#he would never disappoint wyatt like his parents disappointed him when he was growing up and involved in the sport :(

[holocene-sims]

next // previous

fág slán leis an dúshlán a bhí againn an mhí seo mar go dtí seo, i'm on the upside of the sea-saw 🎵

say goodbye to the challenges we have had this month, because so far i’m on the upside of the sea-saw

[viking-raider]

Southern Generation - Part VII

Summary: Some big things happen between Sy and Lily, before they had back home to Celina, where they build a nest for their growing family.

Pairing: Captain Syverson/OFC

Word Count: 11,617

Warning: M - Language, Fluff, Angst, Smut - intercourse and sorta exhibitionism and mention of bodily fluids, Domestic bliss, Traditions - new and old

Inspiration: Sy and the hunk of man he is!

Author's Note: Much love to @wondersofdreaming for being a stand up beta and friend.

Tag List Blog: @viking-raider-taglist

“Where have the two of you been?” Lily asked, coming down the stairs as Sy and her grandfather came out of his study.

“Just having a chat.” Sy smiled up at her.

“Lily, I have something I need to say to you.” Davis said, looking up at his granddaughter.

“Yeah, you know what, I have something I need to say to you too.” Lily replied, planting her hands on her hips.

“Oh, lord.” Sy mumbled under his breath, knowing the look of this stance, and cleared his throat.

“All right.” Davis nodded, biting his lip. “You can go first, then.” He told her, motioning with his hand.

“Good.” Lily nodded back. “I don't appreciate the way you've been treating me since we arrived this morning. I understand that I hurt you by running off like I did, but Sy is right. I didn't have to tell you I was going or why I was going.” She told him, firmly. “I know that you were hurt and worried about me, because of the past trauma of what happened with my parents and my birth, but this and we-” She motioned between herself and Sy.

“Are not my parents and that situation, and you need not to treat it like it is.”

Davis bit his lip and looked at the dark and scuffed wood of the hallway floor, trying to hold back the smile that wanted to pull across his lips. Lily's fire reminded him so much of himself, and in a way, of his Daisy.

“You're right, Lily.” He finally spoke, looking up at her, taking a deep breath.

“I have been a down right jerk to you and Austin, and I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me for it. I love you so very much, Lily. You are my granddaughter. You are the only thing of my precious daughter I have left and I don't want to lose that, or you. Let alone the beautiful great-grandbaby you have growing inside of you.”

Lily pressed her lips together, her bottom one quivering as her eyes shined with building tears. “I do forgive you.” She blubbered, sniffling at him.

Davis opened his arms to her and Lily rushed into them, colliding with his chest. He smiled and squeezed his arms around her, burying his face in her hair, trying to hold back his own tears. Sy stood beside them, grinning that the two of them had reconciled their differences and became close again, truly hoping that it remained that way.

“Dave?”

Letting out a disappointed huff, he let Lily go and turned towards the sound of his name, finding one of his work hands standing in the open doorway. “What is it?” He asked, lifting a brow at him.

“Mac thinks he found a way to save the York tree.” The hand replied, sheepish eyes darting between the three of them.

Davis looked down at Lily, a tinge of sadness in his eyes.

“I'll see you at dinner.” Lily told him, giving his hand a squeeze and gave him a reassuring look.

He smiled at her, kissing her temple, then followed his worker out the door. Lily turned to Sy and wrapped her arms around his waist, sighed into his chest, a mile-wide smile on her face as she thought about the good vibe she had after what had just transpired with her grandfather. Sy smiled and hugged her back, rubbing his palms up and down her back and resting his chin on top of her head, content and happy.

“Thank you.” She said as they entered her bedroom.

“For what?” He frowned, sitting down on her bed.

“All of this probably wouldn't have happened, if it wasn't for you.” She told him, motioning around her room. “I still would have been cowering at the house in Celina. Too afraid of my own shadow, let alone the outside world. You've given me strength and hope again.” She stood in front of him and cupped his face in her hands, tilting his head back to look up at her.

“Thank you, Austin Syverson.” She whispered, kissing him, softly.

Sy wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap, nuzzling his face into her neck. “It was all you, Angel.” He cooed, his breath warm against her skin. “I just drove you here.” He told her, rubbing his nose against the spot just below her ear.

Lily narrowed her eyes. “You and my grandfather talked about me, didn't you?” She asked, connecting the dots.

“Whatever gave you that idea, sweet lips?” He asked, grinning into her jaw.

“The two of you holed up in his office for forty-five minutes.”

“Oh now, darling.” Sy chuckled, pressing his lips to her jawbone. “My dearest, sweetest, love.”

“Wyatt.”

“Listen to that tone.” Sy exclaimed, rocking back and looking at her. “That's the tone. You sound like such a mama already.” He grinned at her, licking his lips.

“It's so hot.”

“You're turned on by that?”

“Watching your tummy steadily round out with my babe inside of you; knowing my seed filled you like a water balloon.” His smirk turned into something far more sultry as he stared her clothed belly, like he was entranced by a snake charmer. “Thinking about having kids with you, about our kids and you being pregnant with them, is just so fucking sexy and alluring to me.”

“Lord, oh lordy.” Lily chuckled, shaking her head at him.

“I've always wanted a lot of kids.” He blurted out, semi-coming out of his trance. “I know what it's like to be an only child, and it sucks.”

“I know what it feels like too.” Lily agreed, biting her lip. “But, I never thought about having kids. I never thought I'd have kids.”

Sy frowned at her. “Why?”

“Jak doesn't like kids.” She mumbled, glancing down at her lap.

“Ah.” He nodded, understanding. “I love kids.” He smiled at her, softly.

“How many do you want?” Lily asked, tilting her head at him.

“Let's see how many the good Lord gives us.” He replied, gently kissing the corner of her mouth. “There's no rush.” He whispered, resting his chin on her shoulder and closed his eyes, enjoying a quiet moment with her, before they were called down to a dinner of Lily's favorite honey-lemon glazed salmon and asparagus.

“They're sleeping in the same room?” Davis asked, watching Lily and Sy go into her room, after they all said good night to each other.

“Davis, they already have a little one on the way. What are they going to do, make a second one on top of it?” Violet chuckled, shaking her head at her husband, then rolled into their master bedroom.

Sy stepped out onto the front pouch with a cup of coffee in hand, a grin instantly touching his face as he saw Lily on the lawn with Aika. She was wearing a knee length, cotton sundress with a floral design that accentuated her baby bump, the skirt billowing around her thighs in the warm morning breeze, ruffling her shoulder length hair and carrying her laughter back to him on the porch as her and the German Shepard played around on the lush green grass together. He cradled his cup in both hands and leaned on the porch railing to continue watching.

“You watch her, like you're watching through the gates of heaven.” Violet's voice said behind him.

“That's because I am.” Sy replied, not moving or looking away from Lily. “She's my slice of heaven on earth.” He said, eyes brightening as Lily turned and noticed him, smiling at him, and smiled back at her.

“Penny for your thoughts, Bear?” Lily asked, coming up to the porch with Aika.

“A penny is too poor for the thoughts I'm having, Angel.” He replied, grinning at her and pushing off the porch railing.

“I'm going to take my nap.” She said, standing beside him an intense exhaustion washing over her.

“All right.” Sy nodded, brushing the back of his knuckles across her cheek, before leaning in to gently kiss her. “I'll come lay with you.” He whispered, following her inside and upstairs to her room, setting his coffee cup on the table in her room, toed out of his boots and crawled into bed with her; Aika jumping onto the foot of the bed with them.

“Hm, Austin.” Lily whimpered, wiggling, as his hand found its way to her breast and cupped it in his palm, gently squeezing it.

“Does it hurt?” He asked, picking up his head to look down at her, concerned.

“No.” She sighed back, brow ceased. “But, you've been awfully attached to them lately.”

“They're bigger.” He grinned, laying his head back down.

“I'm pregnant with your kid.” She retorted with a snort. “They're prepping to start lactating, so I can start breastfeeding that caveman sized appetite they're going to no doubt have.”

“Both of us.”

“Uh-oh no!” Lily hooted, shaking her head and rolling over onto her back to look at his face. “You are not!”

“Why not?” Sy grinned at her, devilishly licking his lips. “Milk's good for you. Especially breast milk.”

Lily slapped both of her palms to her face, grinning and blushing wildly. “You are so weird.” She giggled, shyly.

“Am I weird, or are you just a sweet sheltered, little, home-schooled girl?” Sy teased back, pressing his hand to her thigh.

Lily looked at him, eyes holding a message that told him she wasn't as amused by his statement as she was, causing Sy to freeze his hand from it's adventure up inside her skirt.

“I'm sorry, babe.” He whispered, biting his lip. “That was too far and not what I meant.” He sighed, kissing her cheek. “I'll let you sleep.” He said, wrapping her up in his arms, feeling like a complete idiot.

But, once Lily was asleep he got up, tiptoeing around the room, before stepping out.

“Is everything all right, Austin?” Violet asked, as she encountered him in the hallway, pulling on his jacket and holding his truck keys.

“Yeah, I just need to go into town.” He replied, giving her a smile and headed out to the truck.

Driving into town, Sy found their store and ran inside, finding everything inside that he had come for, hoping that when Lily woke up from her nap that it would help cheer her up and show her that he was sorry for making such a narrow-minded and dumb-ass comment about how she was raised. He was driving back to the Warren's, when he was stopped at a red light and something caught the attention of his peripheral vision. He stared at it so long, he missed the light changing and the cars behind him started honking and screaming out their windows at him.

“Fuck.” He snapped, stepping on the gas and spinning the steering wheel sharply into a U-Turn, an illegal one at that, but Sy didn't care, as he pulled into the parking lot of the store that had absorbed his attention.

“Sy?” Lily whimpered, sitting up in bed, after not feeling the warmth of his body behind her, and got out of bed in search of him. “Austin.” She called, peeking into the bathroom, but found nothing, before she went downstairs.

“Oh, miss. I was told to give this to you, when you woke up.” the servant said, handing her a note.

“Thanks, Mina.” She replied, taking the note and unfolding it, recognizing Sy's handwriting.

Lily, meet me under your favorite apple tree. - Sy.

“How does he know my favorite apple tree?” Lily frowned at the note, shaking her head, but tucked the note away and went outside.

Lily went out into the northwest orchard of the farm, to where her favorite apple tree was deep in the center of that grove of trees. She remembered going out there often as a girl, especially on cool summer nights, to read by the glow of fireflies or the moon, or if neither of them were out, she would sneak an old oil lamp out of the work barn and take it out to the tree, and read by.

She wondered what Sy wanted with it.

When she was a few yards away from the tree, she noticed a difference amongst the fallen apples and leaves that blanketed the ground, there were oddly shaped, cherry-red leaves. She stopped and examined them, when she realized they weren't leaves at all. They were rose petals. Leading up to her apple tree, that she continued to approach, finding Sy standing beneath it.

“What is this, Austin?” She asked, shaking her head, and motioning to the blue gingham picnic blanket he had laid under the apple tree; the gold plaque staked among its roots told the reader it was a Rall's Genet apple tree, the first planted on the Warren farm, in 1785, by Ambrose Cecil Warren.

“I was an ass.” Sy replied, taking a deep breath and biting his lip. “When you were falling asleep for your nap, and it wasn't right of me, or nice of me, to say what I said to you. I'm so sorry I said it.”

“So, this is my peace offering.” He told her, motioning to the items on the blanket.

Lily chuckled, stepping closer, and seeing her favorite Ben and Jerry's, Brownie Batter Core ice cream, a bag of pretzels, Cherry Punch, Sweet Tart ropes and two bottles of Voss water. “You really didn't have too.” She said, looking up at him, touched at his attempt anyway.

“You know that?”

“Be it as it may, I still want to make it up to you.” He replied, taking her hand and helped her sit down on the blanket, then joined her. “The ice cream might be a little melted. But, I know how much you love it that way.” He chuckled, pulling off the lid to the pint sized container.

“You know me so well.” Lily giggled, taking the white plastic spoon and the pint of ice cream from him. “So, how did you find out this was my tree?” She asked, spooning a mouthful of ice cream into her mouth.

“I remember you telling me about a specific tree on the property.” Sy replied, picking up a bag of shelled, sunflower seeds that he loved to snack on. “I also asked your grandmother.” He grinned, slyly.

“Smooth, Syverson. Smooth.” She chuckled, shaking her head at him.

It was serene and lazy as they sat on the blanket, enjoying their treats.

But, Lily put the lid back on her half-eaten ice cream and turned, laying back to put her head in Sy's lap, closing her eyes to the sound of the breeze rustling through the grass and tree branches over their heads, the chirp of grasshoppers and crickets, the birds singing and twittering, as they nested or flew and their wings fluttered through the warm and humid air. She sighed and smiled softly, her hand resting on her belly. Sy looked down at her and smiled too, ghosting his fingers through her bangs and against her forehead, he loved the soft and peaceful expression on her face and how relaxed her body was, obviously enjoying the tranquility around them, as was he.

He tipped his head back, seeing the little Blue Jay sitting on the branch above them, singing its little heart out and smiled at it, then glanced back down at Lily, his smile growing a little brighter. Lily stirred, not realizing she had dozed off a little bit, until she had felt Sy touch the hand she had on her belly, but he just smiled at her, a strange sparkle in his blue eyes.

“I love you, Lily.” He whispered to her, stroking the top of her hand. “I've loved you for such a very long time.” He told her, biting the corner of his lip “My sweet Angel.”

He grinned, brushing his finger down the bridge of her nose and over her lips, tracing her brows and gently touching her cheek. “There's no one in the world I want to be with. No one I want to bear and battle the world with, other than you, Lily Ana.” He told her, stroking her hair, the tip of his finger following the shell of her ear.

“You've become the purest love of my life and my Battle Buddy.” He told her and curved his hand around hers, lifting it from her belly and to her face.

Lily's face grew slack, her mouth dropping open and her eyes wide as he showed her what was on her hand, what he had put on her finger. “Sy!” She snapped, sitting up. “Wyatt.” She gulped and licked her lips, shocked, and looked at him.

“Austin.” She whimpered, her voice cracking as she stared at the ring on her finger.

“Will you marry me, Lily Ana?” Sy asked her properly, fidgeting nervously, scared out of his wits that Lily would turn him down, and her no would be worse than a gunshot wound to the heart.

It had been an utter impulse that he had been sucked into the sight of that jewelry store on the way back after going to the store, for the ice cream and candy.

At first, he had only meant to look at the engagement rings, but as soon as he saw the one he had just slipped onto her finger, it was like someone had stepped into Sy's body, pointing it out to the jeweler and pulling out his bank card to pay for it; watching him put it in the black velvet box and hold it out to him was surreal. It felt heavy in his pocket as he walked back out to the truck, but not heavy with the regret that he had fallen into the impulse to buy the ring, but heavy with hope that he would find the courage to present it to Lily and she would say yes, heavy with worry that Lily would reject his proposal.

“Yes!” Lily answered a split second later.

“Really!” He snapped back, shocked, but completely delighted.

“Yes, Austin.” She laughed at him. “Yes, yes, yes! I will marry you, you silly Bear!”

“Oh, thank fuck.” Sy let out in a huff, catching her up in his arms. “I am so glad you said yes. I was afraid you would say no.” He said against her cheek.

Lily smiled into his neck. “I would never.” She chuckled, hugging her arms around him. “Not in a million years.” She whispered, kissing his cheek.

“I know it's not much.” He said, touching the round, one-fourth carat diamond setting with his thumb.

“It doesn't have to be, Sy.” She told him, shaking her head. “You are enough.”

Sy smiled at her, cupping the back of her head and pulled her into a deep and tender kiss. Lily melted into him, slowly shifting into his lap and gripping his shoulders, rubbing down on him. Sy smirked into their kiss, wrapping an arm around her waist and pressed them flush together.

“Lily.” He panted against her lips, his eyes dark and teasing.

“I need you so bad now.” She giggled, blushing and shy.

Sy's laugh rang out in the air, grinning. “Let's go back then.”

“I am not having sex in the same house my grandparents are in.” Lily protested, squeezing her knees to the outside of his hips. “That is a big double O negative, Captain Syverson.”

“Is there somewhere else we could go?”

“There's two places, the work barn and the garage, and both are busy this time of day.” She replied, pressing her lips to his throat, impatient and horny; a side effects of her pregnancy.

“All right then.” Sy chuckled.

He lifted her dress just enough to obstruct his access, then pulled open his belt and the button of his jeans, pushing down his zipper and lifted his hips enough to wiggle his jeans and boxers down his thighs to free his hardening cock.

“Your panties.” He huffed, annoyed that the thin material was in their way. “No!” He growled, as she started to push herself up onto her feet to slip her underwear off.

“We can't have sex with them on.” Lily groaned back, impatiently.

“We're not.” He scoffed, fingers curling around the band of her panties and with a loud rip, tore them off of her. “Problem solved, Princess.” He grinned at her, his face dark with desire.

