk to you. If you think you’re not taking this well, he’s dealing with a trade and his fiancée ignoring him.”

“I don’t know what to say to him,” Flick admitted, her voice small.

“Anything. He just wants to talk to you.”

Flick knew she had to. She wanted to because, despite everything she always wanted to talk to Tyson anyway, and she herself needed to know what was going on. Deep in the back of her mind she knew that this trade wasn’t about her, that it wasn’t Tyson’s job to calm her down. She needed him to, though.

Piper disappeared from the room, coming back moments later with Jane, mid-explanation about what was happening.

“Just finish up and take the rest of the day,” Jane said, looking to Flick with a kind and caring and expression. “We can talk about where the trade leaves you another day.”

Flick nodded mutely—the more she thought about it all the closer she was to actually crying, and she didn’t want that to happen in front of her boss. Piper thanked Jane and then watched Jane leave.

She managed to ask Piper, “Can you let Tyson know?”

“Yeah,” Piper said, sarcasm and displeasure laced in her voice. “I’ll play messenger between you and your fiancé.”

“Please,” Flick pleaded, not up to handling or understanding Piper’s sarcasm in that moment.

“I will,” Piper said, her tone shifting to something more caring.

Piper pulled Flick into a hug, then, and it was the final straw. Flick started to cry. She didn’t really know what she was crying about—it could have been because of the trade itself, because she was already upset with Tyson, because she’d made him upset. It was likely a combination of all those and more.

Flick made sure she was comfortable on the couch before she dialled Tyson on FaceTime—wearing an Avalanche hoodie she’d stolen from him and with a blanket pulled tightly around her.

“Hey,” Tyson answered the phone, looking and sounding tired, breathless and relieved all in one. “Flick—hey.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer my phone.”

“It’s just good to hear your voice. To see you,” he said solemnly. “I’m at the airport waiting for my flight and I didn’t—I wanted to talk to you first.”

Flick buried herself deeper into the blankets. She honestly didn’t know what to say to him, but it seemed that Tyson didn’t know either. She couldn’t begrudge him just wanting to be on the phone with her, especially not when they often had a call running while they went about any number of activities, including total silence on the odd occasion.

She did end up saying, though, quiet and worried, “Did you know?”

“I called my mum as soon JP called. I hadn’t even been on the phone for two minutes when the tweet went out. I’m sorry you didn’t hear it from me.”

“But did you—did you know that this was going to happen now?”

“No,” he said, honest, “I thought they’d stopped trying to move me.”

Flick nodded. It was the answer she expected because they’d spoken sporadically about trades and Tyson hadn’t mentioned anything since the summer. It didn’t make the idea any easier to stomach and she’d honestly been on edge since he first requested the trade.

“When am I going to see you again?” she asked, hating the way his face fell.

“They have—we have, I guess—a really long homestand. I’ll buy you a flight for tomorrow. You can visit every homestand if you want.”

“Visit?” Flick’s voice was weak and small, her heart beating nervously. “You don’t want me to come with you?”

Tyson’s face crumpled even more. He said, “If you want to come for what could be three months, then yeah. Of course, I want you with me. I just—I know you so well but I have no fucking clue what’s going through your head right now. That scares me.”

“I don’t want to live here if you live in Minneapolis.”

“It’s St Paul, actually.”

“Tyson.”

“I know,” he sighed, because it didn’t make a difference what city in Minnesota he was in. Neither changed their conversation. “I’m sorry.”

Flick wanted nothing more than to be with him in that moment, to be in that hotel room next to him on the couch. It would solve everything.

“What if I packed up some of your things and fly up on Thursday and we can talk about it?” she suggested. “About what we’re going to do?”

Tyson’s face relaxed. “That’d be great, Flick.”

“Are you, like, okay, though?”

“I have no idea. I cried in the car on the way to the airport.”

“I’m sorry.”

“We’re gonna sort it out. We always do.”

She wasn’t angry anymore, that feeling being well and truly taken over by misery and anxiety—if she tried to feel anything more, she would combust.

It went against everything her father has ever told her about stopping in an airport store. They were all disgustingly overpriced and filled with items only forgetful people needed, something that could be avoided with a proper packing checklist.

This was different. There was no better or more convenient place to get what she was buying between the apartment in Denver and the hotel room in St. Paul. It wasn’t a matter of forgetting anything.

Tyson wasn’t able to pick her up from the airport due to team things, which wouldn’t have upset her before but things were still more tense than she would like and all she wanted to do was see him. She wheeled two suitcases through the airport and out to a cab—a large one for Tyson and a medium sized one for herself—and then through the hotel lobby. By the time she had reached the hotel she had decided she was going to surprise Tyson instead of having him come down to get her. Especially because she had to put on her latest purchase.

The nerves flowing through her when she finally knocked on his hotel room door were nonsensical, and yet she was clicking the latch on the suitcase handle, the one that allows it to move up and down, to release some of the nervous energy.

Tyson might have been just as nervous because the door opened so quickly that Flick was certain he’d been sitting and waiting for her. Flick was being pulled into his arms immediately, his arms around her shoulders and holding her tightly. Flick leant her head back just enough to kiss him, longing and desperate as if they’d been separated for more than three days.

“That’s a good look on you,” Tyson said when he was helping her move the suitcases into the room, eyeing off the Minnesota Wild logo on her new hoodie.

“I couldn’t get a jersey made up so quickly,” she said.

Tyson nodded, promising to get her one the next time he was at the practice rink. They’d discussed after the Bruins game how good she thought he looked in the Wild’s green and she’d laughed with him as he told her, relieved, that he’d actually been a bit worried about it.

No unpacking was done at that moment, instead, Tyson led her to the couch. They wasted no time in cuddling up against each other, Flick sitting sideways on his lap because he wasn’t going to let her sit anywhere else.

So, naturally, that was when Flick said, “Minnesota ended Lola Faraday’s relationship with Alex Galchenyuk.”

Tyson froze, one on her waist and the other on her thigh, and his face nuzzled in her neck. He asked, “What does that mean?”

Flick sighed, understanding immediately what Tyson had taken away from her statement, “She—Lola’s a model and when Galchenyuk was traded to Minnesota she stopped posting photos of him. I think Minnesota ended their relationship.”

“Are you saying Minnesota’s going to end ours?”

She kissed his cheek, nuzzling as close as she could, and told him, “I don’t want to be in Denver and try to do long distance like I reckon they had to.”

“You want to live in this hotel? Leave your friends behind? Your job?”

“I’ve done it before. I’ll do it now and I’ll do it again if I have to. You’re my best friend.”

Please consider leaving feedback—reblog and write in the tags or send an ask, I’m not fussed. I just want to know what you’re thinking!

[storiesofsvu]

A Redemption Earned Ch 8

Heather Dunbar x reader Warnings: language, mentions of past angst.

Heather had spent her Sunday afternoon tidying up around the house, cleaning any leftover dust and grime left from the movers who’d brought the last of the things from the mansion over that weekend. She’d been focused on getting the firm up and running to her standards first, figuring that a professional appearance was more important than her home for the time being. It served as a place to eat and sleep, occasionally work from when she didn’t want to be at the office any longer. After making sure she had her work bag packed, she prepped a couple of easy meals for lunches, and left a folder on the kitchen island to go over before going to bed that night.

She was relatively fresh out of the shower, wrapped in a fluffy robe, skincare routine done, staring at her closet trying to figure out what to wear when the phone rang. She answered it without really thinking or checking who was calling, figuring at the odd time it was probably work.