Lily smirked back at him, rubbing against him and spreading her slick juices all over his manhood, making Sy's eyes roll in the back of his head, hands gripping her hips through the fabric of her sundress. Lily reached underneath the skirt of her dress and wrapped her fingers around the hot skin of his hard member, feeling the throb of the thick vein beneath it pulse against her fingers as she stroked him, thin beads of pre-cum coating his shaft and her fingers, making her grasp him firmer.

“Oh, Angel.” Sy panted, licking his lips and resting his head back against the rough bark of the ancient apple tree.

“Not bad for a girl that was sheltered and home-schooled, huh?” She huffed at him, swiping her thumb over the purplish tip of his head and brought it up to her mouth and licked off his juices.

Sy grinned at her though half lidded eyes. “Not at all, Angel. Not at all.” He cooed, then hissed when she wrapped her hand around him again and squeezed, rubbing his weeping tip against her dripping pussy.

“You're teasing me, Lily.”

“Am I?” She purred back, her voice deep and sultry, grinning at him.

“Is this you getting even with me?”

“It's possible.” Lily chuckled, just slipping his tip into her core for a moment, before pulling it out again.

“Oh, Lily Ana.” Sy laughed, his voice a little hoarse, sweat breaking out on his forehead. “You little minx.”

Lily laughed at him. “Coming from the man that would fuck me in any position and place he would, and probably thought he could, in.” She retorted, lifting a brow at him, finally letting his cock enter the canal of her core, sitting in his bare lap.

“All better, Bear?” She cooed at him, pressing her hands to his chest and leaned into him, kissing him.

“I feel like I've corrupted you.” He chuckled against her mouth, rubbing his palms up and down her back, letting her set whatever pace she wanted.

“It's possible.” She replied and gently rolled her hips, taking a deep breath and let it out in a soft moan.

Lily pressed her sweaty forehead against Sy's, wanting to be closer to him, needing to breathe the same air as him, one of her hands slipping behind his head, fingers carding through the short, damp curls at the nape of his neck. Sy held her eyes and bent his knees up a little bit, giving her a little bit of support and shifting his cock inside of her, making her grunt out a delicious moan.

“You always sound so sweet with my cock inside of you.” Sy cooed at her, brushing her wind swept hair out of her face and behind her ears. “My delicious little flower.”

Lily chuckled at him, smirking. “You're a sap.” She huffed, tightening her walls around him, causing him to growl deep in his throat. “You do feel so fucking good though, Bear.” She sighed, licking her lips and bouncing in his lap a little bit faster, while still keeping herself tight around him.

“Lily, I'm gonna come.” Sy grunted, gasping and panting.

He felt the tell-tale tingle in his sack and the pit of his stomach, the way his cock swelled and throbbed against her already taut walls, the wet sounds from their coupling adding to the music of crickets, grasshoppers and birds in the hum of hot and humid air blanketing them, sweat pouring off of them, making almost every inch of their clothing stick and cling to their drenched skin, soaking the fabric. Sy grabbed Lily's hips and thrust up into her, burying himself as deeply as either of their body's would allow him to, his body stiffening as he pumped ribbon after ribbon of hot come into her, the muscles of his stomach spasming with each load.

“Ah, Austin.” Lily cried out, slipping a hand underneath her dress to rub at her clit, giving herself that last bit of stimulation to come, squeezing down on Sy's cock even harder, making him grunt and growl, the muscles in his neck tensing and his face twisting as she milked even more out of him.

“Fuck!” He barked out, breathing between clenched teeth. “Lily!”

Recovering enough, Lily collapsed on top of Sy's chest, listening to his heart thunder in her ear and the soft wheeze to his breathing as it slowly calmed down. Sy sluggishly wrapped his heavy arms around her, turning his red and sweaty face into her damp hair, while Lily watched the diamond on the engagement ring sparkled in the sun, a soft and content smile on her face. So many things were happening that she had given up on; seeing her grandparents again, finding a good and reliable guy, getting married and starting a family. It might all be a bit out of sync, but Lily didn't care, it was still happening and it was happening with Sy.

“Lily?” Sy frowned, alarmed by the painful sounding whimper she suddenly let out and felt her stomach tighten. “What is it?” He asked, sitting up with her.

Lily didn't reply for a moment, instead she reached out and gently cupped his face in her hand, while taking a few deep breaths until the discomfort in her stomach passed. “It's fine, Bear.” She told him, stretching her back. “Just Braxton Hicks. It's perfectly normal at this point.” She sighed.

“Especially after sex.” She assured him, caressing his face with her thumb.

“You're sure?”

“I am.” She nodded, smiling at him. “It's if they last more than two minutes, that we need to worry. But, it was barely thirty seconds.”

Sy nodded at her, but he was only slightly pacified. “I should get you back inside. It's boiling out here.” He said, getting up and pulled her up onto her feet, Sy corrected his jeans, before collecting their picnic stuff, jamming her torn panties into his front pocket and headed back into the house with her.

“Where have the two of you been?” Davis asked as Lily and Sy entered the house.

“We had a little picnic in the orchard.” Lily smiled up at Sy. “Mr. Romantic that Sy is.” She teased him.

“Is that what I think is it?” Violet asked, rolling into the hallway.

Lily froze for a moment, feeling the slickness of her and Sy's love making slowly creeping down the inside of her thigh and felt her heart start to pound, fearing it had become noticeable to her grandmother. But relaxed, when Violet lifted a frail and bony finger, pointing at the ring on her hand instead.

“Uh..” Lily and Sy instantly blushed, grinning like a pair of caught teenagers. “Yeah, it is.”

“You proposed.” Violet grinned at Sy, elated.

“I did.” He smiled, wrapping an arm around Lily's waist, feeling gratified. “It seemed right.” He said, looking into Lily's eyes, softly.

“So, when are you officially tying the knot?” Violet asked, looking between them.

“I don't know.” Lily replied, her eyes still on Sy. “We haven't discussed that yet.”

“We'll get around to talking about it.” Sy nodding back at her. “But, I think, I'm game for a nap right now.”

“Oh, that does sound really good, now that you mention it.” Lily nodded, tired from the heat and their sex. “We should be up in time for dinner.” She said, smiling at her grandparents, then went upstairs with Sy.

“How about a cool shower first?” Sy suggested after they got back upstairs to their room, seeing Lily was still a little sweaty and red. “Wash this sweaty grim off of us and cool off before we nap.”

Lily felt her drying skin and the stickiness between her legs from their combined release. “I think that's a good idea.” She agreed, then followed him into the bathroom.

Sy pulled down the zipper in the back of her dress, then got undressed himself, turning on the shower and making sure it was cool, but not cold, before letting Lily step in first and following in behind her, watching the water wash over her for a few moment. He picked up the bottle of body wash from the shower basket, the scent of white peaches and cream filling the small space as he opened the bottle, moaning softly at the scent he'd become familiar with on her skin of late.

Lily chuckled. “Do I need to change body washes, when we get home, Bear?” She asked, as he started washing the sweaty grim off of her.

“Definitely.” He chuckled, letting her rinse off, then quickly washed himself, not above smelling like peaches too. “Do you have a preference?” Sy asked, after they had settled into bed for their nap.

“Preference for what?” Lily replied, returning to the surface of being awake.

“For what gender you want the baby to be?”

“No.” She shook her head. “But, I do want to continue one thing, if it's a girl.”

“All right.” He nodded. “What is it?”

“The name.” Lily told him. “My great-grandmother's name was Jasmine, my grandmother is Violet, and my mother's name was Daisy..”

“And yours is Lily.” Sy smiled against her shoulder. “All flower themed.”

“Mmhm.” She nodded, starting to tip back off to sleep. “If we have a girl, I want to give her a flower themed name, to continue the tradition.”

“I'm more than all right with that.” He told her, sweet on the idea. “If we have more kids and they're all girls, we'll have a whole flower garden running around the house.” He teased, lightheartedly.

Lily chuckled and snuggled back against him. “The house will smell wonderful.” She teased back, her voice just a faint murmur, before she finally dropped off.

“Is it really time for you to go?” Violet asked, clutching Lily's hands.

“Sadly, it is.” Lily nodded, gulping down a fresh wave of tears.

Lily and Sy had stayed with her grandparents for nearly a week, which wasn't enough for the three of them to catch up and patch five years of absence, but they all knew it was time. The couple had a life back in Celina, that's where they had started to plant their roots and where they wanted to raise their now expanding family.

“You promise to come back and visit?”

“Nothing can ever prevent that from happening again, Mee-Maw. You have my word.” Lily assured her, squatting down in front of her wheelchair.

“I want to meet my great-grandbaby.”

“That, for sure, is going to happen.” Lily chuckled, a couple of tears escaping. “I wouldn't let you miss that opportunity for anything in the world.” She sniffled, starting to lose the battle on her emotions.

“Vi.” Davis whispered, resting his hand on his wife's shoulder. “Lily has appointments she needs to make, so we can meet our sweet great-grandbaby.” He told her, giving Lily a soft smile, his own brown eyes shining with unshed tears.

“Call me, when you stop for the night, so we know you're safe.” Violet said, giving Lily and Sy a stern look.

Even though they had only known him for less than a week, Sy had become family to the Warrens. Violet had become very grandmotherly towards him, while Davis treated him almost like a son. The two men had really bonded over the fact Sy had been in the military, with Davis having served in the U.S Marine Corps during the Vietnam war, before being honorably discharged for a medical injury, at the rank of Master Sergeant. Sy had realized something as he and Lily packed up the truck that morning, he had driven to Virginia with her so shecould reconnect with her family, but in doing so, he had gained a family in more than just Lily, the baby and Aika. It wasn't what he had been looking for, it had all found him, the whole situation, from taking the contract to fix up Lily's place to the moment they were having with her grandparents.

With every aspect and event he found himself in with Lily, it only made him feel more like he belonged.

“You hear me, Austin?” Violet's voice cut through his thoughts.

“Yes, ma'am.” He nodded, smiling and biting his lip, feeling a hard lump of emotion in his throat. “I'll make sure of it.”

“Good.” She smiled at him, then held her arms out to him.

Sy smiled out even bigger and walked back up onto the porch, bending over and carefully closed his muscular arms around her thin body, hugging her gently. “It was good meeting you Ms. Violet.” He whispered into her ear.

“You too.” She whispered back. “And you take care of her and the baby.”

“On my life.” He replied, pulling back.

They winked at each other, chuckling and making Lily and Davis laugh as well. With their good-byes said and everything, including Aika, packed back into the truck, Lily and Sy got in too, waving until they lost sight of Violet and Davis. They weren't down the road very far, when Sy pulled off the side of the road and turned in his seat to face Lily.

“What?” She frowned back at him.

“You all right?” He asked, his eyes reading her.

“I'm fine.” She replied, but he could hear the thickness in her voice.

Sy turned and jerked open his door and moved around the truck and pulled open her door. “Lily.” He said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Lily pressed her lips together for a moment, before taking a deep breath, her chin trembling as her tears crashed into her. Her seat belt wasn't off a moment, before she found herself in his arms and buried against his chest, sobbing into his Metallica t-shirt.

“You'll see them again, Angel.” He murmured into her hair, hands rubbing up and down her trembling back. “I promise, and you'll get to talk to them all the time. Mac even promised to teach them how to use Skype, so you guys can video call.” He told her, trying to soothe her pain and anxiety.

“We'll come back up after the baby's born, so they can meet.” He promised, cupping the back of her head and pressing his lips to her forehead, before wiping away her tears. “Okay?” He smiled at her, feeling the same anxious twist about leaving, but not even close in magnitude that Lily was.

“Okay.” She sniffled, rubbing at her eyes and collecting herself.

“Okay.” He nodded, but neither of them moved, but then Sy looked at her with a strange resolution. “Do you wanna get married?”

“What?” Lily squeaked, frowning at him. “You've already proposed to me, Austin.”

“That's not what I'm asking, Lily.” He replied, licking his lips, the sudden idea brewing inside of his mind. “Do you want to get married, right now?”

“Here?” She asked, looking around them. “In Virginia?”

“Yeah.” He nodded at her, his heart pounding as his adrenaline started to rush through his veins. “We can go back to your grandparents' place, because we'll need witnesses, then go into town and get married. We both know we don't want a massive wedding. I don't have any family I want, or even could, invite and...”

“My grandparents are the only family I have; other than you, Aika and the baby.” She finished his sentence, falling in sync with his thought process.

“So?”

Lily held his eyes for a split moment, then smiled softly at him, and nodded at him. “I think I like that idea, Austin.”

“All right.” He grinned back, kissing her, then ran back around to the driver's seat and hauled ass back to the farm.

“Is everything all right?” Davis asked, coming out of the house as he saw the truck flying up the driveway.

“Everything is fine and dandy.” Lily chuckled at him. “But, Austin and I need your and Mee-Maw's help with something.” She grinned, giggling, with a bubbly air of excited energy.

“What is it?”

Lily looked over at Sy, who grinned at her, then back to her grandfather. “We need two witnesses.” She said, the hint thick in her voice.

A smile instantly touched Davis's lips, understanding Lily's meaning and what she and Sy wanted from him and Violet. “We'll meet you at the Loudoun County courthouse.” He told them, feeling the giddy energy coming off of Lily and Sy infect him on the porch.

“I regret not having an actual wedding ring for you.” Sy commented as the two of them made their way downtown.

“I don't need one, Sy.” Lily told him, reaching out to take one of his hands off the steering wheel. “I told you, you are enough and the ring you already gave me is enough. I don't need anything more than that, Bear.” She said, threading their fingers together.

“Other than maybe...” She grinned at him.

Sy chuckled, bringing their hands up and kissed her fingers. “I'll get you a pretzel, Sweetness.” He grinned, shaking his head. “I feel like I should just buy a pretzel factory or something, the way you're going.” He teased her.

“That would be super nice.” Lily agreed, licking her lips. “Buy the property next door and set it up right there, with the production line ending right into the house.”

It was a good thing they stopped at a red light, because Sy lost it, laughing his ass off at the image of a conveyor belt of freshly baked pretzels coming in through one of the downstairs windows of the house with Lily seated in front of it, just power munching on them with her plump baby belly, happy as all hell. He still had tears in his eyes, after they parked in the county courthouse and were standing out front, waiting for Davis and Violet to show up.

“I'm glad you're loving it up.” Lily giggled at him.

Sy cupped Lily's face in his hands. “My little pretzel.”

“Oh good lord, Wyatt.” She laughed, gripping his wrists. “You're a mess.”

“You're going to marry this mess.” He grinned at her, pulling her closer to him and felt her rounding belly brush his abs.

“I am.” She nodded, smiling up at him. “I wouldn't have it any other way, with anyone else.”

“That's a relief.” Sy replied, feigning shock to know it.

“Lovebirds, no matter where the two of you are.” Violet's voice came as Davis pushed her towards them.

“When in love.” Lily replied, unashamed or moving away from Sy.

“Are we ready for this?” Davis asked, looking around at the group.

“I am.” Lily nodded, looking up at Sy.

“So am I.” Sy replied, smiling down at her.

“We are too.” Violet nodded.

“In we go then.” Davis said, and the small group went inside the courthouse.

“Here.” Lily said, slipping off her ring and handing it to Sy. “Just humor me.” She chuckled softly, when he lifted a brow at her in question.

“All right.” He nodded, slipping it into the front pocket of his jeans.

Going into the courthouse get a marriage license and giving the appropriate documentation they needed for it, then with the license filled out and official, they patiently waited for the couple ahead of them to have their moment getting married with the judge and all, before going into the little courtroom with the judge standing at the front, waiting for them in his official robe and a bible in his hand.

“Hello, I'm Judge Timothy Miller, I'll be marrying the two of you today.” He smiled at Lily and Sy.

“Sounds good to me.” Sy replied, nodding his head politely to the judge.

“Same.” Lily agreed, nervously licking her lips.

“Are these are your witnesses?” He asked, looking to Davis and Violet.

“Yes, sir. They're my grandparents.” Lily explained, smiling over her shoulder at them.

“That's lovely.” Judge Miller smiled at them all, plainly seeing the love everyone had for each other, especially Lily and Sy. “Shall we commence?” He asked, looking between the two of them.

“Yes, please.” They both nodded, feeling their nerves and jitters start to really increase.

“All right, I'll have the two of you face each other.” He said, motioning to space in front of him.

Lily and Sy stood before him, facing each other and holding hands, while staring at each other, Violet and Davis stood off to one side. Sy smiled at Lily, giving her trembling hands a squeeze with his, feeling his own hands shake. But, neither of them were going to back out, they honestly couldn't picture standing up there with anyone else.

They had found a home and a soulmate in each other.

“We are gathered here, on this fine day, to join Austin Wyatt Syverson and Lily Ana Moore together in the holy matrimony, that is marriage.” Judge Miller began speaking, regarding Lily and Sy in turns. “The bonds of marriage are untied with sacred love and the deepest respect, as should one spouse treat the other with that sacred love and respect.”

“Now, do we have rings?” He asked, looking at them with a lifted brow.

“Just hers.” Sy said, going into his pocket and pulling it out.