“Dunbar?”

“Hey.” Your voice rang through the receiver and she couldn’t help the smile that broke out on her cheeks, “it’s me.”

“Didn’t expect to hear from you.” She replied, flicking through items in her closet.

“I hate to start like this… but how mad would you be if I bailed on tonight?” She could hear the dejected tone in your voice and her smile fell to a frown.

“Did something come up?”

“Not exactly. It’s my own doing really. I just left a pile of homework marking to the last minute and completely forgot about it until I got home, which was about five minutes ago.”

“Oh… okay. Well, we could reschedule…” She offered, hoping the disappointment wasn’t evident in her voice.

“I really do want to see you again, and it won’t take me too long to finish it, but it’s been a fucking day, and I would rather jump off a cliff than actually go out tonight. I just want sweatpants and a glass of wine, you feel me?” You gave a huff of a laugh and Heather chuckled, relief flowing through her that you weren’t making up excuses.

“Oh I do.” She paused, pulling out comfy clothes from her closet, tossing them onto her bed, “a night in can do wonders. Hey… if you’re up for it, why don’t you come here? I could cook us dinner?”

“Really?”

“Of course.” She let out a small laugh, “and there is no dress code required. Sweatpants fully encouraged.”

“God you really are a lifesaver, you know that?” you smiled into the phone, “text me your address? I’ve got to shower quick, probably be over in like, thirty?”

“Perfect.”

**

Heather almost missed the sound of your knock over the playlist echoing through the main level of the house, pausing only to turn the burner down before answering the door.

“Hey.” You greeted with a warm smile, the two of you stepping closer together, lips brushing against the other’s cheeks quickly.

“Make yourself at home.” Heather replied, making sure the door was properly shut behind you, crossing back through the living room to the kitchen. After stepping out of your shoes and hanging your sweater on one of the hooks you followed her, settling at the kitchen island with the bag of papers.

“It smells great.”

“Barely started.” She replied with a grin, glancing over her shoulder she caught you rubbing a hand over your face, letting out a small yawn, “god kitten you look exhausted.” You felt your cheeks heat at the use of a pet name, that certainly woke you up quick.

“That is also my own doing.” You laughed, “I got roped into a very late facetime to a friend’s birthday over in Tokyo. I was up basically until dawn, not ideal above the age of twenty three.”

“Oh god.”

“Yeah.” You huffed, “would not recommend. Coffee could barely save me today, can’t believe I left marking to the last minute.”

“Anything I can help with?” She asked, leaning against the island beside you and you simply smiled up at her, “basic multiplication, I think I can handle it. Thank you though.” You reached out, squeezing gently at her hand and she hummed happily in response, resisting the urge to drop a kiss to your head. Instead she simply smiled at the sight of you making yourself at home in her kitchen while she turned back to the stove.

You glanced up from the first paper, softening at the image of Heather at the stove, checking on the chicken briefly before loading it up into a baking tray and putting it in the oven. She hadn’t been kidding when she’d said she found solace in the kitchen, she was very at peace in the moment, happy little smile on her face while she added a few other ingredients to the pan the chicken had been in. You couldn’t help but wonder what a life of living with Heather would be like, how domestic she was and how much of it flowed to other aspects of her home life.

Instead, you gave a little shake of the head, turning back to the task in front of you while Heather continued cooking. A brief pause to offer you a glass of wine that you accepted, clinking your glass with hers before taking a sip. Just as you had said, the marking really didn’t take that long, and you were packing the sheets back into your bag as she was pulling the chicken out of the oven to rest a moment. You moved from the island, putting your bag back over by the door, and crossing back through the kitchen to quickly wash your hands, not sure on how many gross little eight year old germs were all over the papers.

“Here.” Heather suddenly turned to you, a spoon lifted up in front of her toward you, “enough garlic or no?” Her voice was softer when she asked and you easily accepted the spoon of risotto into your mouth, letting out a soft groan at the flavour.

“It’s perfect.” You murmured, your tongue darting out to snag a leftover drop from your lip as Heather placed the spoon down on the counter. Your head tilted for a moment, taking in the expression on her face, “what?”

“I… really want to kiss you right now.”

“So do it….”

The slight smirk on your cheeks along with your murmured words were all it took for Heather to step forward, her fingers gliding over your cheek until they came to rest just behind your ear, gently pulling you to her. With only a step you closed the space between you, your lips brushing against each other hesitantly at first. As your arms wound their way around her waist Heather’s confidence shifted, her lips moving against yours with grace. You could feel your entire body nearly tingling, your breath catching in your throat at the feel of her tongue gliding across your lips and you eagerly accepted it.

Despite all her former hesitation and worry, Heather had absolutely no issues in this moment, feeling the warmth of your body against hers, the weight of your hands on her hips, the delicate way your tongue danced with hers. She let out a soft sigh into the kiss, one that you swallowed down in the same breath, the hand cupping your head tangled into your hair, securing you against her.

She was certain that if it wasn’t for the stove timer going off you would’ve been a mess of tangled limbs on the couch with strewn about clothes in only a few matter of minutes. Once her lips had met yours the desire and need had surged through her like wildfire and part of her didn’t want to stop. She only pulled away a fraction of an inch, her lips hovering over yours until the blaring of the timer was getting beyond annoying and she swiftly turned to silence it.

You were thankful for the moment to calm down, turning back to the island and taking another sip of your wine, trying to regain your composure as you turned back to Heather. She was pulling down plates from the cupboard, starting to serve the food, though she quickly glanced over her shoulder to you, a smile on her cheeks and you giggled.

“Shame we waited a week to do that.” You commented and she laughed, stepping back to you, her finger curling under your chin before she stole another kiss.

“Plenty of time to catch up.” She smiled and you felt your cheeks heat yet again, “did you want to eat outside?” She gestured to the back patio doors and you nodded, wanting to hold onto as much of the spring sunshine as you could.

Heather truly did live up to her boasting about being good in the kitchen, a dinner of goat cheese stuffed chicken, roasted asparagus, and the promised lobster risotto. There was only a moment of slight awkwardness before the conversation was flowing easily again, Heather laughing heartily at the stories you told, mainly of the kids in your class. Though you noticed she had a soft spot for your stories of travelling and living overseas, often watching you with a smile on her face, a gleam in her eyes that made you think she hadn’t been out of the country very often, if ever.  

The dishes got left in the sink for later, and your desire to soak up the evening air took over any other need, heading across the street to a cute little park. You linked your arm in Heather’s, once again noticing the way she tensed for a moment before relaxing into the embrace. The stroll was more than enjoyable, indulging into little anecdotes, Heather’s cheeks flushing at the near dreamy look in your eyes when she went off on a tangent about the law or constitution. You only made the call to head back to the house when you let out a little shiver in the cooling air, Heather wrapping an arm around you, scolding you in a teasing manner about not having a sweater.

“Can I offer you another glass of wine?” Her voice called from the kitchen as you settled on the couch, flicking through a couple of streaming apps as she’d suggested, “or something stronger?”

“Stronger?” You called back with a laugh.

“I’ve got a bottle of scotch from when we opened the firm, was thinking about saving it for a special occasion.” She popped around the semi concealed corner, a smile on her cheeks as she presented the bottle.

“I don’t think I’ve ever indulged in scotch… but I trust your recommendations.” She let out a chuckle, “and I do think tonight’s a bit of a special occasion.”

“Agreed.” She smiled warmly, disappearing into the kitchen for a moment. You laughed at the fact that she brought both the bottle, her glass with just the amber liquid in it, a twin glass and one with ice, a bottle of water, and a glass of juice.