“All right, put it on her finger and repeat after me.” Judge Miller instructed him.

Sy slipped the ring back onto Lily's finger. “I, Austin Wyatt Syverson, take you, Lily Ana Moore, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forth, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; until death do us part.”

“Same with you.” The Judge said to Lily, nodding his head at her.

“I, Lily Ana Moore, take you, Austin Wyatt Syverson, to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forth, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; until death do us part.” She repeated after him, letting out a relieved breath that she hadn't stumbled and missed any of it up.

“It is my pleasure and by the power vested in me, by the power of Loudoun County, in the state of Virginia, to pronounce you, man and wife.” Judge Miller grinned at them.

“Mr. Syverson, you may kiss your bride, Mrs. Syverson.”

“With pleasure.” Sy grinned with immense pride, pulling Lily against him and kissed her, intensely. “I never, in a million years, thought I would ever hear that.”

“What?” Lily asked, walking out of the courthouse with him, hand in hand.

“Mrs. Syverson.”

“I have to agree with you.” She replied, pressing her shoulder against his arm. “I always thought I'd be a Ms. for the rest of my life.”

“I guess you two are really back to Texas now?” Davis asked, coming up behind them with Violet.

“Yeah.” Sy nodded, looking at Lily. “Lily has a fourteen week baby appointment we can't miss.” He explained to them.

“But, we'll come back, when the baby is born so you guys can meet them.” Lily promised them, resting her hand on her belly.

“You better come back here with my great-grandbaby, or you'll have hell to deal with, Missy.” Violet threatened, wagging a bony finger at her, but the playful smirk on her face gave it away.

“You have my word, Mee-Maw.” Lily chuckled, bending over to kiss her on the cheek. “I wouldn't have it any other way. Mama isn't here to meet them, so I have to make sure you do.” She said, straightening up, a sad pang in her chest at knowing her own mother would never meet her grand-baby.

The group was somber for a moment as the fact settled on them, before they parted ways once again. But, Sy and Lily didn't hit the road as soon as they left the courthouse either.

“Where are we going, Bear?” She asked him, confused.

“Well, I promised you a pretzel, for one.” He chuckled at her. “And two, it doesn't seem right.” He said, wiggling the fingers of his left hand.

So, Sy got Lily the pretzel he had promised her, then they stopped off at the jeweler's he had bought her engagement, now wedding ring at, and after browsing for several moments, Lily stopped beside a glass display case, spotting a ring inside of it and pointed at it.

“If that doesn't scream Austin Syverson, then my name isn't Lily Syverson.” She said, staring at it wide eyed.

Sy laughed and crossed over to her, looking into the case at the ring she was pointing at and felt himself freeze, as it hit him, like seeing hers had. “I'm in total agreement with you. Both on the ring and your name.” He said, seeing the tungsten carbide ring.

“That's the one.” He told the jeweler, nodding his head at the ring.

“Fits like a glove.” Lily said, watching Sy slip it onto his left ring finger.

“Or in this case, a wedding ring.” He chuckled at her, turning it around his finger.

“Neither of us expected this, when we were driving out here.” She said, going back out to the car with him.

“Actually, I had been considering proposing to you for a while.” Sy confessed, finally getting them onto the highway back home to Celina. “Even before we found out about the baby.”

Lily twisted in her seat to face him, face slack in surprise. “Seriously!”

“Yep.” He nodded, grinning. “You're home to me, Lily. You've been a home to me for such a long time, before we slept together that night in the barn and everything.” He licked his lips and shifted in his seat. “I thought, maybe, even if we didn't have that sort of connection, we could still at least take care of each other and keep each other—company.” He told her, drumming on the steering wheel with his thumbs.

“I have a lot of baggage with my time in the military and people have a lot of trouble dealing with that and rarely stick around because of it. I honestly expected you to run me off that day on the porch, when I nearly took your head off.” He explained, babbling at this point.

“But you didn't. Even then, I expected you to tiptoe or be afraid of me.”

“But, I'm not afraid of you, Austin. I have no reason to be afraid of you or tiptoe around you.” Lily told him, hurt that he thought she would get rid of him or be scared of him, because of the things he can't really control. “Even when I first saw you, I wasn't afraid of you. You've never given me a reason to be. I sure as hell would never blame you for having PTSD for being in multiple war zones, as many times and as long as you had been.”

“I admit, if you ever did give me a reason to believe you'd hurt me, I would have told you to piss off.” She told him, honestly.

“I would have left long before that, if I thought I would do something to hurt you.” He said, looking over at her, the fear that he would do something, was evident in his eyes.

“I know that.” She whispered. “But, you're not, Austin. Not then. Not now. Not ever, and I'm not going anywhere either. I'm staying right with you, I'll always be there for you, especially in those moments.” She promised him, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek.

“We're stuck together.”

“Now and forever.” Sy grinned, happy and relieved.

“Plus a day.” Lily giggled, laying her head on his shoulder.

“I want to make a tradition of our own.” Sy said, breaking the quiet of the truck. “If we have a boy.”

They were only a few hours from being back home in Celina and felt the peacefulness of being so close to their own place again, their own space and bed.

“Okay.” Lily replied, settling her eyes on him.

“So, the girls on your mother's side of the family were named after flowers, right?”

“Correct.” She nodded back.

“Well, I was named Austin, because my parents met in Austin.”

“Oh, don't tell me you want to name our potential son, Celina.” Lily giggled, teasing him.

“Gods, no.” Sy laughed back, shaking his head at her. “But, I do want to name any would-be sons after cities. Like, Dallas.” He explained to her.

“Austin Jr.” Lily chuckled back. “But, I like that idea.”

“Can I make one more suggestion?” He inquired, lifting a brow at her.

“Of course.”

“If we do have a daughter, I know we want to give her a flower themed first name, but can I pick her middle name?”

“Of course, do you have one in mind?” Lily asked, tilting her head at him.

“I do.” Sy nodded at her, his blue eyes getting a far off look.

“What is it?”

“Let's find out, if it's a girl first.” He said, shaking his head and clearing his vision. “Then, I'll tell you.”

“Okay, keeper of secrets.” She chuckled.

“Son of a—“

Lily paused as she carried the laundry basket up the stairs, hearing Sy's muffled curse from the guest room, turned nursery.

“What happened to good ol' fashioned, pure American made furniture?” He grumbled around his smarting thumb.

Chuckling and setting the basket down, Lily went down to the nursery. “Is that a grizzly Bear I'm hearing?” She asked, her voice light and playful as she smiled at him.

“Why did we have to buy the baby stuff from IKEA?” He asked, scowling at the mostly put together changing table.

“Because, their baby stuff is adorable.” She giggled at him, moving over to him, to check his smashed appendage.

Sy huffed, but let her take his hand in hers, watching her quietly and gently fuss over his swollen and multi-colored thumb. “If you like them, then it doesn't matter.” He sighed, frowning at the other unboxed baby furniture that was in the room with them.

“I do like them.” Lily nodded, assured he hadn't done any real damage to his hand. “That's why I got them. It goes with our neutral theme, since we don't know the baby's sex yet.” She told him, kissing his thumb, with a mischievous smile.

“Then, I'll get it done.” He replied, cupping her face and pulled her in, kissing her gently.

“Bob the Builder can eat his heart out.” She chuckled, kissing him back. “He's got nothing on Captain Syverson.” She proclaimed proudly, before standing back up and retrieving her laundry basket, to put away the clean clothes she'd spent all morning washing, in the master bedroom.

When she finished putting the clothes away, Lily paused in the middle of the bedroom, tapping her foot and chewing on her bottom lip as a sudden idea brewed inside of her mind. It wasn't a completely new idea, but the evolution of it was. Turning the upper half of her body towards the open bedroom door, listening to the bumps and curses coming from the nursery down the hall.

“Sy!” She called out to him, then winced hearing a crash and another curse.

“Yeah, babe?” He answered, sighing.

“You wanna distraction?” She asked, biting the corner of her lip and feeling bad.

Sy appeared in the nursery doorway, his bruised fingers pressed to his chest. “I would love one, Angel.” He replied, giving her a grateful, but pained expression. “What do you have in mind?”

Lily stepped into their closet for a moment, before coming back out and holding up her professional digital camera, a Panasonic Lumix, for him to see, and Sy frowned at her, head tilting in question.

“Baby book.” She smiled at him.

“What's that gotta do with me?” He asked, blinking at her.

“You silly Bear.” Lily giggled at him. “You've gotta be in the book too! You are the Daddy.”

“Okay.” Sy nodded, biting his lip and glancing around. “What do you want me to do?”

“Let's go downstairs.” She said, taking her camera and headed downstairs with Sy following after her. “This'll be a good place.” She decided, stopping in the dining room, where there was a clear wall by the bay window, where there was a lot of light.

Lily paused for a moment, then disappeared into the kitchen, coming back with a little whiteboard she would write little notes on, doctor's appointments, deadlines or anything else she and Sy needed to remember. Sy watched her bustle about, putting her idea into motion. Erasing the writing on the whiteboard, Lily wrote fourteen weeks on it, then carefully hung it up on the wall, then planted her hands on her hips and left the room again, making Sy chuckle at her.

“Perfectionist.” He teased, when she came back, with a short tripod.

“To the end.” She giggled back, setting the tripod up on the dining table and connected the camera to it. “All right, now.” She approached Sy, resting her hands on him and turned him sideways.

“Now, don't move.”

“As you wish, Angel.” Sy grinned, planting his feet in place.

“That's a good Bear.” She grinned back, patting him on the chest, then removed her shirt.

“Well, ya gotta see my tummy.” Lily giggled at him at his lifted brow.

“Well, if you're taking your shirt off, I'm taking mine off.” He replied, yanking his blue tank top off over his head.

“What, for your six babies?” Lily teased him, touching his fur covered abs.

“They're sympathy babies.” Sy chuckled at her.

“Sympathy babies?” She roared with laughter.

“You know what a sympathy pregnancy is?” He asked, grinning at her. “It's that, just six mini ones.”

“Well, that's the fast way to have a bunch of kids.” Lily joked back, thoroughly amused at his sympathy babies.

“Okay, back to what we were doing.”

“Right, what now, Mama?”

“I'm going to stand here.” She said, moving in front of him and resting her back against his chest. “And you're going to put your hands here.” She reached back, gripping Sy's wrists and moved them around to the front of her, so his hands cradled her growing baby bump.

“Like this?” Sy asked, making small adjustments.

“Yes, perfect.” Lily nodded, holding a small remote in her hand that would allow her to snap the photo, but before she could press the button, Aika came charging in and barked at them. “Oh my, how could I be so rude to forget you, Aika.” She cooed at the German Shepherd.

“Aika, sit.” Sy snapped his fingers at her and she instantly sat down before them, staring up at them, ears erect and head cocked to the side.

“That's so perfect.” Lily grinned at Aika. “So, I'm going to look at my belly and you can look at me.” She instructed Sy.

“Way ahead of you, Angel.” Sy replied, already looking at the back of her head, and just before she pressed the button on the camera's remote, he kissed her hair. “Let's see it.” He said, moving away from her.

Lily grabbed the camera off the tripod and pulled it up on the display screen, instantly grinning at it. The image of Sy cradling her baby bump, while she looked down at it, and kissing the back of her head, with Aika looking curiously up at her two and a half humans. She couldn't wait to add it to the baby book she had bought several weeks before and started putting together.

“You want to do a few more?” She asked, looking up from the camera.

“You're damn right I do.” Sy nodded, excited at the thought of doing an activity with Lily and anything that included their baby, still in her belly or not.

“Do you have any suggestions?” She inquired, tilting her head at him.

He bit his lip, then lifted a finger at her and left the room, coming back several minutes later with a worn, Army green shirt with two patches on the short sleeves, one for the U.S Army Special Forces and the other was the custom Special Forces patch for the team he was the leader of.

“I wore this a lot, while on tour.” He explained to her, looking at the garment in his hands.

Lily smiled at him, seeing and feeling how shy he was as he tried to explain his thoughts for what he wanted for a few shots. “I like that idea, Bear.” She assured him.

“Yeah?” Sy replied, lighting up.

“I do.” Lily nodded, eyes sparkling at him. “Just tell me what you want me to do.”

“Okay, um.” He looked around, he wasn't as good as Lily with setting up photo shots, but he had an idea in his head. “Here, put it on.” He said, handing her his shirt.

“All right.” Lily took his shirt and slipped it on.

“Can you..” He paused, biting his lip and glancing around. “Can you sit the camera up on the coffee table, like you had it here?” He asked, motioning to the tripod still sitting on the dining table.

“I very much can.” Lily nodded, grabbing the tripod and her camera, taking them into the living room and set them up on the coffee table as he asked.

“What next?”

“Lay down on the couch, sorta propped up on the arm.”

Nodding, Lily did as he asked and Sy fussed with the camera for a moment, making sure the shot would be wide enough, then moved around the coffee table, slipping onto the couch with her and positioning himself so he was between her legs, his face level with her belly.

“You have the remote to the camera?” He asked her.

“I do.” She nodded, grinning at him and held the remote up for him to see.

“Okay, good.” He gave her a short nod. “I'm gonna kiss your gorgeous belly and I want you to snap it.”

“As you wish, Bear.” Lily chuckled, gently patting his cheek.

Sy lowered his head, a soft blush on his bearded cheeks, that Lily hoped she could get in on the camera, and gently pressed his lips to her belly through the fabric of his old Army shirt. Lily waited a moment, admiring and savoring it for herself, before actually taking the photo of him doing it.

“How about one for just you and I?” Lily suggested, when Sy sat back up. “Not for the baby book, just me and you.”

“Oh?” Sy grinned, his brow going up in a suggestive manner.

Lily licked her lips and nodded her head. “Where are your dog tags?”

“My dog tags?”

“Well, I certainly don't have any.” She chuckled at him.

“Huh, I think they're upstairs in one of the boxes I brought over when I officially moved in.” He replied, brow creasing as he tried to recall which of the boxes it was he might have put them in.

“Then, go find them.”

“All right then, Miss.” He replied, getting up off the couch and going back upstairs.

“That's Mrs. Thank you!” Lily hollered after him, shaking her head and stood up, grabbing her camera and the tripod, then going upstairs after him.

“What is that beautiful brain thinking?” Sy asked, pulling out a box from the closet and setting it on their bed as she came into the room.

“When you find your dog tags, I'll tell you.” She smiled at him, setting the tripod and camera down on the dresser across from their bed.

“Ah-ha!” He let out triumphantly, smiling and pulled out his dog tags from the third box for Lily to see the two thin tags dangling from their chain, rimmed by black rubber to keep them from making noise, when they hit together.

“Nope.” He shook his head at her, pulling the dog tags away as she reached out for them. “Tell me what you want them for first, little lady.”

“I'm going to get naked and they'll be the only thing I'm wearing.” She told him, bluntly.

Sy gulped, his eyes widening at the thought. “Sold.” He squeaked, handing them to her.

Lily removed her clothing and slipped Sy's dog tags over her head, resting between the swell of her breasts and the top of her sloping belly. “Get in bed, Syverson.” She said, motioning to their bed with her head.

“As you wish, Syverson.” He chuckled at her. “You want me to get naked too?” He teased her.

“If you wanna.” Lily chuckled back, following close behind him.

“I do.” He smirked and pushed his shorts down, kicking them aside and got into bed, resting back against their pillows and the headboard.

Lily crawled into bed with him, nuzzling herself between his legs, making him moan a bit as her ass rubbed against his semi-flaccid cock. She hooked Sy's feet around, so she sat in the bowl in the middle of them and rested back against his chest, then had him rest his head on her shoulder, with one of his hands cupped the side of her stomach and she rested her hand on top of his there. She gasped softly, feeling his other hand gently cup one of her sore breasts, his face gently nuzzling her neck with a soft smile.

“I love you.” He murmured.

“I love you too, Bear.” She cooed back, resting comfortably against him, and snapped the shot. “It'll be better, when my stomach is bigger.”

“Oh, I really can't wait for that.” Sy admitted, rubbing his calloused hands over her stomach. “I can't wait for the moment when I can put my hands on your belly and feel the baby move against my palms.” He told her, fantasizing about it.

“I feel little flutters every now and then.” Lily replied, resting her head back against his shoulder. “But, nothing I can share with you yet.” She told him, comfortable in their weird little huddle.

“One day soon, Angel.” He whispered into her ear, hugging his arms around her and closing his eyes.

“Sy!” Lily screamed, wiggling and panting. “Austin! Jesus Christ.” She huffed as Aika barked and paced around her.

Sy came pounding down the stairs, hearing her frantic yelling from where he was upstairs, still working in the nursery. “Lily!” He yelled, tearing into the living room, out of breath and scared out of his mind.

“What's wrong?” He asked, staring down at her as she laid on her bright purple yoga mat on the living room floor, she had gotten into pregnancy yoga, after trying it during one of the parenting classes they attended. “Is it the baby?” His eyes searched every inch of her body, watching Aika shove her nose underneath Lily's hips, sides and in the nook of her neck, making her wiggle even more and squeal.

“The baby is fine, Austin.” Lily huffed, out of breath and going limp on the yoga mat. “It's me, that's the problem.” She scowled, her face bright red.

Sy's face didn't change. “What is it, Angel?”

Lily bit her lip and huffed again, glancing away from him, knowing what was coming next out of him. “I can't get up.”

And there it fucking was.

Sy's head reared back and his laugh roared through the house like a boom of thunder, startling the daylights out of Aika, who barked directly into Lily's ear and bolted for the new doggy door in the kitchen and vanished into the backyard. His whole body shook as he continued to laugh at her for not being able to get up from her mat, even starting to wheeze.

“Good lord, Wyatt!” Lily growled at him.

“You're like a turtle!” He howled, bending forward, tears rolling down his cheeks. “Should I call PETA first? I don't want to get in trouble for endangering wildlife.” He cackled, rubbing her now pronounced belly.

“The only thing endanger is your sex life!” Lily threatened him. “Now, help me up! Your kid is squishing my bladder!” She begged, holding her hands out to him and desperately wiggling her fingers.

“All right! All right.” He chuckled, grabbing her hands and carefully pulled her up onto her feet. “Waddle faster, my little submarine!” He shouted after her, starting to laugh all over again.

“I hate you!” She shouted over her shoulder, just making it to the hall bathroom.

“You ready, Bear?” Lily asked, squeezing Sy's hand as they followed the nurse back to the exam room.

“As I can be, Angel.” He replied, taking a deep breath. “As I can be.”

It was Lily's twenty-third week baby appointment and the moment of truth, when they found out the gender of their baby. They were both excited and nervous about finding out, having spent the last two weeks scouring names of cities and flowers and making their own lists for names if they had a girl or a boy, to then narrow down, once they did find out what gender they were having; and today was that day.

“Good morning.” Dr. Evers smiled as she came into their exam room. “How are parents and baby doing today?” She asked, sitting down on a stool.

“We're doing really well.” Lily smiled back at her, giddy. “Ready to find out the gender.” She said, glancing over at Sy.

“I bet you're just chomping it to bits to find out.” Dr. Evers chuckled, doing a quick regular exam of Lily, before setting up the ultrasound.

“I love hearing that sound.” Sy said, unconscionably as the baby's heartbeat filled the room.

“It's a precious sound.” Evers agreed, smiling over at him.

“Amen.” Lily nodded, gripping Sy's hand and staring at the screen.

“Let's see if I can get a better position.” Dr. Evers said, moving the transducer around Lily's belly, spreading more of the warm jelly with it, then went quiet for a few minutes, typing a few things on the keyboard.

“Is everything okay?” Sy asked, nervously.

“Everything is perfectly fine.” She smiled at him. “Just making a few measurements.” She assured him, before moving the transducer again. “Ah, there you are.” She grinned brightly, finally getting the right angle on the screen that she needed to tell her what gender the Syverson's baby was.

“Do you want to know right now, or do you want me to write it down and you can look when you get home?” She asked, regarding the two of them.

Lily and Sy looked at each other, a silent conversation going on between them for a long moment before Lily looked back at Dr. Evers and smiled, nervously, at her and nodded her head.

“Now, please.”

Nodding her head back at them, then pointed to the screen. “If you look right there.” She outlined what she was indicating. “You can just make out what it is. So, I'm happy to tell you, you are expecting a healthy baby girl.”

“A girl.” Sy echoed back, his voice weak with emotion and his eyes glued to the screen. “I have a daughter.”

“A daughter, Bear.” Lily grinned at him, reaching up and wiping away the silent tears that were starting to fall down his face. “We have a daughter, Sy.”

Sy wrapped his arms around Lily and hugged her for dear life, burying his face into her neck, soaking the shoulder of her shirt with his tears. “Thank you.” He sniffled and hiccuped. “Thank you.”

“We did it together, Sy.” Lily replied, emotional as well. “We both did this.”

“You guys are doing great and the baby is doing amazingly.” Dr. Evers complimented them, a bit choked up as well. “I'll have you set up your next appointment and you know to contact me, if anything happens.”

“Thanks, doc.” Sy smiled at her.

“It's my pleasure.” She assured him.

“All right, Bear. You said, if we had a girl you had a middle name for her, now out with it.” Lily said, as they drove back home.

Sy cleared his throat, still an emotional wreck that they were having a daughter. “Imogene.”

“Imogene.” Lily repeated, blinking at him. “Why Imogene?” She asked, tilting her head at him.

He was quiet for a long while, trying to get a handle on an old emotional lump that was trying to push up alongside the one already in his throat. “I want her to have the middle name, Imogene,” He started to explain, as they reached their driveway.

“Because, it was my mama's name.” He told her, softly.

[danahp3]

Meet Patricia Dana Halliwell

(Backstory)

Current Age: 24

Talent/Hobbies: Singing & Dancing

Parents: Phoebe Halliwell & Cole Turner

D.O.B: February 8

Dana is the youngest of her 5 Siblings:

- Unborn Son (Deceased)

- P.J. Halliwell

- Parker Halliwell

- Peyton Halliwell

- Patricia Dana Halliwell

Powers & Abilities

Before Transformation Powers: Telekinesis, Astral Projection, Empathy, Slayer Speed, Strength and Fighting Skills Set.

Demon Side Powers: Apportation, Fireball, Shimmering, High Resistance, Sensing.

After Transformation Powers: Immortality, Vampire Speed, Agility, Strength and Healing, Telekinesis, Molecular Immobilization, Molecular Combustion, Astral Projection, Orbing, Telekinetic Orbing, Healing, Premonitions, Levitation, Empathy, Pathokinesis, Slayer Strength Fighting Skills Set. Demon Side Powers: Apportation, Fireball, Shimmering, High Resistance, Sensing

Backstory

Prior to Dana's existence, Coop, Phoebe's current husband, was separated from Phoebe and their three daughters, P.J., Parker, and Peyton. This was a consequence for Coop breaking the rules and neglecting his duties as a Cupid. It seemed unlikely that he would ever be allowed to return to his family. If Phoebe and Coop tried to challenge this punishment, the Court would have to strip Coop and his daughters of their powers, which would cause Coop to age rapidly until his death. Phoebe and Coop had to bid each other farewell.

Seeing this as an opportunity, Cole Turner tried to get close to Phoebe with the hope of reigniting their past love. He was there to comfort Phoebe during this difficult time. In her grief and heartbreak, Phoebe had a moment of weakness and ended up sleeping with Cole. However, she had no intention of pursuing a relationship with him. Later, Phoebe discovered that she was pregnant, but she didn't want Cole to think the child was his. So, she kept the truth of the pregnancy from him and passed it off as Coop's child, which was believable given the timing. She feared that the baby would inherit powers like Cole, which would reveal the truth. The day of Dana's birth was another instance in Halliwell history where both good and evil lost their magic, just like during the births of Wyatt and Parker.

Phoebe was relieved that Dana's powers hadn't manifested yet, but she still worried that it could change at any time. She prayed that Cole would never be around to witness it. Phoebe hoped that Dana would be born without powers, similar to Parker's experience. However, Parker developed her powers at the age of 2. Fortunately, Dana never showed signs of growing into her powers, and it was uncertain whether she would inherit powers from her Halliwell side or her demon side. Phoebe was always concerned about what the future held for her youngest daughter. Dana lived a powerless, normal life throughout her childhood and pre-teenage years, but Phoebe could sense Dana's disappointment. Dana felt left out and distant from her sisters and cousins, thinking she wasn't as special as them.

Phoebe understood the feeling of being the sister without an active power like Prue, Piper, and Paige. To boost her own self-esteem, Phoebe had learned self-defense and considered it her own self-taught active power. She wanted to share this with Dana, so she spent a lot of time teaching her martial arts and self-defense techniques.

When Dana turned 15, she discovered her Slayer abilities. She was attacked by a group of bullies at school while trying to defend an innocent classmate. It was then that she realized she possessed super strength, speed, and agility. At first, Phoebe and her family thought Dana was finally developing her powers. However, a few months later, they were approached by Willow Rosenberg and Rupert Giles, who explained that Dana was actually a Potential Slayer.

The Slayer within her had awakened, and it was time for Dana to join the other Slayers and undergo training to prepare for battles against impending apocalyptic threats. Phoebe initially resisted this, but her daughter convinced her. Giles reassured Phoebe that Dana wouldn't be gone forever and that her family could visit her while she trained at an on-campus school abroad. After completing her training and passing the necessary tests, Dana would be able to return home. Dana was excited to join the other Slayers and pursue her own destiny, making her mother proud. Phoebe could feel how much this opportunity meant to her.

Dana traveled to the Slayer Command Center in New York, where she met Buffy Summers, the Head Slayer, as well as the rest of the team. She was introduced to the other Slayers and embarked on rigorous training. During this time, Dana faced numerous challenges that tested her emotional control, patience, and decision-making abilities. Within her first year of training, she discovered two active powers: telekinesis and apportation.

Dana's unique powers caught the attention of the Slayer Organization's leadership. She became the first Slayer Hybrid they had encountered, receiving special attention and becoming part of their inner circle. Over the next three years, Dana excelled in her training and continued her education while visiting various Slayer Command Center locations. More powers emerged during this time, including astral projection, high resistance, sensing, and shimmering. However, the ability to conjure fireballs caused concern for Dana and her mother. It was then that Dana learned the truth about her biological father. Shortly after, Cole also discovered that he was Dana's father.

The revelation of her mother's lies strained their relationship. Dana formed a connection with her father, much to Phoebe's fear. She worried that Cole would have a negative influence on Dana.

End of Backstory

Up Next: Prologue

Go To:

Loki & Dana’s Masterlist

[tabloidtoc]

OK, March 15

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Britney Spears' revenge

Page 1: Big Pic -- Melissa and Joe Gorga during a beach day in Miami

Page 2: Contents

Page 3: Contents

Page 4: Tiger Woods on the mend -- Tiger is counting his blessings as he recovers from a terrifying car crash

Page 6: Queen Elizabeth announced in a statement that her grandson Prince Harry and his pregnant wife Meghan Markle wouldn't be returning as working royals, noting that it was no longer possible for them to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service, and almost immediately, Harry and Meghan shot back with a seemingly rude reply, saying we can all live a life of service and service is universal -- no one was more disappointed in Harry's response than his brother Prince William and William finds this behavior both baffling and sickening and he can't get his head around it and William feels the family has been understanding and fair while Harry and Meghan continue to sit on their high horse flinging insults and from William's perspective there is simply no excuse for snide and ego-driven swipes made towards the queen -- especially right now, since three days prior to Her Majesty's statement, Prince Philip was rushed to a London hospital and the queen's been worried sick about her husband and should not be dealing with this added stress -- the whole situation has left William feeling hopeless and he fears Harry is too wrapped up in his own self-importance to see the hurt he's caused and that is unforgivable in William's eyes

Page 7: As Soleil Moon Frye's messy divorce drags on, a loyal pal from the past is providing a shoulder to cry on in Brian Austin Green who she reconnected with while shooting her upcoming documentary Kid 90 -- Brian can feel her pain because he's still hashing out his split from Megan Fox so he knows exactly what Soleil is going through -- they've been friends for more than 30 years and they're going to see each other through this tough time

* Tom Cruise got all pumped up for Mission: Impossible 7, but now that filming has wrapped, he's desperate to stay in fighting shape for the next installment -- Tom was thrown for a loop when the studio postponed filming M:I 8 instead of shooting the movies back-to-back so now he's putting himself through the wringer doing crunches, pullups, squats and weights but Tom's brutal, military-style workouts have friends and loved ones, including his rumored new girlfriend, M:I7 costar Hayley Atwell, worried that he could be pushing himself to the breaking point and everyone wants him to take it down a notch, but he won't listen -- physically, Tom still thinks he's invincible, but the fact is he'll be turning 60 in less than two years and if he keeps going at this pace, there's a big change he's going to do some serious damage

* Life has been twice as nice for Christine Quinn since she found out she was expecting -- the Selling Sunset star, who's pregnant with her and businessman husband Christian Richard's first child, isn't holding back when it comes to treating herself -- the famously free-spending realtor has been splurging on designer maternity clothes and lingerie to lounge around in at her L.A. mansion and she has flowers delivered daily for every room in the house

Page 10: Red Hot on the Red Carpet -- stars rock statement-making halter dresses -- Lili Reinhart, Camila Morrone, Brie Larson

Page 11: Chrishell Stause, Naomi Campbell, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

Page 12: Who Wore It Better? Uzo Aduba vs. Drew Barrymore, Charlize Theron vs. Kaia Gerber, Bella Hadid vs. Naomi Scott

Page 14: News in Photos -- Steve Martin did what he does best while filming scenes of his upcoming mystery-comedy series Only Murders in the Building in NYC

Page 16: Nicole Scherzinger stepped out for lunch with beau Thom Evans in West Hollywood, a casually dressed Reese Witherspoon matched her shirt to her Draper James canvas tote while boarding a private plane in L.A., Paris Hilton and Carter Reum

Page 17: Rebel Wilson stopped by the gas station to fill up her car in L.A., Mariska Hargitay took a selfie while shooting Law & Order: Organized Crime in NYC

Page 18: Sarah Jessica Parker assisted customers at her eponymous shoe line's store in NYC, Chrissy Teigen at lunch at Wolfgang Puck in L.A., Naomi Osaka with her trophy for winning the Australian Open in Melbourne

Page 20: The Masked Singer panelist Jenny McCarthy in a golden tiara and caped dress before taping a new episode, for a recent date night Outer Banks stars Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline whipped up a cozy plant-based dinner in L.A., Jason Sudeikis filled up on a sandwich on the set of Ted Lasso

Page 22: Bella Hadid strutting around Manhattan, Helena Christensen and her dog Kuma in NYC

Page 23: In partnership with Ziploc Janel Parrish created the Hot Mess Makeup Line in Vancouver, Cara Delevingne in Puma's new eco-friendly line

Page 24: Usher stopped by the dry cleaners West Hollywood, Padma Lakshmi and her pooch braved the cold weather in stylish jackets in NYC

Page 25: Tia Mowry for Late July Tortilla chips, four days before filing for divorce from her husband Kanye West of nearly seven years Kim Kardashian looked somber while out and about in L.A., during a stroll Busy Philipps stopped to check out something on her phone in NYC

Page 26: Scott Disick matched his 'do to his drink at the Sugar Factory in Miami, Justin Long stocked up on groceries in L.A., new couple Mod Sun and Avril Lavigne were inseparable after a date night in L.A.