“What?”

“Scotch isn’t for everyone.” She explained, “I suggest you take at least a cube of ice with it, let it chill for a bit and if it’s still to much, add some water. If it’s disgusting, drink some juice and I’ll grab you a refill of wine instead.”

“Okay..” You laughed, taking the glass of liquor from her as she dropped an ice cube into it, “well… cheers to new things.” With a warm smile you clinked glasses, a warmth spreading through you when she leaned in right as you did to steal a kiss before she took a sip, watching cautiously as you did the same.

“Thoughts?”

“Good.” You replied with a laugh, “though I think your warning had me thinking it was going to taste like gasoline or something.” She laughed at that, her hand coming to squeeze at your wrist, “you clearly know what you’re talking about.”

Heather simply hummed in response, smiling over at you as she glanced back to the tv, commenting on what you’d selected. In turn you actually flipped through a couple of shows, asking if she’d seen any, briefly explaining the storylines of the ones that were easier to watch random episodes until you settled on one you both agreed on. Her arm was over the back of the couch and you took the opportunity to lightly sink into it, gently resting closer to her. Her hand wrapped around your shoulder, lips pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head. A few moments later your hand slid up her thigh, resting there, giving it a gentle squeeze and you frowned over the way she nearly jumped before relaxing at the sensation.

An episode passed, a little bit of small talk or comments occurring as it did so, Heather refilling your drinks as time went on. You began to get a little more distracted, your attention wavering from the screen as the episode moved on, you surveyed Heather for a moment, watching the way she held herself. The near guarded vibes her body language was giving off before your hand gently squeezed at her thigh, gaining her attention.

“Hey…can…can I ask you something?” You began cautiously, “and I get it if this is completely none of my business or something you don’t want to talk about I just… am… curious, I guess?”

Heather felt her chest tighten, the sudden anxiety shooting through her, she’d known this had to have been coming, but was still internally freaking out, trying to calm herself down as she turned to you.

“About what?”

“You said your divorce was messy?”

“Disastrous.” She replied, shifting forward to take a heavy swig of liquor.

“I… please don’t hate me for this, but part of my job is literally to be aware of behaviour, body language and actions, and I have a terrible habit of projecting that onto all aspects of my life.”

“What do you mean?” She raised a curious brow in your direction, her heart still hammering in her chest as she tried to maintain composure.

“Well… you’re freshly back in the city, trying to repair relationships, you don’t talk about your ex that much, and… your house is pretty bare of anything familial.” You sucked back a breath, trying to calm yourself to approach this in the best manner, “and… you don’t seem to like physical contact that much? Or at least, it kinda makes you nervous… I guess, what I’m trying to get at is… did your ex…. Did he hurt you?”

Heather let out a heavy breath of a sigh, doing her best to not let out too much of a laugh, but glanced up at you with the lingering smile still on her cheeks.

“No, never in a million years. Rob couldn’t even hurt a fly, and I mean that, the man’s the literal definition of what Becca calls a ‘golden retriever husband’.”

“Oh thank god.” You murmured, letting out a sigh as you sucked back a sip of scotch, “I jumped to conclusions I guess.”

“No, no…” she grabbed at your hand, squeezing it softly, “it’s a good thing you have that gut instinct. Probably helps a lot of people.”

“Thanks.” You ducked your gaze, your cheeks heating before you glanced back up, waiting a moment before you spoke again, “may I ask.. what did happen?”

This time Heather let out a heavy breath, her gaze avoiding yours as she sucked back a mouthful of scotch, she knew there was no way to avoid the truth, that you were going to find out eventually, and it was better to hear from her.

“Rob was the perfect husband…” She started, her gaze still across the room, “he really was wonderful, and honestly, we were high school sweethearts, we’ll always love each other in some sense.”  This time she risked a glance up at you and you nodded encouragingly, pulling a sigh from her, worried about what her admission would make you do, “the divorce was one hundred percent my fault. I cheated.” She paused again to search your face for your reaction, though you remained un-phased, “multiple times, over years. Once he found out about it and the extent, he filed for divorce.” You simply squeezed at her hand, urging her to go on, “about a month later I left Washington, it probably would have been earlier if we hadn’t been dealing with Jordan’s funeral.”

“I’m sorry.” You nearly whispered, “about Jordan.”

“Thank you.” She cast you a warm smile, feeling a little calmer that you hadn’t moved your hand from hers yet, “when everything went down… I burnt a lot of bridges… hell I burnt them all. I destroyed everything I had left here. Thankfully I was referred to a couple of wonderful therapists, who I’ve been seeing ever since, and I’ve been working on myself, on everything because I do know what I did was wrong.”

“That’s good.” You smiled across at her and her heart nearly skipped a beat. “You have no idea how much I appreciate you being open with me.”

“I don’t want to keep secrets anymore.” She admitted, ducking her gaze quickly before meeting your eye again, “and… I get it if this makes you change your mind on the direction things are going. If you’d rather just remain friends, that’s fine. I know a lot of people stand by the ‘once a cheater, always a cheater’ mentality.”

“Well… I stand by the mentality that everyone deserves a second chance.” You shifted forward, leaning in to press a soft kiss to her cheek, “you can’t scare me away that easily.” With that you let out a soft sigh, leaving the conversation up to her as you nestled into her shoulder, letting out a happy hum as her arm wrapped around you, her lips leaving a gentle kiss at the top of your head.

She let out a content sigh, the jitters leaving her body at the feeling of you nuzzling closer and deeper into her embrace. She knew there was a hell of a lot to unpack, to let you in on, and that there was a high chance that you’d stand your ground and walk away later on, but for now, she had you, in her arms and said you weren’t going anywhere. Though it didn’t take very long for the concern to settle back in, only a full episode later that she spoke again, her worry taking over her brain,

“Are you absolutely sure about this?” She asked and you lifted your head from her shoulder, raising a brow, “you’re not just saying this now to not make things awkward?”

“Well…” you paused, shifting on the couch so you were cross legged facing her, “we don’t have to jump into anything. We can casually date for a bit, and if something more suited comes along for either of us, we’ll be open and communicate with each other. It’s not like we’re sitting her vowing ‘til death due us part right now.”

“I suppose you’re right.” She chuckled and you leant in, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.

“But if we do decide that we’re best suited for each other, I am strictly monogamous. And don’t take this badly, but if you were to step out on me, I would not be sticking around.”

“Which is completely understandable, and believe me, I have no plans or intentions of repeating past bad behaviour.”

“Good.” You smiled and were about to nuzzle back into her arm when your phone went off, “shit.” You silenced the alarm, “jesus…. I need to be up at five thirty, I really need to get going.”

“That early, really?” Heather questioned, rising from the couch and following you through the house as you gathered your things.

“I like to workout in the mornings before I realize what I’m doing.” You laughed, “and lord knows I won’t do it after work.” You slipped into your coat, letting out a small sigh, “thank you for everything. Tonight was really nice.”

“Agreed. I had a great time.”

“Next weekend on me?” You suggested, “you pick the place?”

“Sounds like a date.” Heather smiled, humming as you stepped together for a soft kiss, this one lingering a little longer than the stolen ones. “Get home safe.”

“I will. Night.”

Heather watched you down the walk, making sure you got into your car before she shut the door. She let out a large sigh of relief, one stone unturned and you were still around. She could only hope that everything else wouldn’t scare you away when it eventually did come up.

___________________

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[bechloeislegit]

STRONGER Chapter 11

Later that evening, Beca and Aubrey stood silently by as Chloe faced down Joe. They were discussing the best way to allow Chloe and the Bellas to continue rehearsals and keep everyone safe. Or actually, Joe was trying to convince Chloe to cancel the Bellas rehearsals until Roger Daniels was in custody.

"Miss Beale," Joe said beseechingly. "Our number one priority is your safety and those around you. I understand you need to attend classes, but any extracurricular activities will need to be put on hold until Daniels is caught. Surely, you can understand that."

Chloe stood with her arms crossed, glaring at Joe.

"No, I don't understand that," Chloe said. "We'll all be in one place and easy to keep an eye on. There are only two ways to get into the auditorium, and there are two of you assigned to follow me around. Why can't those two escort me to the Auditorium and then stand watch at the two entrances?"

"Beca, help me talk some sense into your girlfriend," Joe said, looking at Beca.

"Nope," Beca said. "I'm with Chloe on this."

"Come on, Beca," Joe said pleadingly.

"No, Joe," Beca said. "Chloe makes a very valid point, and all she's trying to do is keep things as normal as possible. And having Bellas rehearsals is as normal as you can get. It wouldn't be fair to the rest of the Bellas if we cancel rehearsal with no end as to when we'd start up again. We have competitions to prepare for."

"Beca's right," Aubrey said. "We Bellas stick together, so if your guys are keeping an eye on things outside the Auditorium, we can keep an eye on things inside."

"Plus, we need the Bellas in one place so Chloe can tell them what's going on," Beca added. "They could be in danger by association. It doesn't feel right not telling them."

"She's right," Chloe said. "I don't want any of them to get hurt because this guy found out who my friends are."

Joe sighed. "I guess there's no point in suggesting that you invite them all here to tell them, is there?"

"None," Chloe responded, resolute in her stance.

"Wait a second, Chloe," Beca said, getting Chloe to look at her. "That might not be a bad idea. We were planning a dinner party for Saturday to celebrate your birthday. If Daniels is still at large, we'll have to cancel it or have it here. Instead, why don't we reschedule it for tomorrow and invite everyone over here? You can tell them about your stalker and let them decide if they want to cancel rehearsals until he's caught."

"That all sounds good in theory, Beca," Aubrey said. "But what if some of them want to cancel rehearsals and some of them don't?"

"We take a vote, and majority rules," Beca said. "And we'll reassure them that the police will be close by during rehearsals to make sure we're all safe, right, Joe?"

Joe sighed and nodded his head. "Okay. We can work something out to make sure everyone is safe if you choose to have your rehearsals."

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Chloe asked smugly. "I'm going to put together a group text to the Bellas, telling them of the change in plans. I'll just tell them we're having a Bellas meeting here instead of rehearsal and that dinner will be provided. How does that sound?"

"I'm Captain. I'll send the text," Aubrey said.

"And, you'll agree to do what the majority vote on?" Beca asked.

Aubrey clenched her teeth and gave Beca a squinty-eyed look. "I'm not a dictator, Beca."

"Could have fooled me," Beca muttered.

"Behave," Chloe hissed, smacking Beca on the arm.

"What?"

"We will vote, and I will abide by whatever the majority decides," Aubrey concluded.

~Stronger~ ~Stronger~ ~Stronger~

Meanwhile, across campus, Stacie and Fat Amy were at a Frat party when the text from Aubrey came through. They both read the text, and Stacie looked at Fat Amy.

"I wonder why they're changing Chloe's birthday dinner to Beca's house," Stacie said.

"Probably has something to do with Chloe's stalker," Amy said.

"What?!" Stacie exclaimed, grabbing Amy's arm. "Chloe has a stalker?"

"Eh, um, yeah?"

"How do you know about him?"

"Chloe told us when we had Thanksgiving at Beca's mom's house," Amy said. "He's the reason why Chloe's staying at Beca's instead of her own place."

"He knows where…" Stacie said, her eyes widening. "I think I saw him. So that's why Beca got so upset with me."

"Where? When?" Amy asked. "Did you tell the police?"

"They know," Stacie said as she grabbed Fat Amy's arm and dragged her out of the frat house.

Once outside, Stacie told Amy about what happened with Beca and the stranger she had seen outside Chloe and Aubrey's apartment.

"The police told me if I saw him again, not to engage him in any way and to call them immediately."

"So, he is here?" Amy asked. "In Barden?"

"Looks like he is."

Both girls shivered and looked around. Stacie looked at her phone and started texting.

~Stronger~ ~Stronger~ ~Stronger~

"Stacie just texted asking if we changed the party because of Chloe's stalker," Aubrey said, looking at Beca. "I thought you said you didn't tell her anything."

"I didn't," Beca said.

"Then, how does she know about him?" Aubrey asked.

"I don't know," Beca said. "Maybe Ashley or Jessica or Fat Amy told her. Chloe told them at Thanksgiving."

~Stronger~ ~Stronger~ ~Stronger~

Also, across campus, Jessica and Ashley were studying in the library.

"I bet they changed it because of Chloe's stalker," Ashley said after reading the text.

"I bet you're right," Jessica said as another text came through. "Stacie seems to think it is, too."

"I wonder who told Stacie," Ashley said.

The two Bellas looked at each other and simultaneously said, "Fat Amy."

They both laughed and were shushed by those around them. They looked around apologetically and returned to their studies.

~Stronger~ ~Stronger~ ~Stronger~

"Chloe has a stalker?" Cynthia Rose mumbled, having read both Aubrey and Stacie's texts.

Cynthia Rose sent a new text directly to Chloe.

~Stronger~ ~Stronger~ ~Stronger~

Back at Beca's, Chloe's phone pinged with a text.

"Aww," Chloe said, looking at her phone. "Cynthia Rose was checking to see if I was okay. I guess she read Stacie's text, too."

"Maybe someone should respond to Stacie's text to let everyone know we will fill them in tomorrow," Beca said.

"On it," Chloe said, typing out a text to the group. "How does this sound? Yes, I have a stalker. I will tell everyone about it at dinner tomorrow. Until then, don't worry, I'm safe at Beca's and am under police protection."

"That's good," Beca said.

"I agree," Aubrey said. "Send it."

~Stronger~ ~Stronger~ ~Stronger~

The girls were sitting around talking about the next night's dinner when Beca stood and grabbed a hoodie and put it on, mumbling, "I'll be right back."

"Everything okay?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah," Beca said. "I just need to talk to Joe."

"Okay," Chloe said.

"I think I'm going to head up to bed," Aubrey said. "Goodnight."

"I'm going to go on up, too," Chloe said. "Don't be too long."

"I won't," Beca said, kissing Chloe. "Goodnight, Aubrey."

Beca walked outside and toward the car that Joe and Mark were sitting in. The two officers got out of the car and met Beca halfway.

"Is everything alright, Beca?" Joe asked.

"Everything's fine," Beca said. "It's just that with Daniels being seen at Chloe's apartment, I wasn't able to get to the grocery store like I had planned. So, I wanted to make plans to be able to go to the store in the morning. I have to get stuff to make dinner for the Bellas."

"I'll brief Trish and Lou when they arrive for the shift change in the morning," Joe said.

"I need to go early so I can be back here before ten," Beca said. "Our insurance guy is supposed to come by to check out the damage my dad did to my car."

"We can work that out," Joe said.

"Will you want someone to go with you?" Mark asked.

"I don't think so," Beca said. "Chloe has an early class, so Trish and Lou should go with her; I'll be fine on my own."