Page 28: Inside My Home -- Claire Holt's airy abode

Page 30: Zooey Deschanel and Jonathan Scott have taken the next step in their almost two-year relationship: they've secretly tied the knot -- they've been talking about getting married for about a year and just decided to go for it and the intimate ceremony took place in front of a few family members at Jonathan's Las Vegas home on Valentine's Day and it was spur of the moment, but that's how Zooey likes to do things and now Jonathan too and they put it together in a matter of days and everyone got a verbal invite to come -- Zooey wore a Bohemian-inspired gown and flowers in her hair while Jonathan wore an all-white suit and Zooey serenaded Jonathan with a love song she had written -- guests including Jonathan's twin brother Drew Scott and sister-in-law Linda Phan were treated to a gourmet buffet and video and arcade games -- now the couple's eager to grow their family and Jonathan will be a great stepdad to Zooey's children Elsie and Charlie but he's been saying for months that he can't wait to have kids of his own and they've already started trying

Page 31: Blake Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds are one of the most charitable couples in Hollywood and now the big-hearted duo are ready to take the next step by adopting a baby in need -- Blake and Ryan who share daughters James, Inez and Betty have donated millions of dollars to organizations working to protect the rights of immigrant children separated from their families and awaiting deportation -- day by day they've been warming up to the idea of providing an orphan with a forever home -- Ryan jokes that Blake is a baby machine who would have no trouble getting pregnant again, but their hearts really go out to these kids

* Ever since Bridgerton became a monster hit, the sizzling chemistry between Rege-Jean Page and costar Phoebe Dynevor has fans convinced that they're an offscreen item as well, but Rege-Jean's girlfriend Emily Brown is fed up with keeping their real-life romance under wraps and she's starting to feel like Rege's dirty little secret -- Emily has been dating Rege for two years and shares a home with him in East London -- the show's producers have been happy to let the rumors about Rege and Phoebe fly because it made their steamy sex scenes that much more believable -- Emily, a part-time soccer player and copywriter from Manchester, loves to go to pubs and party, which she and Rege used to do before the show came out -- Rege insists that keeping their relationship on the down-low is no big deal, but Emily wants everyone to know that the hunky Duke of Hastings is spoken for

* Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher have got the parenting thing down pat, and they're ready to share their know-how by penning a how-to manual -- their friends have been begging them for advice for years and Mila and Ashton make having kids look like a fun adventure and for them, it really is -- now that Ashton has wrapped up shooting his new thriller Vengeance, he and Mila finally have a little downtime and the handbook will include the duo's dos and don'ts for raising their children Wyatt and Dimitri like they never argue in front of the kids and make sure to treat them equally -- Mila's the stricter one and Ashton's the softie, but it's a team effort and it works and they admit it can get a bit chaotic, but they don't sweat the small stuff

Page 32: New parents Kit Harington and Rose Leslie may be in baby heaven, but they're dealing with the home renovation from hell -- the Game of Thrones alums, who recently welcomed their first child, have been up to their ears fixing up their 15th-century country manor, which is turning out to be a huge money pit -- Kit and Rose bought the $2.4 million spread shortly before tying the knot in 2018 and had no idea what they were getting into and the couple got hit by sticker shock when they finally got their plans approved to put in a new kitchen, master bath, pipes and flooring and it's going to cost them an extra half a million at least -- they still think it's the perfect place to raise a family, but overseeing an army of builders and designers with a newborn at home is leading to some serious sleep deprivation

* As Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles' romance heats up, the couple is planning a heart-to-heart with her ex-fiance Jason Sudeikis -- after filming wrapped on their movie Don't Worry (for the love of all that's holy, please put in a comma) Darling, the lovebirds flew to London to meet with Jason, who's been on the set of Ted Lasso in England because Olivia, who shares two kids with Jason, wants to clear the air and have a calm conversation about how everyone moves forward from here, and she wants Jason to realize that Harry is here to stay and Olivia needs Jason to understand this is a serious relationship, whether he likes it or not

* Baby Boom -- these celebs recently welcomed little ones -- Wilmer Valderrama and fiancee Amanda Pacheco welcomed a baby girl, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahones and fiancee Brittany Matthews welcomed a daughter named Sterling Skye, Mandy Moore and Taylor Goldsmith welcomed a son named August Harrison

Page 34: Cover Story -- Britney Spears fights back -- she is ready to reclaim her life and she's looking to take down anyone who stands in her way, starting with her father, Jamie Spears

Page 36: In the wake of the #FreeBritney movement, Justin Timberlake who dated Britney Spears from 1999-2002, and publicly insinuated her cheating ruined their relationship, took to Instagram to offer a mea culpa, saying he wanted to apologize to Britney who he cares for and respects and he knows he failed -- he also contacted Britney directly to express his regrets over how he handled their breakup because he wanted to do the right thing and Britney accepted his apology and she was touched by the gesture and thought it was absolutely sincere and they had a nice little chat and it made Justin feel better knowing that Britney didn't hold any grudges

Page 38: They're So Grown Up -- the kids of some of Hollywood's biggest celebs are striking out on their own -- Ava Sambora is the daughter of Heather Locklear and Richie Sambora, Maya Hawke is the daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, Damian Hurley is the son of Elizabeth Hurley and Steve Bing

Page 39: Lily Sheen is the daughter of Kate Beckinsale and Michael Sheen, Jack Depp is the son of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, Lola Consuelos is the daughter of Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos

Page 40: Interview -- Dwayne Johnson -- with a new TV sitcom based on his early years, The Rock reveals all about his rollicking adventures growing up

Page 42: Slim Down for Spring -- how these stars got their best bodies ever just in time for the warmer weather

Page 46: Style Week -- Sara Sampaio is fronting Michael Kors' new campaign for its latest perfume, Gorgeous

Page 48: What's Hot Right Now -- break a sweat stylishly in LoveShackFancy X Beach Riot's limited-edition collection -- Nina Agdal

Page 49: Preppy Tennis Fashion -- Lele Sadoughi turns to '70s and '80s country club looks for its spring/summer 21 accessories

Page 50: Gift Guide -- self-care session -- pampering gifts that benefit body and mind because, hey, there's never been a better time to treat yourself -- Miranda Kerr

Page 52: Chrissy Teigen is a fan of affordable de-puffing and brightening holographic foil eye masks

Page 58: Buzz -- costars reunited -- Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay for Law & Order: Organized Crime, 13 Going on 30's Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner reconnected on the set of their upcoming movie The Adam Project

Page 59: Rachel Bilson shared a snap of herself with O.C. costar Melinda Clarke, Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel who played a beloved couple on Boy Meets World starred in Panera Bread's new commercial for Valentine's Day, Rebel Wilson and Adam Devine of Pitch Perfect met up during Super Bowl LV game in early February

Page 60: Sound Bites -- Jennifer Love Hewitt on her night out with Betty White, Henry Golding on expecting his first child, Drew Barrymore on never going under the knife, Salma Hayek discussing billionaire husband Francois-Henri Pinault

Page 61: Tiffany Haddish on taking a chill day, Colin Jost on letting Scarlett Johansson plan their wedding, Cameron Diaz on whether she plans to return to Hollywood, Kehlani on feeling sexier as a mom

Page 62: Horoscope -- Pisces Connie Britton turned 54 on March 6

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Ana de Armas

[lovelylogans]

love light gleams

previous chapter | chapter three | next chapter

part of the wyliwf verse.

the sideshire files | read my other fics | coffee?

warnings: food mentions, complicated parental relationships, teenage emancipation, emotional abuse, mentions of being disowned, mentions of transphobia and homophobia, classism, mentions of past underage drinking, crying, religious content (church, going to confession), remus cameo, mentions of choking/killing someone, something similar to the canon “have you thought about killing your brother?” monologue, please let me know if i’ve missed anything!

pairings: gen 

words: 57,686

"patton,” meredith says warmly, “and logan, too! come in, come in, let’s get you both out of the cold.”

“hi,” patton says, and shuffles into the diner. “um—sorry i’m late, but, you know. babies.”

“oh, they’ll need something right at the moment that’s most inconvenient, won’t they?” meredith says. “and no worries, the time’s really more a suggestion anyway—most of the rest of the kids aren’t here, but let me introduce you to my son, wyatt—”

mark, who’s sitting at the counter, looks like the man at the counter copy-pasted, except mark’s aged about twenty more years and is a bit softer around the belly. wyatt sets aside his fork and turns to more fully face him—the only difference, other than age, are the perfectly circular glasses that wyatt’s wearing, making his brown eyes overly large, like he’s looking through two magnifying glasses.

“hi,” patton says. “i’m patton, this is logan.”

“hello, patton,” he says, and, equally seriously, “hello, logan. may i hold him?”

“oh! sure,” patton says and passes him over. 

wyatt holds logan a little far away from his body, surveying him. logan surveys him back. wyatt tilts his head for a moment.

“he’ll suffice,” wyatt says decisively, hands logan back, and turns back to his breakfast.

“um,” patton says, juggling logan in his arms so that he’s comfortable. “thanks, i think?”

“you’re quite welcome,” wyatt says. he continues to eat his eggs.

“hey, patton,” virgil says. “merry christmas eve.”

“merry christmas eve,” patton says.

“can i get you anything?”

patton chews at his lip, and says, “hot cocoa/coffee?”

“you know the whole spiel, i’ll spare you,” virgil says.

“it’s a christmas miracle,” patton says.

“yeah, yeah,” virgil mutters, and pours him a mug.

“thanks,” patton says, accepting it. “is there a plan for the day?”

“cook a lot,” virgil says vaguely, “which we’ll eat throughout the day. um, christmas cookies, at some point.”

“oh, sugar, before i forget, you should bring in the movies from the car, so we can start the marathon,” meredith says. 

“after breakfast?” wyatt says.

meredith pauses, sighs, and says, “all right, after breakfast.”

mark says, “patton, would you like some pancakes? i’m thinking of making some and only meredith’s taken me up on it.”

“oh, i’ll eat anything,” patton says quickly. “pancakes sound great, thank you.”

“but, yeah,” virgil says and shrugs. “christmases are pretty relaxed, around here. we tend to work for half the day in the diner, but since the vast majority of my family are no longer child laborers—”

“hey,” meredith says, jokingly indignant.

“—it’s probably mostly going to be me, down here, but who knows,” virgil says. “maybe nostalgia will work in my favor, and i’ll get some unpaid laborers, and i will be shot when the revolution comes, rightfully destroyed under the hammer and sickle. anyway, we close after lunch so we can do a big dinner, we open one present of our choosing before bed. not much else goes on, for christmas eve.”

patton thinks of his past christmas eves, crammed with making appearances at holiday parties and going to church and sitting through teas and brunches and cocktail parties with business partners of his father’s, women in the same societies as his mother. 

you know what? he can take a lazy day and good food and christmas movies. that isn’t strenuous at all. he shouldn’t miss the rush of small talk that felt more like an invasive interview than anything—he’d hated it then, why is he missing it now?

“it’s the first christmas eve without a house here, though,” meredith says, cutting in, “so i’m afraid you’ll have to suffer through our various experiments on how to make all of us fit into virgil’s apartment with some degree of comfort.”

“oh, hey, speaking of comfort,” virgil says, and digs out the baby carrier, which meredith picks up before patton can even try to adjust logan to reach for it himself. 

“thanks,” patton says, and carefully settles logan into the carrier. logan babbles his thanks, and patton digs around for the new pacifier he’s just gotten him, one of logan’s admittedly few christmas gifts—logan’s old one met a bit of a dismal end in the inn’s garbage disposal—and pops it into logan’s mouth. 

for the first time since coming to sideshire, patton’s facing two days off work, and responsibilities, other than logan. it’s probably a good thing that he’s got built-in plans, because if he didn’t, he’d be sleeping for two straight days, only waking up for logan’s crying and maybe food, like, a hastily made peanut-butter-and-jelly or just whatever bag of junk food’s cheapest and closest. 

and now, he’s got a freshly-made stack of pancakes (from scratch, no less) and people to fawn over his baby and, apparently, christmas movies to watch. 

oh, huh. he hadn’t even thought about it just now—when was the last time he’d watched tv? when was the last time he’d lounged on the couch, and snacked on food, and watched tv? certainly not since logan was born. probably not even before that—patton had spent a lot of time in his room, during his pregnancy. it felt like whenever he ventured out to sit in the living room all he got were disappointed looks and irritated snaps.

months, patton decides. it had been months. maybe even a year.

so, with that strange feeling sitting heavy on his chest, he digs into his pancakes with maybe a bit more aggressive fervor than he usually does.

“thank you, mr. danes, this is delicious,” patton says, by rote, after he eats one bite. he’s still going to be polite, even if he feels funny about thinking about what he’s lost—even little things, like tv. 

losing bigger things, like his parents, potentially for forever, make him feel things a lot worse than funny.

but he’s not going to think about that today or tomorrow, he tells himself firmly. after christmas, he’ll have six days between christmas and the new year. he’ll think about it and make a decision then, even if the thought roils his stomach and makes the pancakes a little more difficult to swallow down than usual.

“mark, please,” mark says, looking pleased with himself.

“good luck with that,” virgil says dryly. “i think the only reason i’m not mr. danes is because you didn’t find out my last name until a couple weeks after we met.”

“it’s polite.”

“it’s not a sin to call people by their first names,” virgil counters.

“it’s a sign of respect to call people by their title,” patton counters. “you know, for my elders.”

“ elders!” virgil squawks indignantly. “i’m not an elder, i’m twenty-three!”

“and i’m sixteen! therefore, you’re an elder.”

virgil mutters something along the lines of when you’re twenty-three i’m reminding you of this conversation, which is an absolutely mind-boggling concept. twenty-three. that had never sounded like a year patton would make it to. even seventeen seems practically insurmountable.

patton manages to say something along the lines of “yeah and when i’m twenty-three, you’ll still be my elder,” even while he’s thinking about it. twenty-three. logan would be… six, seven . walking, talking, reading, writing. in school. he’d know what foods he’d like and hate and have favorite subjects and least favorite subjects and if he preferred math to english or science to history and he’d have friends and maybe even a crush.  

logan growing up— that’s what’s insurmountable. not this tiny little baby who, currently, seems to be estimating how far he can throw his pacifier and if papa will go and get it for him, pulling it up out of nowhere. patton would know if logan’s eyes, now that shade of brown that matches his, will have stuck around, if logan will favor him or christopher or both or maybe even neither. if he’ll be tall or short, athletic or academic. if he’ll grow up with or without grandparents.

logan can stay a baby for quite a while longer.

patton is saved from this particular line of thinking when freddie arrives and immediately pounces onto wyatt’s back with a holler of delight, which wyatt tolerates with what patton’s starting to think is his typical placidity. 

freddie then proceeds to pepper him with questions, hiking up the leg of her jeans to proudly display a massive bruise on her knee that her parents exclaim over. 

“can you check it?” she asks, but wyatt’s already patiently taking her knee between both hands, adjusting his glasses.

“does it hurt very badly when i do this?” wyatt says, pressing his fingers to it lightly.

“no.”

“how about now?”

“other than it just being more pressure? no.”

wyatt looks at her over his glasses, unamused. “you’re just doing this to see if, in my medical opinion, this might possibly be the biggest bruise i’ve ever seen, aren’t you.”

freddie grins at him beatifically.

“a choreographer wanted to do a number where i never touch the ground and they just hurl me in the air the whole time, from person to person,” freddie says. “i’ve got tons.”

wyatt sighs. “i anticipate more demonstrations forthwith.”

“no showing off battle wounds in my diner!” virgil shouts from the kitchen.

freddie pouts.

“my apartment,” virgil says, emerging, “is right there. do your weird world-record-seeking stuff away from the food.”

“world record?” patton asks.

“it’s freddie’s not-so-secret ambition to do a world record, of some kind,” virgil says. “i’m not even sure if she cares what it is.”

“preferably something with acrobatics, but i’m flexible—“

“no physical puns!”

“you never let me have fun!” freddie sulks, but she is lowering her arms from where she’d been about to interlock them behind her back, to do something incredibly weird with her body because her bones seem like they’re made of rubber, patton’s guessing.

“do you need ice?” mark asks freddie, frowning at her in concern and passing a hand over her hair. “you’ve been icing and bandaging everything properly, right?”

“...yep,” freddie says.

“winifred,” wyatt says, handily polishing off his eggs, “i will offer you an escape from parental smothering by means of asking if you would like to help me carry in christmas movies from my car.”

“oh, thank god,” freddie says.

“my name is wyatt,” he says. patton isn’t fully sure if he’s kidding.

“i know, big guy,” freddie says fondly, and meredith rolls her eyes even as her children both make their getaways.

“what on earth are we going to do with that girl,” she comments to mark.

“she’s run away to the circus, dear,” mark says, “i don’t think there’s much else for us to do.”

a pause.

“i’m going to send her back with a care package of ice packs and ace bandages, though,” mark decides. “just to be safe. it never hurts to have them.”

meredith smiles and rubs his arm. “that’s a good plan.”

parenting, patton thinks. just to be safe seems like a pretty integral part of parenting, planning too. it’s good advice, even if they didn’t mean for it to be advice. the danes’ seem like a good example to follow.

logan bops at his pacifier hard enough that it falls out of his mouth and onto the counter, with a delighted babble at the demonstration of gravity.

he guesses he’s got a while to go before he has to worry about all that, though.

  patton has never seen the diner so crowded.

he and annabelle have managed to lay claim to one of the tiny tables in the corner—well, “lay claim,” they were there before any of these people—and patton watches. 

they were going to watch a movie, but after all the siblings got there meredith ended up helping out a waitress who looked ready to tip over under the weight of all the plates she’d been carrying, and then one thing led to another, and now patton and annabelle were watching the danes family at work, like none of them had ever left.

meredith and freddie are a rapid-fire chatty team at the counter, with frequent gales of laughter from their customers.

essie and wyatt flit around the diner, taking orders and making well-timed quips (essie) or observations (wyatt.) wyatt doesn’t even need a pen—he just remembers everyone’s orders, down to the condiments.

silas, who is apparently much stronger than he looks, is toting the weight of two fully-loaded trays at any given time for the elder two siblings.

virgil and mark occasionally emerge from the kitchen, but patton can hear sizzling and knives chopping and the smell speaks for itself—spices and sugar and so much good food that patton’s considering—

“brunch?” annabelle asks.

“oh, thank god,” patton says, “it smells so good in here, i was getting hungry again.”

“do you wanna each get something and split it?” annabelle says. “just so we have some options.”

“that sounds great,” patton says. “um, is there any food you don’t want to get? like, allergies, personal preferences, that kind of thing? that seems like the easiest place to start.”

he and annabelle slowly whittle down the menu—it turns out annabelle’s very open to just about every food option—and annabelle waves enthusiastically to essie, who perks up and prances over to their table.

“hey,” she says brightly.

“hey,” annabelle says, smiling, and accepts the kiss that essie presses to her cheek. 

“you guys doing okay?” essie asks, sticking her pen into the knot of brown hair piled on top of her head. “i kind of got sucked back in, sorry.”

“i’ve got patton to keep me company, we’re okay,” annabelle says, smiling.

“oh, right, good,” essie says. “patton, this exact thing happened last year and i felt so bad, annabelle was just sitting alone in a corner for half the day, but—“

“hey, it’s cool,” annabelle says. “i had a book to read.”

essie frowns. “still—”

“you’re spending time with your family,” annabelle says. “go fetch us some french toast and waffles and caffeine, and i’ll consider forgiving you.”

she’s clearly joking, and essie smiles, relieved.