"Okay," Joe said. "Have a good night."

"Goodnight," Beca said and went inside.

~Stronger~ ~Stronger~ ~Stronger~

The next morning, Beca kissed Chloe as she and Aubrey left for classes. Beca then bustled around gathering everything she needed to go grocery shopping. Her phone rang just as she picked up Chloe's list of the things she and Aubrey wanted and needed. There was also some cash to help with the cost.

"Hey, mom," Beca said, answering the call.

"Hey," Sarah said. "I was just calling to remind you about the insurance adjuster coming by today."

"I remember," Beca said. "I was just on my way out to the store. I need to get the stuff for the Bellas dinner we're having for Chloe's birthday tonight."

"I thought that was scheduled for Saturday," Sarah said.

"We had to reschedule it since Roger Daniels was spotted here in Barden," Beca said.

"What?!" Sarah gasped. "We hadn't heard about that. Are they sure he's there?"

"Yep," Beca said. "Stacie saw him at Chloe's apartment and positively identified him from a photo lineup Joe showed her."

"How's Chloe handling it? Is she okay?"

"She's handling it about as well as you'd expect," Beca said. "Mainly, she's scared, frustrated, and just wants him caught."

"I'll tell Charlotte and Carl," Sarah said. "They're going to be upset that no one contacted them to let them know."

"Tell them I'm sorry we didn't call," Beca said. "It happened early yesterday, and Chloe was overwhelmed and frightened, and then Aubrey returned, and things got busy. I thought the police would have called to let them know, so I honestly never thought of calling."

"It's okay," Sarah said. "As long as I can assure them that Chloe is safe, I'm sure they'll be fine."

"She's safe. I promise," Beca said. "There is a 2-officer team with her at all times. And Chloe and Aubrey are both staying here for their safety."

"That's good," Sarah said.

"I really have to go if I want to be back here by ten," Beca said.

"You be careful," Sarah said. "And, call me after the insurance agent is gone. Love you."

"I will," Beca said. "And, I love you, too."

Beca ended the call and rushed to the garage. She took a moment to look at her car and could only shake her head. Joe had told her heard the judge let her father go on bail, but she hadn't seen or heard from him. She got into the mother's car and left.

~Stronger~ ~Stronger~ ~Stronger~

Beca put away the groceries and then sat on the sofa to wait for the insurance agent. She thought about prepping some things for dinner but didn't want to be in the middle of it when he showed up. So she sat and waited.

"I guess I can get some of my class reading done," Beca mumbled as she picked up one of her textbooks.

Beca started reading and used her highlighter to mark certain passages she thought were interesting. She suddenly heard a dog barking outside.

"Mr. Kidwell's lab," Beca mumbled.

She then heard a loud grinding, squeaking-type noise and thought, "I wonder when Mr. Jeffers is going to get the brakes on his wife's car fixed." She snickered. "He's probably hoping she has an accident so he can collect on the insurance."

Beca began reading again. Before she knew she was jerking awake when someone knocked on the door. From the sound of it, they may have already knocked once.

"I can't believe I fell asleep," Beca grumbled as she got up to answer the door.

"Miss Mitchell?" the portly man at the door said when the door opened.

"Yes," Beca said.

"I'm George Baxter," the man said. "With Barden Insurance. I'm here about a claim that you filed."

"Actually," Beca said. "My mother-"

Beca stopped mid-sentence after noticing a man across the street, staring at the house. She squinted her eyes because he was standing with the sun behind him.

"Miss Mitchell?" Mr. Baxter said, causing Beca to jerk her head back to face him.

"Um, yeah, sorry," Beca said, trying to look over Mr. Baxter's shoulder to see the man across the street. "Where'd he go?"

"Where'd who go?" Mr. Baxter asked, looking over his shoulder.

Beca shook her head. "It's nothing. Probably just a neighbor. What was I saying?"

"You said you weren't the one who filed the claim," Mr. Baxter said, looking at some papers in his hand. "Who is Sarah Mitchell?"

"That's my mother," Beca said. "I'm Beca, and it's my car that got damaged. Follow me, and I'll show you."

"Thank you," Mr. Baxter said, stepping inside.

"This way," Beca said, walking toward the kitchen.

Mr. Baxter followed as Beca went into the kitchen and over to the garage door. She opened the door and turned on the garage light. Mr. Baxted saw the car and whistled.

"Looks like they did a real number on it," Mr. Baxter. "I'm going to have to have it towed to a repair facility and have them look at it. My best guess is they'll consider the repairs to be more than the car is worth."

"What does that mean?" Beca asked.

"It means they won't fix it if it will cost too much," Mr. Baxter replied. "Instead, you'll get a check for the value of your car based on what the Kelly Blue Book says it's worth. Most people use the money to purchase another car."

"When will it be towed?"

"Right now. Can you open the garage door for me, please?"

Beca hit the button, and the garage door began rising. When the door was completely open, she saw a man in overalls standing on the other side; a tow truck was in the driveway behind him.

"Hey, Pete," Mr. Baxter called out, walking over to the man. "We're taking the car."

"On it," Pete said and went to his tow truck and moved it so that he could hook up the car.

While Pete did what he needed to do, Mr. Baxter wrote on one of the papers he had with him.

"Could you sign these, please?" Mr. Baxter asked Beca, holding the pen out to her.

Beca took the pen in her left hand. "What am I signing?"

"It's the receipt for your car," Mr. Baxter said. "It states that we took possession of the car, and you are signing to confirm that you were aware that we took it. There are two copies you need to sign. One will go with me, the other stays with you."

"Oh, okay," Beca said, signing the two copies where Mr. Baxter indicated.

"Thank you," he said, taking his copy and his pen from Beca.

"Is that it?" Beca asked, looking out at the tow truck pulling her car from the garage. Beca suddenly perked up when she saw someone standing across the street again.

Beca tried to see who it was, but the tow truck moved, blocking Beca from seeing them. The truck got Beca's car out of the garage and was now on the street.

Beca went out and looked across the street, but the person was gone. She then looked up and down the street but didn't see anyone. Shaking her head again, she said goodbye to Mr. Baxter and made her way back inside.

"I should call my mom," Beca thought. "Nah, maybe later."

Beca went to the kitchen and gathered a few things to start prepping for dinner.

~Stronger~ ~Stronger~ ~Stronger~

A couple of hours later, a car went flying past a Barden police car, careening all over the road. The officers flipped on their lights and siren and chased after the car.

They got about a block when the car ran a red light and careened into the Emergency entrance of Barden Hospital. The police car turned in just in time to see the car hit a corner of the building. A few people came running out of the hospital.

The two officers jumped out of their car and started ordering people to back away from the car. They drew their guns and slowly approached the vehicle. They saw some movement, and one officer yelled, "You in the car! Show us your hands! Now!"

Nothing happened, and suddenly the car horn started blaring. Both officers rushed to the car and looked inside.

The first officer opened the driver's side door and gently lifted the woman's head from the steering wheel, causing the horn to stop blaring. The woman moaned, and the officer yelled, "She's alive!"

A doctor and nurses ran over to the driver's door. The doctor reached and place her hands on the woman's head.

"I got this," she told the officer.

The officer nodded and moved away so the doctor could position herself in the opening.

"I need a collar," the doctor called out.

A nurse opened the packaging and moved to stand behind the doctor.

"There's another body in the backseat," the second officer said, opening the back door.

Another doctor put his stethoscope to his ears and pushed the officer aside. He placed the stethoscope on the man's chest and listened.

"Heartbeat is faint," the doctor said. "But, he's alive. Let's get him out of there."

The officer looked down at the man's face and then over at his partner. He stood close by as the doctor, and two others worked to get the man out of the car.

On the other side of the car, several people were working on the female driver.

"I'll hold her head, and you put the collar on her," the doctor told the nurse. The collar was in place, and the doctor looked over to the gathering crowd. "We need a gurney over here!"

Two orderlies ran over to the car with a gurney.

"Okay," the doctor said. "I'm going to check her real quick to see what injuries she may have before we move her."

"Put him on the gurney," the doctor told the two men who were helping with the man in the back of the car. "Take him to Trauma Room One."

The second officer stopped the gurney and handcuffed the man's wrist to the gurney's railing. The doctor looked at him.

"He's a wanted fugitive," the officer told the doctor. "I'll remove them if you need me to, but they will remain on him until you're told otherwise. Understand?"

"Got it," the doctor said, placing his hand on the gurney. "Let's go."

Everyone stood silently by as the doctor checked the driver. She pulled aside the woman's shirt and looked back at the police officer. "She's been stabbed. We need to get her inside so that I can assess her injuries better. Get that gurney over here!"

After the doctor and nurse got the woman out of the car, they gently laid her on the gurney.

"Let's go," the doctor said, and they all rushed inside with their patient.

Once the car was cleared, one of the officers looked to see if there was an ID for the woman. Looking in the glove compartment, he found the car's registration

"Sarah Mitchell," the officer read from the registration. "What on earth happened to you, Mrs. Mitchell?"

The officer went into the ER doors to find his partner. He saw him standing guard outside the trauma room, watching them work on the man from the car.

"Why's he handcuffed?" he asked his partner.

"That's Roger Daniels," his partner said.

The first officer looked closer and nodded his head. "According to the car's registration, the woman is Sarah Mitchell."

"No, it's not," his partner said. "I know Sarah Mitchell, and that woman is too small to be her. It might be her daughter, Beca."

"What the hell happened with them?"

"I don't know, but I'm calling the sergeant," the second cop said. "He was lead on the case with this Daniels guy."

~Stronger~ ~Stronger~ ~Stronger~

Joe ended the call and wiped his hands down his face. He pulled up a number and hit call. It went straight to voicemail. He went to his office door and looked around the bullpen. He caught Mark's eye and waved him over.

"What's up?" Mark said as he entered Joe's office.

"I need you to go check the Mitchell house," Joe said and then explained about the man and woman that arrived at the hospital with injuries and nothing and no one to tell them what happened.

Mark's eyes widened in shock when Joe said, "Roger Daniels is the man. The car he was in is registered to Sarah Mitchell, but she's not the woman who was in the car. I have a feeling it's Beca. Go see if you can find her or anything that might tell us what happened."

"You got it, Sarge," Mark said and ran out of Joe's office.

Joe sighed and sat behind his desk, dreading the two calls he knew was probably going to have to make.

~Stronger~ ~Stronger~ ~Stronger~

Thirty minutes later, Mark called Joe.

"We searched the house, and there's no sign of Beca," Mark said. "We did find blood in the kitchen, leading out to the garage." Mark sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Joe, there is a lot of blood. We are trying to figure out where it started to see if we can piece together what happened, but I don't think we'll know anything until Beca or Daniels can tell us."

"Okay," Joe said. "Thanks. I'm going to call Beca's mother so she can come home."

They ended the call. Joe sat with his phone pressed against his forehead. He sighed and placed his first call.

~Stronger~ ~Stronger~ ~Stronger~

Trish and Lou were escorting Aubrey and Chloe back to Beca's house when Trish's phone rang.

"Hel-"

"Donahue, you need to take Miss Beale and Miss Posen to the hospital immediately," Joe exclaimed through the phone.

"Hosp-?"

"Beca Mitchell's been hurt," Joe interrupted. "Don't tell the girls anything, just get them there. We don't yet know what happened, but it sounds bad, really bad. I'll meet you there as soon as I notify Beca's mother."

Trish swallowed and said, "Yes, sir!"

Trish ended the call and looked at Lou.

"What?" Lou asked.

Trish looked at Chloe, who was chatting with Aubrey and not paying any attention to the two officers.

"We need to get to the hospital," Trish leaned over and whispered.

Seeing the look on Trish's face, Lou turned toward the hospital without asking questions.

Aubrey suddenly looked around, asking, "Why are we turning here? This isn't the way to Beca's house."

Chloe looked up and around as well. "She's right. What's happening?"

"That was Sargeant Nichols on the phone," Trish said, turning to look at the girls. "He instructed us to take you to the hospital. He didn't offer any other explanation."

"Oh, my god!" Chloe said and immediately pulled out her phone to call Beca.

The call went straight to voicemail. Chloe ended the call as tears ran down her face.

"Beca's not answering her phone," Chloe said through her tears. "Something's happened to Beca, hasn't it?"

Trish looked at Lou and then back at Chloe. She nodded without saying anything.

Tears came to Aubrey's eyes as she put her arm around Chloe's shoulders.

~Stronger~ ~Stronger~ ~Stronger~

"I'll be on the first plane I can get on," Sarah said, ending the call with Joe.

Charlotte noticed Sarah's shaking hands and asked, "What's going on, Sarah?"

"Something's happened to Beca," Sarah said as tears fell down her cheeks. "I have to go home."

"We'll go with you," Carl said. "I have a friend at American Airlines. I'll call and see if he can get us on a flight out as soon as possible."

Sarah nodded, mumbling, "Thank you."

Carl made the call while Sarah and Charlotte packed. The two women were sitting in the living room with their suitcases when Carl came in.

"The three of us are booked on a flight that leaves at three," Carl told them. "We have to leave now to make it."

"We're ready," Charlotte said.

The three drove to the airport and were met by Carl's friend, Darren.

"Come with me," Darren said. "I have them prepared to hold the flight until we get you three on board."

They followed Darren, bypassing security and arriving at the gate in time to board.

"Please keep me posted on how things go," Darren said as Carl thanked him.

Carl rushed over to join Charlotte and Sarah; the three boarded the plane and found their seats.

Charlotte sat next to Sarah, holding her hand, offering what little comfort she could.

~Stronger~ ~Stronger~ ~Stronger~

Lou pulled into the Emergency entrance and parked. Chloe jumped out and stopped when she saw Beca's car still sitting where it had crashed. She started to hyperventilate until Aubrey came up beside her and pulled her into a hug.

"Let's go inside," Aubrey whispered.

Chloe nodded and moved toward the entrance. Aubrey kept her arms around Chloe as they entered the Emergency area, with Trish and Lou right behind them.

Trish went to the desk with Chloe and Aubrey while Lou made his way over to the two officers who standing near the trauma room where Roger Daniels was still being worked on.

"Keith," Lou said as he walked over to him.

"Lou," Keith said in acknowledgment.

"What do you know about Beca Mitchell's condition?"

"She was taken into surgery about thirty minutes ago," Keith said. "I don't know what her injuries are, but I gotta tell you, it looked bad."

"What about this asshole?" Lou asked, looking through the window at Daniels. "Is he going to make it?"

"I don't know," Keith said. "They're trying to stabilize him to take him to surgery."

~Stronger~ ~Stronger~ ~Stronger~

"May I help you?" the nurse asked.

"We're here for Beca Mitchell," Trish told the nurse. "Do you know her condition?"

"All I can tell you is that she's in surgery," the nurse told the officer. "Someone will be out to give you an update when they can."