“love you,” essie says.

“i love you too, babe,” annabelle says, and essie’s smile widens before she practically floats back to the counter to turn in their order.

“how long have you two been together?” patton asks annabelle.

“oh, years,” annabelle says. “seven or eight, give or take.”

“wow,” patton says softly.

“yeah,” annabelle says, and a goofy kind of grin spreads across her face. “she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, i can handle a morning watching her have fun with her family, y’know? it makes her happy. plus, i’d be useless doing anything with... that.”

“me, too,” patton says.

“and, i mean, now you’re here,” annabelle says. “so i’ve got someone to chat with, which is good, because i forgot to pack a book this year.”

patton laughs, mostly to be polite, and says, “i guess that is good, yeah. um, so, how did you and essie meet?”

“college,” annabelle says. “we were roommates, and then, well. one thing led to another. best random assignment i could have gotten.”

“that’s really awesome,” patton says sincerely, and that sets annabelle off on a “I Love My Fiancée” tangent which patton is really happy to listen to. essie is, according to annabelle, the sweetest, most thoughtful, caring, wonderful person that she’s ever met, and she’s so excited to spend the rest of her life with her, and she can only hope that she will stack up so that she’ll be able to deserve her, and when essie is approaching to drop off their food, she’s blushing, so she must have overheard, and annabelle grins.

“you really don’t need to be so shy,” annabelle quips, and essie blushes a little more.

“well, you don’t have to be so loudly happy about it,” essie mumbles.

“of course i’m going to be happy about you, why wouldn’t i be happy about you?” annabelle counters. “you’re going to be my wife.”

essie beams at the very idea, and, with another kiss on the cheek, she floats back toward the counter, where freddie clearly begins teasing her, complete with heart-clutching and dramatic fake swooning.

“so,” annabelle says, after patton takes a forkful of french toast, “what’s your story? virgil hasn’t really told any of us much.”

patton slows his chewing as much as he can, trying to formulate an answer. well, see, i got pregnant and ran away from home and now i’m torn between breaking my parents’ hearts or mine, depending on the choice i make?

“well,” patton begins cautiously. “i’m, um, it’s—well, i, um. it’s.”

“complicated?” annabelle asks. “i mean, it’s—y’know. me too.”

patton blinks. 

“i’m from texas,” annabelle elaborates. “small-town texas. um. you can probably fill in the stereotypes from there. i fully cut off contact with my parents about four years ago.”

“oh,” patton says, and it’s like the word is punched out of him. “i—i’m really sorry.”

annabelle shrugs. “it is what it is,” she says. “anyway. the danes’ have been great. i’ve been coming to holidays with them since i graduated college and, you know. came out to my parents.”

patton chews his lip, and admits, “mine’s not quite the same situation, but—but close.”

“yeah?”

“yeah.”

he isn’t sure if he should say more—he has a vague feeling he should probably elaborate, but the idea of having a breakdown in the diner again is. not his idea of a fun christmas eve morning.

“that’s rough, dude,” annabelle says. “um, esther’s the emotionally capable one, so, sorry, but. you want some waffles?”

patton snorts.

“yeah,” he says. “okay, sure. i’ll have some waffles.”

⁂

"okay, so, you wanna pick, lo?” patton says to logan, holding up the cookie cutters in front of logan, but far enough away that he won’t grab at it. “stars or angels.”

logan considers his options. then, making a cooing noise, he very clearly reaches for the shiny silver star cookie-cutter.

“good choice!” patton cheers, and leans in to kiss logan on the forehead. “stars it is. it’s a shame you don’t have teeth to eat these with.”

he puts his finger in logan’s hand, so he has something to grab at, and sets the cookie cutter out of sight. logan then proceeds to drag patton’s finger toward his mouth, just to chew at it. as patton expected.

“oh, that’s a good idea,” meredith says, and then holds up a christmas tree and a reindeer cookie cutter in logan’s line of sight. with his free hand that isn’t currently holding patton’s finger to his mouth, he reaches for the tree.

and so begins a parade of people consulting the baby on cookie shape choices. granted, sometimes logan doesn’t always make a choice—at silas, logan makes a disdainful noise and starts chewing on patton’s finger with even more fervor, seeming to glower at him—but he does reach for quite a few choices, with no pattern that patton can decipher. 

at one point, he gets a bit frustrated that he can’t hold any of the things that are being held in front of him, so virgil digs up two blunt, plastic cookie cutters, which means patton is free to wash his hands as logan starts mouthing at a snowflake-shaped cookie cutter, the mitten-shaped one cast aside. 

now that the lunch rush is done, the diner’s officially closed for christmas eve and christmas, which means that it’s time for the danes’ to start making christmas cookies. they’re like a well-oiled machine—there’s tons of home-made sugar cookie and gingerbread dough, with essie and freddie making frosting together, freddie occasionally flicking dyed frosting toward her siblings, and essie would only sometimes catch her wrist with a kind of scolding laugh.

virgil, with a streak of purple across his cheek and a clump in his hair, helps patton and annabelle figure out how to best utilize the dough they have, so that they’ll have maximum cookie and minimum scraps. 

all the while, christmas music plays, filling up any noise that isn’t taken over by conversations amongst the danes’. and there are conversations. listen, patton’s used to a lot of conversations echoing around a room, but he’s used to people in his parents’ world with their quiet, politely pitched voices, so that their gossip and snide commentary wouldn’t carry to their targets.

the danes’ have no such concerns.

their loud, booming laughs and indignant squawks and clamorous chatter and roaring responses and impassioned, ranting interruptions could maybe be heard from outside, let alone within the same room. it’s cacophonous, rowdy chaos.

any unwritten, strict rules of conversation that patton’s been preached to have been cheerfully thrown out the window. he can jump from conversation to conversation as he pleases, and no one seems to mind that he does because everyone’s doing the same thing. he can join mark and meredith’s debate over what constitutes a good christmas cookie, then chime in on his opinion on a book that he, annabelle, and wyatt have all read, and back up virgil when freddie pokes fun at him.

even virgil and silas, whose argument patton remembers vividly, are bumping elbows, and silas tousles virgil’s hair as he traps him under his arm, but it’s less like a dangerous, harmful thing and more like sibling squabbling, especially considering freddie joins right in by leaping on silas and yelling “YOUNGEST SIBLINGS ALLIANCE!” and essie trying to yank her off while proclaiming about the twinly treaty, while wyatt watches calmly from the sidelines and mark and meredith break them up with the weary, well-meaning tones of parents who have done this a million times before.

patton’s never seen anything so different; he’s an only child, from such a different world, and chris, his closest friend, is an only child, too. siblings are so strange. there are no manners. there aren’t any lingering hurt feelings. it’s almost like family time out of a movie, except it’s so much more chaotic and messy.

patton loves it.

as the cookies bake, the entire family works together to start decorating the tree, placed proudly in the center of the diner. none of the matchy-matchy, expensive, fancy ornaments that patton was never allowed to touch. cardboard boxes full of past childhood ornaments made during school, which erupt into various stories and reminiscing about the sideshire schoolteachers, cheesy souvenir ornaments from the various travels of every danes, including some new ones that mean lots of questions about what they’d been doing there, a popcorn-and-cranberry garland that essie, annabelle, and silas are still making even as wyatt drapes it round and round the tree. 

somehow, the whole gaudy thing works; glinting with glittery ornaments and two strands of lights, it’s visible from the outside, when patton obligingly steps out to check and see. he helps everyone stack their presents under the tree—it turns out, the danes' have some color-coding going for their gifts. gold wrapping paper means they're presents for mrs. danes, silver for mr. danes, green for wyatt, red for essie, pink for annabelle, black for silas, yellow for freddie, purple for virgil. so patton ends up kind of organizing the presents so it's like a color wheel around the tree; everyone's presents, all together so they can just go to their color instead of hunt every present ringing the tree.

even as disorganized as they seem, it’s clear that the danes’ are a well-oiled machine, because by the time everyone decrees the tree satisfactory the cookies are cooled enough to decorate.

“i’ve never actually decorated cookies like this before,” patton says, as virgil passes him a piping bag full of icing—they’re splitting up all the icing into tiny bowls and piping bags, so everyone’s got their own little icing station. everyone's already wearing an old meredith's branded apron, from before virgil took over the diner.

“what, with a piping bag?” virgil asks. "it's pretty easy, once you get the hang of it, you can practice on some of that wax paper if you want—"

"no, i mean," patton says, "we usually order christmas cookies to send to people. like, caterers or bakeries usually take care of it. i've never actually gotten to make my own christmas cookies."

there is dead silence around the prepping station in the diner's kitchen. then:

" what," freddie breathes out, disbelievingly. "never? never ever?!"

"never ever," patton agrees. "i mean, maybe when i was really tiny, but—"

"you've never even made a ginger you?" essie says, incredulous. "or—a gingerbread house? not even one of the ones that come in kits?"

patton briefly imagines his mom's reaction if he brought in some cheap, pre-made gingerbread house to assemble. to make a mess, in her kitchen? even if she never actually used the kitchen, it’s still hers, and—

patton shakes his head, and there's an explosion of questions— have you never decorated a cookie EVER, do you even eat gingerbread, do you bake stuff usually—?

"well, i've baked stuff before, but," patton says, and swats at virgil when he snorts.

"you burned 'em, didn't you?"

patton huffs, but doesn't deny it. because, well. he did. it's really probably for the best that the professionals were in charge of these christmas cookies, because he definitely would have messed them up somehow.

"what do you eat on christmas?" silas demands.

"um," patton says, scratching at his temple, "whatever catering that people have got, on christmas eve, and my parents usually have a party on christmas that has these amazing apple tarts, i swear they're the best part of christmas—"

"well, at least there's some kind of traditional dessert," meredith says.

"not all families are so food-centric, dear," mark says.

"well, i know, but." meredith says. " still. no christmas cookies, ever?"

"well, that does it, then," freddie says decisively. "you get first pick."

there's a rush of agreement from everyone—well, silas is silent, but he doesn't disagree—and patton tilts his head quizzically.

"get a dozen of these, whichever ones you want," virgil says, gesturing to the huge amount of cookies on the cooling rack. 

"surely you're going to make a gingerbread self," wyatt says, and there's a burst of recommendations of what cookies he should get, pointing to the best specimens of each cookie shape, and patton just kind of ends up going for a little bit of everything—stars, trees, a reindeer, an angel, an ornament, a snowman, a bell, and yes, a gingerbread man—and stares, bemused, at the tools virgil sets in front of him.

"um," patton says, and virgil laughs—not in a mean way, but still enough to make patton flush a little. 

"okay," he says. "so, when you hold a piping bag, there are a couple grips you can go with, and it mostly depends on the kind of decoration you're doing... "

and so begins patton's lessons in frosting christmas cookies. 

mark shows him how to best ensure that there aren't any air bubbles in the icing.

meredith tells him about how to mix together icing on wax paper to get the exact color he wants, like he's a painter or something.

wyatt, with his steady surgeon's hands, shows him how to ice beautiful, delicate-looking flowers.

essie shows him how to best press down sprinkles without getting stray bits stuck where he doesn't want them.

annabelle, laughingly, demonstrates the best way to push his hair out of his eyes without accidentally smearing pastel blue frosting across his forehead.

freddie demonstrates how to throw cookies like ninja-style throwing stars, but that's less a decoration lesson and more of a way to directly target someone who teases her about her messy cookies.

even silas shows him how to use a toothpick to get even, straight lines.

and virgil helps him fix his mistakes, and helps him move things when his hands are too sticky to move anything without getting it messy too, and even helps break down a cookie so he can make a little gingerbread baby, for logan.

and even if patton's icing jobs look messy in comparison to mark's practiced work, or wyatt's even, steady lines, they fit right in with freddie's colorful, smudged ones, and annabelle's, which she mostly requests essie's help with.

"it's really more about the fun of the thing," meredith says, when she sees him looking between wyatt's and his own. "did you have fun?"

patton grins and nods, and she gives him a thumbs up.

"well then," she says decisively. "i mean, they're all going to have the same thing happen to them. and even if they're messy, i promise you they'll taste just as good. go on."

so patton picks up a star, the first one he'd iced—with shaky little blue swirls and silver glitter—and crunches into it.

it's just crisp enough on the outside and soft on the inside, with sugary, yummy icing, and, well. even if patton's icing might be a bit ugly, he can't deny that meredith's right.

so he picks up a blank star, and he starts icing again.

⁂

“logan,” patton says, around a mouthful of gingersnap cookie, “it seriously is a shame that you don’t have teeth to eat these.”

logan, who’s fixated on the television—virgil guesses all the colors and sounds must be super interesting, to a baby—doesn’t seem to care very much.

"these are the best christmas cookies i’ve ever had, ever,” patton says sincerely. “thank you.”

“you’ve said that a million times,” meredith says, amused. “you’re welcome.”

she passes him another as she speaks. honestly, virgil would kind of start interceding, but his mom has the same “must feed” gene that he does, except she doesn’t pay as much attention to things like nutritional value. he doesn’t blame her; patton’s wearing an old sweater that’s been handed down to him, and it's big enough that it makes him look pretty scrawny.

some danes’ (silas, mark, and wyatt) are in the kitchen, making an endless parade of appetizers and snacky-type things that are fighting for space on virgil's coffee table, shoved to the side of the room, whereas others (meredith, freddie, essie, and annabelle) are parked in virgil’s living room with him and patton to watch the collection of christmas movies wyatt had lugged in from his car.

currently, ralphie is fantasizing about going blind from soap poisoning as freddie mouths dramatically along with his parents’ wailing, she and virgil parked beside each other on the ground. freddie doesn’t move too much, though, because she’d loudly complained at essie until she’d started playing with her hair. so essie had obliged, one hand poking out from the blanket she's tangled under with annabelle, brushing her fingers absently through freddie’s hair.

his mom’s in an armchair, which leaves patton lying down on the loveseat so that logan can get some tummy time, heads turned so that they can watch tv. patton keeps absently running his hand up and down logan’s back—well, admittedly, there isn’t much to run his hand up and down, he’s a baby, and a somewhat small baby for his age, at that—and virgil can see logan’s eyes, reflecting the light of the tv.

virgil notices out of the corner of his eyes that he’s seeing less and less of patton’s eyes. they go half-lidded, then closing before occasionally opening, and then—

“patton,” he says softly, just as an experiment, and patton doesn’t so much as stir. it does, however, draw his mother’s attention.

“oh, poor thing’s all tuckered out, isn’t he?” his mom comments, in a suitable undertone.

“yeah, he’s been pretty strung-out lately,” virgil murmurs, and, hesitantly, gets to his feet, hunting for a blanket he’s got stashed somewhere. and then a little odd dance ensues; he puts the blanket over patton without covering logan up too much, and then, carefully, ever so carefully, he lifts logan from patton’s chest and secures him in his arms.

“i didn’t want him to fall,” he explains to his mom, as he tugs the blanket the rest of the way up, to cover patton.

“probably a smart choice,” his mom says. “i could take him, if—“

“no, that’s okay,” virgil says, looking down at logan as he adjusts his hold; logan seems to cuddle closer, and virgil stares as logan lets out a squeaky, strange little yawn. 

“you’re sleepy too, huh?” he asks, and logan’s tongue pokes out, just a little, just enough that something in virgil’s heart feels like it’s swelling from the sheer adorableness of it. 

so virgil settles on the ground in front of the loveseat, and keeps his hold on logan, watching as his eyes slide shut, too.

“strung out?” his mom asks, and virgil would shrug, if he wasn’t holding a baby that’s slowly falling asleep.

“logan’s got colic,” virgil explains in an undertone, “which we’ll probably hear, soon enough, and he’s been working a lot.” a beat, and then, “i think he’s having trouble sleeping too.”

honestly, virgil’s pretty relieved that he’s fallen asleep; the bags under his eyes have been growing deeper and deeper, and his requests for caffeine have started to slide from jokingly desperate to actually desperate.

his mother tsks and murmurs “poor thing” and virgil can practically see her plotting before his very eyes. you know what? not the worst thing in the world. patton could afford some motherly spoiling during his first christmas away from his family. 

hadn’t that kind of been the intention when he’d asked patton and logan to join the family christmas, anyway?

and so his mother plots, and logan snoozes, and essie and annabelle snuggle, and freddie acts along, and patton sleeps.

and keeps sleeping.

the fact that danes’ and colicky logan keep quiet for as long as they do is a miracle. they ensue in furiously silent rock-paper-scissors matches to see whose movie of choice is played next, and when they do speak, it’s in whispers. and logan—honestly, virgil’s not sure if he’s ever been so quiet for such a long stretch of time in his whole life. he’s quiet during the grinch that stole christmas, and love actually, and it happened on fifth avenue, and he fusses a little during the santa clause, but it’s easily enough fixed. well. with his dad’s help.

but patton’s nap is starting to move into full day’s sleep by the time his dad is loading in home alone, and logan lets out a piteous wail, and patton starts awake, hand going to where logan was lying on his chest, and virgil quickly turns so that patton can see logan in his arms.