"Thank you," Trish said. "Is there somewhere a little more private where we can wait?"

Seeing the shape Chloe and Aubrey were in, the nurse called out for another nurse.

"Alice, would you watch the desk while I show these ladies to the family waiting room?"

"Sure," Alice said and switched places with the nurse.

"Follow me, ladies," the nurse said.

Chloe continued to cling to Aubrey as they followed the nurse into a room just off the Emergency room.

"I'll let them know where you are when there is an update on Ms. Mitchell's condition," the nurse said before leaving the room.

Aubrey and Chloe took a seat; Trish stood near the door.

"Someone should call Sarah," Chloe suddenly blurted out.

"Joe was going to do that," Trish said. "He should be here any minute as well."

Just then, the door opened, and Joe and Lou walked in.

"Any word on Beca yet?" Joe asked.

Trish shook her head. Joe sighed and looked at Chloe and Aubrey.

"Sarah is on her way," Joe said. "I have Mark picking her up at the airport."

"Thank you," Aubrey said.

There was a knock just before the door opened, and a doctor stepped in.

Chloe jumped up, "Is Beca okay?"

"I'm sorry, miss," the doctor said. "I don't have an update on Ms. Mitchell yet. Officers, may I speak to you outside."

Joe and Lou stepped outside with the doctor. Joe came back a minute later.

"What was that about?" Trish asked.

"Roger Daniels just died," Joe said.

"Good," Chloe said.

~Stronger~ ~Stronger~ ~Stronger~

Sarah, Charlotte, and Carl exited the plane to find an officer holding a card with Sarah's name.

"I'm Sarah Mitchell," Sarah said. "And these are Chloe's parents, Carl and Charlotte Beale."

"I'm Officer Mark Franklin," Mark said. "Joe Nichols asked me to take you straight to the hospital."

"Have you heard anything about Beca's condition," Charlotte asked.

"Nothing yet, ma'am," Mark responded.

Mark pulled into the ER's emergency vehicle parking area, and Joe came hurrying over to meet them.

"Sarah," Joe said. "Mr. and Mrs. Beale."

"Any word on Beca?" Sarah asked.

"She's out of surgery and stable," Joe said. "I'll take you to her."

Mark joined them as Sarah, and the Beales followed Joe into the hospital. He led them to the ICU, stopping just as they entered through the main door.

"It's family only from here," Joe told the Beales. "We made arrangements for Chloe to be in there with Beca for now."

"We'll wait here," Charlotte said. "Would you let Chloe know we're here?"

"Of course," Sarah said and followed Joe to Beca's room.

Charlotte saw Aubrey sitting in the waiting room and went over to her.

"Aubrey," Charlotte said, causing the young woman to look up.

Seeing Charlotte standing before her, Aubrey jumped up and hugged her.

"How's Chloe doing?" Charlotte asked.

"Not so good," Aubrey said, wiping her tears. "She thinks it's all her fault that Beca is in here."

Joe and Sarah entered Beca's room to find Chloe sitting next to the bed as a nurse checked on Beca. Chloe jumped up as soon as she saw Sarah walk in.

"Sarah," Chloe cried as she ran into her arms.

Sarah hugged Chloe to her as they both cried.

"I'll get her doctor," the nurse said and left the room.

Chloe pulled back and looked at Sarah. "I'm so sorry, Sarah. This is all my fault. I'm so so sorry."

Sarah looked Chloe in the eye.

"Stop it!" Sarah said. "This is not your fault."

"Mrs. Mitchell?" a doctor said from behind Sarah.

"Yes," Sarah said, turning to the doctor.

"I'm Dr. Anderson," the doctor said.

"How is she, doctor?" Sarah asked as they walked over to Beca's bed.

Chloe joined them and took Sarah's hand; Sarah squeezed Chloe's hand and gave her a small smile.

"She's stable," Dr. Anderson said. "I'm not going to lie, it was touch and for a while in the operating room. But, she made it through, and we expect her to make a full recovery."

"Thank god," Sarah whispered. "When will she wake up?"

"We currently have her in a medically-induced coma," Dr. Anderson said. "This will give her body some time to start healing. We plan to bring her out of it in a couple of days."

"So, um, what were her injuries?" Sarah asked.

"She was stabbed twice," Dr. Anderson said. "And had bruises and smaller cuts on her body and face. One stab wound was in her lower back, near the kidneys. There was a small nick, but we were able to repair it. The other stab wound was in her leg. No major arteries were hit, so we were able to stitch it. She'll have a scar but shouldn't have any residual complications from it. And she has a broken left ankle."

"What the hell happened?" Sarah asked. "And how did she drive to the hospital in that condition?"

"I can't answer to what happened," Dr. Anderson said. "And I can only guess that she was acting on adrenaline to drive to the hospital."

"Thank you, doctor," Sarah said.

"If you have any further questions, just have a nurse page me," Dr. Anderson said. "I'll be back later to check on her."

"Thanks again, doctor," Sarah said.

Dr. Anderson left, and Sarah looked at Chloe.

"How are you holding up?"

Tears sprang to Chloe's eyes. "I know the doctor said she was going to be okay, but I just want her to wake up."

"I feel the same way," Sarah said.

"I don't know if anyone told you, but Roger Daniels is dead," Chloe said. "Is it wrong that I'm happy he is?"

"No, it's not wrong," Sarah said. "At least not to me, because I feel the same way about that."

Chloe and Sarah didn't say anything else. They just stood there looking down at the young woman they both loved so dearly.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Sarah said. "Your parents are here."

"They are?" Chloe asked.

"Yep," Sarah said. "They're in the waiting room. Why don't you go out and see them? I'm sure your mom would like to know you're okay."

"Thank you," Chloe said and hurried out of the room.

Chloe didn't stop moving until she was in her mother's arms. Carl hugged the two of them and held them both while they cried. He saw Aubrey wiping tears from her eyes and held out his arm toward her.

Aubrey jumped up, taking him up on the invitation to join the hug.

A/N: I know, I know. I'm late again posting, but on the plus side, it's the longest chapter so far.

[sleephyuns]

Mina sat back, proudly looking at her handy work in front of her. Normally, she’d be up to something different around this time. Something much more… sensual. But her hands were going to be put to a different use today, not leaving enough time to fool around.

She figured she could take a quick break for now, considering she was almost done.

It was her way of saying thanks, even if she didn’t have to. A thank you for talking things out and finally indulging her. For being impossibly sweeter to her recently. For coming home some days after hours of work and bending Mina over the counter and fucking her hard and fast and filling her up and… This baby making business was tough stuff (it wasn’t really).

But it wasn’t too often she’d come home and done that. Work had finally reached its busy peak, which Mina expected, and Momo was coming home later and later. Such would be the case until early spring. They even had to reschedule their date night two Fridays ago.

And now today… just a day shy of Valentine’s day she wasn’t home either. Though she knew it was Momo putting in extra hours and getting work done to ensure she’s only have a half day tomorrow on the actual holiday.

Mina understood. She’d picked an odd time to ask so much of Momo after all. But for some reason, Momo seemed a little put off after that Friday. They’d spent that same Saturday and Sunday together, though Momo was still getting calls and doing minor paperwork here and there.

Mina stayed by her side, knowing Momo appreciated it, but that didn’t bring her fully back to her happy self. Her poor baby.

That’s why she needed to do a little something extra for her. Something she hadn’t done in a while, but she hoped it would mean a lot.