“oh, hey,” patton mumbles, reaches for logan, and gets to his feet. “hey, hey, hey, you feeling okay?”

“we changed him, earlier,” virgil says, and then patton seems to notice that the sun has set, and he startles again.

“i,” he says, and shakes himself. “sorry, virgil, i can’t remember where your bathroom is—?”

virgil points, and patton goes. 

“after this one, i think it’ll be dinnertime,” his dad says thoughtfully.

“finally, i’m starving,” silas says. “did we have to delay it for so long?”

“don’t be mean, silas,” essie chides gently. “we’ve waited while you took naps.”

“yeah, when we were four,” silas says.

“silas matthew,” their father scolds wearily, and silas scowls, fixating his stare on the tv screen, effectively ignoring the rest of them. but he doesn’t shift away when essie nudges him, then puts a hand on his arm, as if to keep him on her left side, annabelle to her right.

well, essie’s always been able to get through to silas when none of them ever have. virgil guesses it’s the twin thing.

if silas stops being an asshole for one day, it’ll be a christmas miracle.

⁂

patton feels... fuzzy.

that’s the best way he knows how to put it, or, at least, it’s the best way he can come up with right now. he isn’t sure how long he’d slept—it had to have been hours—but such a huge amount of sleep at an unexpected time has patton feeling slow, and dazed, and stupid, but that that last bit isn’t too unusual.

the danes’ have kindly—what else is new, they’ve been nothing but kind—been politely quiet about how long it takes patton to catch up to their conversations, or understand their jokes, or tune in to their requests to pass coasters or if he wants a bite of the appetizers they’re snacking on as they wind down home alone.

patton’s claimed the floor. they’d tried to get him to stay on the loveseat, when he came back from feeding logan, but he’d refused. he’d monopolized it all day, and really, if he fell asleep again then patton would be kissing goodbye to any ragged semblance of a sleep schedule that he still had.

so patton’s on the floor, and mr. and mrs. danes have taken over the loveseat, with virgil beside him on the ground and annabelle in the armchair and wyatt examining freddie’s ankle flexibility, or something, on the couch, freddie peppering him with questions all the while.

essie and silas... huh. patton actually has no idea where essie and silas have got off to. last patton knew, essie had gone back to help silas make some adult-only drinks (”absolutely none for either of you!” meredith had said, clearly not aware of patton’s history with drinking adult drinks since he was about thirteen) about... well, half an hour ago, maybe, and they haven’t been back since.

it’s been easy to be distracted, though, because he’s pretty sure that mrs. danes’ favorite drink is apparently spiked eggnog, and she’s certainly had enough to show it, a pretty pink blush high in her pale cheeks. she’s leaning over, again, cooing softly at logan, who babbles gleefully and reaches for her understated, dully glinting jewelry.

“little hands,” she coos, poking him in the midst of his chubby little palms, and logan babbles, smiling, as she squishes her hands gently between her fingers. 

“little feets! itty bitty baby feets!”

logan squeals as she squishes his feet much in the same way, kicking, and patton doesn’t even realize he’s beaming wide until meredith reaches over to gently squish his cheek between her fingers, too, in a move that’s so thoughtlessly, habitually maternal, so casual in its kindness and affection, it strikes patton dumb.

affection’s been hard to come by, for a lot of his life. affection gives without expectation or later price to pay has been even rarer, maybe even nonexistent. even after his time in sideshire, where it seems to overflow, it overwhelms him.

“and,” she says, turning her attention back to the baby, “a... little... noooose!”

logan proceeds making delightful baby noises, and even tries for a few claps of his hands, the way patton’s been showing him, and patton leans in to gently clap above him again, just to show him.

“yay, logan!” he cheers quietly. “yay! can you say yay?”

he knows it’s too early to except logan to talk, but really, yay isn’t that complicated of a word. it’s just one syllable, and really, logan’s babbling in semi-recognizable syllables now anyway.  

“how about a laugh?” patton prods. “you’re so close, can i get a laugh?”

logan’s gotten so close to laughing, and he’s on track to laugh, even if it’d be early it’s not unheard of early, so maybe this’ll do it. he’d love it if he heard his son’s first laugh tonight.

he’s such a smart baby, patton thinks, swelling with pride. really, logan might just be the smartest baby that’s ever lived. he’s pretty sure that every parent thinks that, but really, patton’s pretty sure that he’s the right one here.

patton, so overcome by paternal happiness, sweeps logan up into his arms and waltzes his way to his feet, spinning, as he presses noisy kisses into logan’s cheeks, mwahmwahmwahmwahmwah! as logan shrieks and squeals and patton spins, so full of love for him, and—

and in the midst of his spin, he looks at just the right time, he glimpses a clear shot to virgil’s balcony.

well, it’s really too teeny to be a full balcony, like his balcony back at his parents’ house, so it’s really only enough space for two-ish people and a near-indestructible potted fern. it’s more of a mezzanine, or whatever the mini-version of a balcony is called.

and there are two people clustered together. silas, his arms wrapped around his stomach, and even in the low light and the distance patton can see that his face is achingly vulnerable, as he bows his head, and essie, equally obviously, empathetic, reaches out her hands to put on his shoulders, and patton just barely sees a snatch of essie pulling her brother into a hug, holding him tight, and that’s it, that’s all patton sees before he continues twirling with his son.

he doesn’t look again. it’s what he’d want, if he was silas. besides, that seems like a pretty private family thing.

⁂

patton’s sure he’s never had such a well-fed, delicious christmas eve in his life, and he hasn’t even eaten dinner yet .

everything looks absolutely mouthwatering—it’s the traditional kind of christmas day meal that he usually has at his parents’, turkey and mashed potatoes and rolls and that kind of thing, except the danes version has clear deviations: green bean casserole, which he’s never had, he doesn’t think, sweet potato casserole with brown sugar and pecans on top, fresh cranberry sauce instead of canned, homemade gravy instead of store-bought, corn made off the cob instead of canned. 

they’d dragged together some tables in the diner rather than attempt to engineer virgil’s tiny table to get nine people (plus a baby) to fit, so they're all seated beside the christmas tree. he’s got his back to the doorway leading to virgil’s apartment, so he’d be able to steal away and tend to logan faster without disturbing anyone, if logan needed it, and he probably would. he’d been so quiet when patton had napped, he’s sure that his schedule’s gotten pretty messed up, too. logan is parked in the carrier, on a booth table, clearly visible to everyone at the table.

well, really, it's mostly for patton's benefit, he's pretty sure, because once he looks away from his son to start paying attention to the conversations around him, he looks back right in time to see meredith looking at him knowingly.  

patton smiles, sheepishly, and she nods, as if to say i get it. well, she's had five kids. she probably gets it more than he does. actually, she definitely gets it more than he does. patton's absolutely clueless.

but before either of them can say anything, mark gently taps a spoon against his plastic cup—it doesn't provide as clear a ting-ting-ting as the crystal-cut glasses his parents would use—and everyone quiets down.

mark lifts his cup.

"another year gone," he says. "it's been wonderful to see you all in town again. now that we're all getting older, it hits me each and every year how precious this time is. of course, i'm proud of you— all of you—are going out there and making your own life, but i can't help but think about how bittersweet it is that family time is getting fewer and far between."

"aw, dad," freddie mumbles.

" but, " mark continues. "again. i am very proud. of all of you."

he meets eyes with everyone at the table, and, after he's inclined his head ever so slightly at patton, patton stares down at his empty plate.

not you, he scolds himself. of course he's not proud of you, he's barely known you for six days and honestly, what have you done to make anyone proud of you?

it doesn't stop the rebellious little flare of warmth that he feels, though.

"the past few days have been wonderful. i have cherished this time together. i love being your dad—" annabelle looks choked up—"whether you're with me or if you're out making your own life. so," he says, and lifts a glass. "i'll keep the sappy stuff short, as we have this fantastic meal laid out before us. so. merry christmas and a happy new year, everyone."

"merry christmas," everyone rumbles, lifting their glass, and patton belatedly does so too. mark lifts up the platter of cut turkey, and meredith helps herself, before doing the same for him, and the passing of food begins.

patton's plate just about overflows.

"you know you can get seconds," virgil says to him an undertone, amused, and patton flushes as he attempts to stack his rolls back from where they've toppled off his plate.

"everything looks so good," he says defensively. 

"again," virgil says, who really has no room to talk, his food's about to spill over the edges of his plate too, "seconds."

patton decides to do the mature thing: he sticks out his tongue at virgil, shoves one of his rolls into his mouth practically whole, and then tries not to choke on his overlarge mouthful.

virgil stifles his laughter into his glass of wine.

patton's right to have so much on his plate, because everything is amazing. patton's world full of fiddly food, more about the aesthetic and the finery than the actual taste, would have never dreamed of having food like this, but honestly, everyone might have been a bit more cheerful if they'd stooped to eating food that was prepared in a diner. 

if he'd had these warm, fluffy dinner rolls. if he'd had the fragrant, fruity, frankly yummy fresh cranberry sauce he gets to smear over his rolls. if he'd had these buttery, yummy mashed potatoes with a pool of gravy that he can soak up with his bread. if he'd had the opportunity to try green bean casserole with the crumbly little french onion bits on top. if he'd had sweet potato casserole, which patton goes back for seconds before he's even finished his first serving. if he'd had this moist, good turkey, rather than the tradition of his father having first carve and then it being ferried away for the servants to do the actual carving.

if he'd had people who, even as they gently teased him about taking more food, loaded more on his plate when he was looking away, if he'd had people who were earnest about wanting to know what he'd thought, if he'd had people who were as welcoming of him being the way he is, if he'd had people who were less critical and more accepting, then maybe he would...

patton firmly redirects his thoughts. i'm deciding after christmas. after christmas. pay attention to what's happening now. 

and, in what patton's starting to think is typical of danes style, there's a lot to pay attention to; granted, there aren't a ton of conversations happening because of the spectacular, delicious food, but there are still a couple peppering the table that jump freely from topic to topic. there's also a lot of wordless gestures for certain foods (the rolls make quite a few rotations around the table) and salt and pepper and so on, and every once in a while someone will get up to refill their drink and will be met with a flurry of requests, but for the most part, it's... quiet. easy.

warm, patton thinks. it's warm. not just temperature-wise—it is nice and toasty in the diner—but it's warm in the sense of how the danes' interact with each other. there are a lot of smiles and compliments on the food and conversation, and... and at this point on a typical holiday, patton's shoulders would be tensed up, waiting for some kind of comment, except he's never made it this far into the holiday without that kind of comment and stop stop stop.

there is one thing, without fail, that makes patton feel better. so patton gets to his feet and shuffles over to check on logan, who looks close to falling asleep, pacifier solidly in his mouth, and patton reaches out to run a thumb gently down his cheek.

"you okay?" he asks him softly, and logan blinks at him slowly once, twice, and patton feels the corner of his lip quirk up.

"yeah, you're okay," he says, in the same soft tone, relieved. and you will be okay, i promise. no matter what happens, i'll make sure you're okay.

"is he good?" comes from behind him, making patton jump. he turns back to virgil, who's looking at him quizzically, still seated at the table.

"yeah, he's good," patton says, and smiles wryly at him. "i mean, no telling how long it'll last, but—"

"yeah, he's good," virgil says, and cocks his head. "he looks ready to fall asleep, doesn't he?"

"yeah," patton says, and takes a breath. he'd been right, seeing logan does make him feel better. "i should probably leave him to it."

"he'll need you, soon enough," virgil says, so patton goes and sits back down at his spot at the table.

it has calmed him down—it's like just taking a second with logan has provided the same effect of a whole, calming day at his parents', not just a few seconds.

so patton throws himself back into the conversation, and keeps glancing over at logan, who even offers him a wave or a noise every once in a while, and it feels... right. it just feels right .

[marshmallow-phd]

Innocent Intentions

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Supernatural, Wolf Au

Pairing: Tao x Reader

Summary: There was one thing you couldn’t stand in all your years at college: playboys. And the campus was riddled with them. So when Tao - a player with a particularly well-known reputation - inserts himself into your life, you come up with a plan to get rid of him, whether he makes your heart race or not. But the more he’s the around, the more you just might find there’s a hidden layer underneath all the rumors, including a secret you never could have guessed….

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11 I 12 I 13 I 14 I Final

**

You knew you shouldn’t have walked into the math lab on Friday hoping for a different outcome, but you did anyway and the level of disappointment that you came as a shock. Tao stayed true to his word and didn’t showed up for another “tutoring session”. It was pointless to call them that anymore as he didn’t need the help. Hell, he was probably better at it than you. But you liked spending that time with him. You liked his stupid jokes and the way a sparkle appeared in his eyes when he was looking at you. It made you feel… well, it made you feel pretty damn special. And the way he was constantly chasing after you even when it would be easier to turn to the next girl… let’s just say that your faith in him was growing each and every day.

For an hour or so, you sat at your usual table, alone and bored, waiting for this to be the one time he really lied to you and showed up unannounced. You wouldn’t even mind the fib. You’d let it slide because – although admitting it, even just to yourself, was a little humiliating – you missed him.

Groaning, you let your head fall to the table with a hard thunk, not caring about the others around you who probably turned to see what the commotion was.

“You okay, (y/n)?”

You looked up, just slightly turning your head to the side without having to lift it up completely so you could see the intruder. It was Jae. You sighed. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just… bored.”

“Well, would you want to finally go grab that coffee?” A very hopeful look was shimmering in Jae’s gaze. Why hadn’t you ever realized before that he liked you like this? Or had he always  been so obvious in the past? Maybe you were now simply more sensitive to it. Poor thing was just a little too late.

You searched for an excuse that sounded real and not pulled out of the air, but each one sounded worse than the last. “Um, well, I-” Your phone vibrated against the table. Saved by the bell. Holding up a finger to Jae to tell him to wait, you slid the green phone icon across the screen to answer the call. “Hey, Wyatt, what’s up?”

“Hey, what are you doing right now?” Wyatt sounded jittery, excited. That was never a good sign.

“Nothing,” you replied nervously. “What’s up?”

“Good. Get your butt over to my place.”

You scoffed playfully. “Why?”

“Just get over here!”

“Okay, okay. I’ll be there in five minutes.” You hung up before Wyatt could tell you to get there in four. Shooting Jae an apologetic look, you explained, “Sorry. Wyatt called and it’s some sort of emergency. Maybe another time?” You cringed internally at adding that open-ended suggestion at the end. Now you were digging yourself a hole that you would have to climb out of all over again in the future.

“Yeah,” Jae nodded sadly. “Maybe another time.”

“I’ll see you later.” You ran out of the math lab, guilt taking a ride on your shoulder until you finally flicked it off outside in the courtyard. There was nothing to feel guilty about. Wyatt called and as one of your best friends, he took priority over a cup of coffee that you weren’t too keen on getting anyway.

Crossing campus, you headed for the Greek court where a majority of the sorority and fraternity houses were located. When Wyatt told you freshman year that he was going to participate in rush week, you were worried that he might have been a little over his head. But the loser fit right in and had been enjoying his time with his “brothers”. You were thankful that he still carved out more than enough time for you and Kendall and he hadn’t turned into one of the huge jerks you’d seen in every college movie ever made.

As you walked into the frat house, the other members strewn across the main room simply waved at you. They knew your face enough to not stop you while you climbed the stairs to the second floor where the rooms were located. Kendall was already lying on Wyatt’s bed, scribbling notes down in a spiral notebook while glancing at the textbook laying open in front of her. Wyatt was sitting at his desk with his phone in his hand. His roommate was absent, giving you leeway to sit on the nicely made bed that was the complete opposite of Wyatt’s tornado-like chaos.

“Okay, what’s the emergency?”

Wyatt looked up from his phone, grinning like the Cheshire cat. Oh, yeah. You were not going to like whatever it was he had called you here for.

“Well, you see,” he purred, “there’s a new bar that opened up a few weeks ago. Kendall and I figured that it’s been long enough that the initial hype has died down that now it should only be moderately busy tonight. So, we’re dragging you with us to check it out.”

Hm… that wasn’t as bad as you were expecting. “Okay. What time?”

Kendall’s pencil stopped scratching against the paper. Wyatt looked at you with round, saucer-like eyes. “Excuse me?”

“I asked what time you wanted to go,” you reiterated. Yes, while the absence of a fight or whine was highly unusual for you, Wyatt caught you in a rare moment. A moment where you wanted to be distracted. Staying home with your parents or even by yourself for the evening was a sure way for you to constantly be wondering about what Tao was doing and why he’d suddenly decided to stay away for so long.

Still staring at you, Wyatt leaned over and fake-whispered to Kendall, “I think she’s been replaced by a body-snatcher.”

“I can clearly hear you,” you grumbled.

“Good,” Wyatt straightened back up. “You were meant to. I was all ready to debate with you. I’d been working on the argument all morning and now all that brain power has gone to waste.” He narrowed his eyes at you. “Why the sudden attitude change about actually leaving your house?”