The first homemade gift she’d ever given Momo was a knitted pair of gloves for her birthday, a few months after they’d been dating. The next year she’d given her a scarf to match.

By now, the gloves were well worn (Momo insisted on holding onto them, though) but she still wore her scarf even now.

So she thought to herself, why not make a nice sweater? And now here she was, several days later after that initial thought. She considered it her job at this point, waking up to work on it, making sure every stitch was perfect, then stopping to make dinner before her wife got home. But she loved it.

Surprising Momo with a nice gift, taking a relaxing bath, and then cuddling up with her was all she needed really. It’d be the perfect pre-Valentine’s night. She could imagine the look on her wife’s face when she opened the box. How she’d probably wrap her up in her arms, leave sweet kisses all over her face. And if Momo was up for a little additional “receiving” well… Mina didn’t mind. It’d been a hot minute since she put her mouth to use anyway.

That aside, she was just a few stitches away from finishing. She hoped Momo didn’t mind the lack of patterning, nothing more than a thick stripe of pink at the hem of the otherwise lilac sweater. She managed to finish within the hour, spurred on by her desire to bring some additional happiness to Momo when she got back.

But then an hour passed. Then another. And another. And soon it was close to being an hour before midnight. Good thing she hadn’t decided to greet Momo at the door with any surprises that day. That would’ve been embarrassing.

But putting the hypothetical aside, Mina was worried.

A bit of an understatement, Mina was extremely worried. She’d texted Momo an hour ago and gotten nothing. She should try calling this time before texting again.

But when she called, it went to voicemail. Maybe Momo was driving? Still…

Mina was stressed. So much that she was currently trying her best to hold back tears. And when she could feel that coming on, usually she’d hang around Momo to calm her down. If it ever got really bad, she’d loom closer until Momo realized she wanted to be held (yes, she was very bad at asking).

It wasn’t that bad yet, but being held meant that Momo would be back home and safe in her arms. She left another text again, praying she’d get back to her soon. Or that she’d come home.

Occupying her brain was the only thing she could think to do, so she willed herself to package the sweater into something. Sure, folding it took much longer than she needed. And sure, she walked around for minutes looking for something to put it in despite already having a box picked out and tucked away in their closet.

But she just needed anything to make the time stretch out. It was when she was fussing over what color bow to put on top of the box that she heard the sound of jingling keys.

Her breath stopped. She looked at the clock, 15 minutes before midnight, then looked to the hall once again. When the lock clicked open, she knew it had to be Momo. Suddenly, nothing else mattered. The box was thrown off to the side as she nearly ran from the living room to the front door.

When her wife saw her, clearly frazzled, white box and workbag in each hand, she jumped. Mina would’ve laughed at the little squeal that passed her lips if she wasn’t waiting for an explanation.

But Momo could barely look at her. She seemed sheepish as she kicked off her shoes. Like it was hard for her to even think of what to say.

“Ah… hi,” was the best she could come up with right then.

No kiss? No affectionate name? No asking how her day was? Maybe Momo was changing her mind about things and Mina did have a reason to cry.

“Sorry I’m late I just…” Momo cleared her throat, “I love you Mina. Really I do…,” she bit her lip before looking Mina in the eyes, “and I messed up.”

Before Mina could even let her mind race, Momo stepped forward, opening the white box in her hands to show her what she meant.

The contents inside were all smushed, but she could tell that it was a cake. Or at least was. And by the smell it was one of her favorites. One that was hard to obtain in the first place.

“What’s this?”

Momo blushed. “Well… I felt bad that I had to put off our date night last week. And that I even have to work at all tomorrow. Especially with… you know. Everything we’ve been up to lately. So I drove to that bakery we went to a while ago to get that chocolate lavender cake you like. You know the one that’s next to the pet shop.”

“But Momo, that’s a bit of a drive isn’t it?” Mina brushed some hair out of her face, but really it was an excuse to dry up some tears that nearly fell.

“It is,” Momo nodded surely, “And they almost closed too! I barely made it to get these last slices. Then I was walking back to the car and… you know for such a busy area they really should prep the sidewalks better,” she sighed.

“Um well,” she backed up, finally looking at Mina directly, “What I mean to say is I slipped on some ice walking out of the shop and I fell on it…”

Maybe with the way things had been so deeply stressing for Mina these past few hours, maybe because she so urgently needed to find humor in anything… she laughed. It started out small, but soon she was laughing louder than she intended.

And Momo let her too. She let her laugh her heart out. Like she knew Mina needed it. As if she knew that her laughing would soon turn into stressed, hot tears rolling down her face, even between the choked laughter.

Momo didn’t say a word as she hugged her wife close, stroking her back in a silent apology.

“I thought you were hurt or even something worse…” Mina warbled out. She let herself be pushed away so Momo could wiper her tears.

“I know, I’m sorry. I just got even more upset with myself and didn’t know what to do. I feel like I’ve been such a bad wife these past few weeks,” Momo looked at the crushed cake, pitifully laughing, “and well this certainly didn’t help did it!”

“Momo, momo,” Mina said soothingly, even though she was still crying a bit, “you’re doing so much already! I understand why you need to work so much so don’t stress.”

Mina grabbed her hand, leading her to the living room, letting the air dry the last of her tears. She carefully guided her wife down to the floor, then grabbed the box from Momo’s hands. “Let me get some forks so we can eat.”

Momo’s mouth dropped open. “You still want to eat it now? It’s getting late.”

“Yes. You got it for me, why wouldn’t I be excited to dig in?” She was gone for only a second as she went to get two forks and some napkins, joining Momo on the floor.

“And honestly, I forgot to make dinner for either of us… I was too worried to think of anything else…”

“Mina,” Momo looked upset yet again, “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright, I’m just glad you’re home safe,” she said, passing her wife a fork. There was honestly something comforting about being huddled around the box, enjoying the sweet mush of the dessert, both unstressing from the hours before.

It was mostly silence, but Mina didn’t mind. And she doubted Momo did either. It was time spent together, and that was all that mattered.

After a few minutes, though, Mina remembered what she had been doing all day. “Oh! While we’re here, I can give you your present a little early.”

She reached behind her to the box she had flipped over in her earlier haste, presenting it to Momo who watched with wide eyes and food filled cheeks.

“Happy Valentine’s Day my love.”

Momo set her fork on a napkin, then accepted the box with shaky hands, like she wasn’t worthy of being given anything in the moment.

When she opened it, Mina could feel something within her open as well, warmth flowing in her body. Momo ‘s eyes flashed with a series of emotions before landing on something that just screamed of love. “Oh honey…”

She looked between Mina and the sweater, eyes glistening in the light.

“You made this yourself I can tell…,” she lifted the sweater out of the box, inspecting it, feeling it, cuddling it, “and all I have for your right now is a crushed cake! This is too much…”

She was ever so careful with it as she sat it back down, scooting around the box to wrap Mina into a big hug, pressing kiss after kiss on her forehead, cheeks, lips, nose.

It made Mina’s heart flutter, washing away the last of whatever negative emotions still swam around in her system.

“It’s not that much,” Mina replied earnestly, “it’s still cold out so I thought you could use something nice. You can wear it on those casual Fridays you have at the office now.”

“You’re too good to me Mina. Really,” Momo pulled her in impossibly tighter, “I don’t know if my gift tomorrow will even mean half of what this means to me.”

“I’m sure it will Momo. I’m sure it will.”

As she sunk into Momo’s embrace, she thought about how it might be a little out of line to say “it’s essentially a thank you for cumming in me almost every day even when you’re tired.” So this would suffice.