You ignored the obvious insult, shrugging. “Kendall said it herself. It’s our last year in college. Might as well make some memories, right?” Please, you begged internally, don’t push anymore. Tao was a secret you desperately needed to hold onto for a little while longer. Or a heck of a lot longer.

Coming to your rescue, Kendall shut her text book and slid off the bed. “Okay, we’ll take what we can get. Let’s go get dinner before the rush starts. After that, we’ll go get ready at your place, okay, (y/n)?”

You nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

Wyatt started to protest. “But-”

“Just let it go. You got what you wanted.” Kendall pushed up on Wyatt’s hanging chin, closing it shut for emphasis.

The two of them may be a weird dynamic, but in this moment, you were thankful for the pair of extroverted friends you had.

**

Maybe thankful was a stretch.

Kendall and Wyatt were currently arguing over which round of shots while you sipped slowly on your fruity cocktail that was almost gone. The party crowd had apparently not gotten tired of the newest place to hang out. Occupancy felt dangerously close to fire code max, but your best friends insisted on still checking it out since you were already here. Finding a table that wasn’t claimed was a miracle and you planted your butt down in a seat, refusing to move in case another sharp eyes patron wanted to steal it.

“Fine!” Kendall yelled over the loud music and insistent chatter around you. “We’ll get the stupid gummy bear shots!”

Wyatt slapped the table in triumph before hopping out of his chair and pushing his way through the crowd to the bar. You snickered under your breath, thankful that the laugh was covered up by all the noise of the establishment.

Too soon, Wyatt was back, balancing three glasses that certainly looked bigger than a normal shot in his hands. “Alright, ladies. On three, we drink up.”

Rolling your eyes, you took one of the shots. “This is the last one.” At least one of you needed to remain somewhat sober and you were glad to play the part of the responsible friend.

“Alright,” Kendall agreed, very reluctantly by the grimace on her face.

“Okay,” Wyatt clapped his hands together. “One. Two. Three!” In perfect sync, the three of you gulped back the sweet, candy-like drink and slammed the glasses back down on the table.

“You were right,” Kendall laughed as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “That is delicious.”

You were about to agree on actually liking the taste of that particular drink when a familiar crop of blonde hair caught your eye as it snuck out the front door.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom real quick,” you said suddenly, not even really thinking about what you were aiming to do.

Kendall started to slip out of her chair. “I’ll go with y-”

“No, that’s okay! I’ll be fine!” You were up and disappearing into the sea of drunk students before she could counter you with logic about going off on your own.

Thankfully, the bathrooms and the front entrance were in the same direction, so it didn’t look too weird to be rushing for the door. You just hoped you had enough cover so the others didn’t notice you bypassing your fake destination.

Outside, Tao was standing in the parking lot with a younger student that you recognized. Sehun, you think his name was? He’d been in the math lab once or twice, but you never helped him.

“Look, we don’t have to leave if you don’t want to,” Tao sighed. You stayed inside the alcove that covered the entrance, hidden from view as you pressed yourself against the wall. Plenty of people who were coming and going from the bar were sending curious looks your way, but you were too focused on the fair haired friends to notice or care.

“You’re no fun like this,” Sehun barked. “Ever since you met her I’ve been on my own.”

Tao’s shoulders drooped and even from here you could feel the guilt he was emitting. “I’m sorry, it’s just-”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sehun scoffed. “She’s the one. She’s made you change, blah, blah, blah. If I have to listen to you talk about how much you’re really falling for that (y/n) girl, I’m leaving you here to run home.”

Shaking his head, Tao starting walking away towards his car. Had that been here when you arrived? Surely not. You would have honed in on it right away. “Like I would ever let you drive my car.”

“I bet you’d let (y/n) drive it,” Sehun yelled at Tao’s back. You didn’t hear the reply, but whatever it was, it made Sehun scrunch his face in a mocking fashion. Tao started the car and roared the engine, even inching the car back like he was really going to leave his friend there. Sehun jumped into the passenger’s seat and the two of them zoomed off down the street.

The whole way back to your seat, you were grinning. Each step was light and airy. You would have probably been skipping if you had any room. The words you’d overheard weren’t too different from the ones Tao had already said to you, but hearing them in that context – unfiltered and honest – was giving them a whole new meaning. You could hardly believe that he really felt that strongly, so much that he was changing, even to the point of his friends noticing. Normally, you would have taken that exchange with a grain of salt, but you couldn’t. You were in too deep. Maybe it was just the alcohol making you giddy.

“Was it a fun trip to the bathroom?” Wyatt asked with a raised eyebrow when you reached the table again.

You blinked. “What?”

“You look like you just met your favorite boy band.”

Honestly, you weren’t even sure if that could top what just happened.

You shrugged. “I think the alcohol is getting me. I should probably stick with water for the rest of the night.” Looking towards the bar, you took your chance and headed for the straight path that was open to you. You weren’t lying about needing to stick with water from now on, but you needed to get your face under control. But how could you when Huang Zitao couldn’t even enjoy a night out because of you?

**

On Monday morning, you were still up on cloud nine. Somehow, not even the droll of the weekend spent on the couch doing absolutely nothing (besides the occasional spout of homework) could bring your mood down. While you could now keep the beaming of your smile at a normal level, the swelling inside your chest couldn’t be beat down.

While you were walking innocently through the courtyard, a pair of arms snatched you up, lifting you so your feet were no longer touching the ground. A squeal escaped from your throat.

Tao’s laugh that you almost had memorized now echoed behind you. The initial fear you had was replaced with delight. Finally.

Putting you down, he let go of you and stepped back. You turned around, feigning irritation. “Well, someone’s in a good mood today.”

Tao was practically glowing. And you didn’t mean his naturally sun-kissed skin. was particularly attractive today. There was something different about his whole aura, but you wouldn’t have the slightest clue as to what could have changed over the course of a few days. He seemed… taller? No. That wasn’t a good way to describe it. Lighter, maybe?

Oh, well. Whatever it was, you were glad for it.

Tao eliminated the space between you in just one step. A predatory look was present in his eyes, but you weren’t wary or scared of it. With his hands on your hips, he held you in place. He leaned down until your faces were just centimeters apart. You could feel your eyelids already starting to close in anticipation.

But the kiss that you were really wanting to experience never came.

“Can’t I just be happy to see you?” When he pulled back you sucked in your lips to keep them from pouting.

Damn it. You like him too much. You got sucked in just like you told yourself not to, just like you swore you wouldn’t. But your cares were all gone. Because you like the warmth from his hands as they rested on your sides. You liked how safe you felt with him, how easy everything became when you were around him. There was a mystery behind this strange connection you had with him and you wanted to explore every avenue to solve it.

You nodded, no longer able to hold back the smile that was begging to be released. “Okay, I’ll take that.”

Tao frowned, his eyebrows pulling together so tightly they created a deep line right between them. It was cute, but the intensity in his stare was a little troubling.

“What?” you asked cautiously.

Tao laughed for just a split second. “You haven’t once pushed me away or slapped me or told me that I was invading your space.” He playfully put his hand to your forehead. “Are you okay?”

You scrunched up your face, grabbing his hand and pushing it away, but not really letting go. In each place where his skin met yours, there were sparks of electricity dancing off the surface, warming and addicting. Now what was causing that?

“I’m perfectly fine,” you insisted. “I just… I missed you.” Crap. Did you actually say that out loud? Now you were in for it.

“You did?” Tao questioned softly. You nodded. “Does this mean I can finally take you out on a date? A real date? No more forced tutoring sessions.”

“Yeah, I guess it does,” you sighed. You’d kind of miss those tutoring sessions. It was several hours of uninterrupted conversation with him. Whether you knew it at the time or not, you liked having this boy all to yourself.

Elated at your agreement, Tao slipped his fingers in between yours and started walking with you. Unfortunately…

“Um, Tao?”

He stopped turning to look at you. “Yeah?”

“My class is in the other direction.” You pointed towards the business college where your first period was going to start in fifteen minutes.

Tao huffed, but let go of your hand. “Okay. I’ll come find you later then. I’ll take you to dinner tonight. Some place nice.”

You licked your lips in an attempt to calm down the giggly grin you were sporting. “Okay. My last class gets out at four-thirty.”

“Good. See you then.” It was a little bit of a let down that all he did was wave, but you kept your mouth shut, waving back before turning around and heading off.

You only made it a few steps, however, before Tao pounced on you from behind. He encased his arms around you and rested his chin on your shoulder.

“Have a good time in class,” he whispered in your ear. Then he pressed his lips against your cheek before letting you go.

“You,” you turned around, but he was already gone, “...too.” Blowing your lips, you frowned. How did he disappear so quickly?

With tentative fingers, you lifted your hand to your cheek. He surprised you with that sneak attack, but it just you even gigglier. Heading back in the direction of your class, again, you only made it a few steps before you stopped. But this time, it wasn’t Tao that halted your steps.

It was Wyatt.

He was standing about twenty feet away. The look on his face said exactly what you feared: he’d seen everything.

Putting your head down, you hurried to class, knowing that lecture hall was now your safe haven.

All throughout the hour and a half, you fidgeted, worried if Wyatt immediately ran off to tell Kendall before you got a chance to explain. What could you even say?

Gosh, you just hoped he didn’t hate you.

No. He probably just thought you were an idiot.

You were only marginally surprised that Wyatt was leaning on the wall across from where you came out of the classroom once you were dismissed. Neither of you said anything as you walked down the hall. You continued to follow Wyatt, knowing exactly where he was going. There was a small coffee shop on campus in the English hall that rarely had anyone in it since most preferred the more high end coffee offered in the student union.

“So,” Wyatt clicked his tongue as the two of you sat down at one of the tiny, sticky tables of the shop, “care to explain?”

You cringed. “It’s kind of hard to….” Wyatt gave you a look, making you sigh. “Okay, look. I don’t know how to explain it, not entirely. One day, he started coming in for tutoring sessions. And… things evolved from there.”

“You do realize that you’re just another conquest for him, right?” Genuine concern was evident in his tone, but classic snarky Wyatt was still coming through.

“It’s not like that,” you insisted. “I know you just think of him as this player, but I’ve seen sides of him that you haven’t.” Memories of Tao with Daeyoung and what he’d said outside of the bar on Friday night made you smile softly. Wyatt would be surprised to know that the playboy came over to your home and took care of you while you were sick.

“(y/n), we’ve all seen his backside.”

You rolled your eyes. “I’m serious, Wyatt.”

“I am, too.” He crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. “When I said give guys a chance, I didn’t mean start dating Tao.”

“Technically, I’m not dating him. He hasn’t even taken me out on a date.” Yet. But you didn’t want to know Wyatt’s reaction if you mentioned your plans for tonight.

“Well, it definitely looked like you are.”

You sat in silence for a little while, unsure of where to go from there. Yeah, it probably did look pretty affectionate from the outside, you and Tao. You hadn’t meant to be like that. It just came naturally to you when you were with him.

“Are you actually wanting to go through with this?” Wyatt asked, completely serious for once.

Slowly, you nodded. “He’s not who you think he is. There’s so much to him behind the rumors. And I want to see more. I want to see where this goes.”

“Okay.” Wyatt huffed, leaning forward onto the table. “I won’t tell Kendall. As long as you’re sure. She will eventually find out, though.”

“I know.” You wanted to put that off for as long as possible. When you first started letting Tao get close, you were determined to make him run. You never really thought about getting revenge for Kendall, that would have been childish and useless. He wasn’t John Tucker. But Kendall was still your best friend. Would this hurt her? Would she consider things from your point of view? You didn’t know, but you hoped in the far distant future, she would be okay.

Wyatt gave you a very sympathetic look. “It’s going to be hell when she does.”

Whimpering, you laid your head down on the table. Looks like you were finally knocked down a few clouds.

[douxreviews]

Charmed - Season Six Review

"It helps to be a sister."

With more plot holes than actual plot, some really questionable character arcs, and frustratingly inconsistent mythology, Season Six is undoubtedly one of Charmed's worst years.

Following the downward trajectory that began in the latter half of Season Five, we enter Season Six with the series in a state of confusion. Piper and Leo's separation is, unfortunately, the crux of the season, and the character responsible for all this - Chris - plays a frustratingly important role in the season as well. Portrayed by an actor with the charisma of a dead fish, and written with very little conviction, Chris is probably the worst major character the series ever introduced. As we watch the more familiar and, yes, admittedly bland Leo slowly grow apart from Piper and the sisters, we're forced to endure a very slow, and very odd reveal of Chris' true identity. Episodes like 'Chris Crossed' try to add depth to him, but the general confusion surrounding his place in the series make it more of a baffling watch than a satisfying one.

Initially coming across as somewhat of a villain, it's obvious that Holy Marie Combs' pregnancy threw the writers under the bus, with Chris' subsequent unveiling as Wyatt's brother raising more than a few questions about what came before it. Like why would Chris kill a Valkyrie with such reckless abandon in the season premiere, and why did he have to go through all the effort of enlisting a demon just to teach the sisters a lesson about their individual wants and desires in 'My Three Witches'? And how the hell did Drew Fuller ever get hired in the first place?

Chris' plan also required him to keep Piper and Leo apart so he could place himself close to Wyatt, but watching the separation unfold is a truly aggravating experience, especially when it felt neither organic, nor appropriate. There are a few parts of the season that try to toy with Piper's role as a single mother, though the inconsistent writing prevents most of these moments from hitting home. There are some admittedly strong scenes that explore Piper's pain over Leo's departure, notably in the premiere where Phoebe's new power of empathy allows her to feel the hurt and betrayal that Piper had been holding back for months thanks to a spell gone awry. Largely, though, the arc is a mess, and it’s a relief when it all comes to an end with baby Chris' birth in the finale.

Chris' plan to save Wyatt from getting corrupted by evil forces leads us to the show's first major antagonist since The Source; the misguided Elder, Gideon. His motives are flimsy as hell, but the presence of a primary villain is welcome in light of the reversion to a stand-alone narrative last season. The story never quite works, with Gideon's reasons for betraying the sisters and attempting to destroy Wyatt feeling a little unfounded. There are some interesting repercussions to his actions, though. Leo's decision to kill Gideon for betraying him essentially ends his time as a fully-fledged Elder, sending him down a dark path next season.

Outside of Piper and Leo's family drama, there are just as many issues to be found, with Phoebe's plots this season continuing her path to full-on narcissism. Gone are the days of the fun, relatable misfit. Now she's much more concerned with sperm hunting and using, abusing and later losing her new power of empathy to find said sperm. Bar a few fun moments, Phoebe is pretty abhorrent this season. It's hard to feel sympathy for her anymore, and most of the beats her arc hits feel like they're driving her character further and further into the ground. This season also marks the first instance of a tradition that lasts through to season eight; Phoebe's annual love interests. Here, it's a carry-over from last season; Jason Dean. He's mostly fine, though he falls squarely into the same category as most male characters on this series and becomes rather disposable. He eventually departs after finding out Phoebe's secret and he isn't missed.

Paige's decision to quit her job as a social worker last season is still causing her to drift from place to place. But rather than mooching around the manor honing her witchcraft as she did in Season Five, here she takes up temping, giving the writers a chance to throw her into a new and absurd situation each week. Some of these fall flat (hi, talking dog!), but some do lead to some genuinely intriguing situations, most notably in 'Love's a Witch', where Paige is caught in the middle of a magical family feud. The episode is decent enough, though it's more significant for its introduction of Paige's semi-recurring love interest, Richard. Initially appearing as a witch with a magic-averse attitude, we soon learn about his addiction to dark magic. There are some cool, dark little moments for Richard, but in general the plot is never fully realized and his addictions eventually drive him away from Paige. I think the biggest problem with Paige's weekly exploits is that each of them seem to emphasize how uneven she's become. At least her early episodes in Season Four are mostly consistent; you could really get to know her. Here she goes from peace-maker, to busybody, to activist, to floozy to a whole host of other things and it’s hard to get a read on who she is anymore, which is a huge disappointment.

It goes without saying that there are very few great episodes, this season. 'Love's a Witch' is one of them, as is the two-part season finale 'It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World'. The idea of dual realities is something that’s done a lot on other high concept shows, and it's explored in a fun and creative way, in this double lenghth episode. It also gives a choppy and dissatisfying season a remarkably poignant ending, with future Chris' death, and the birth of baby Chris. 'Forget Me... Not' is another highlight that has a lot of fun with a broken timeline, and it also features a cool little mystery that drives the hour to a crazy witch/dragon showdown.

Rare highlights aside, this season is a total mess. 'Witchstock' is a crock of an episode, where a wasted trip to the 60's feels like more of a chance to poke fun at the visuals of that era more than anything else. It's also completely devoid of any of the emotional resonance of 'That 70's Episode' back in Season One. 'Crimes and Witch Demeanours’ is a dull clip-show, that makes a half-hearted attempt to make amends for the girls' abuse of Daryl, who is at this point a walking, talking plot device. 'Prince Charmed' takes the cake, though (literally). It’s an abhorrent hour that features Phoebe and Paige acting like brain-dead bimbos, while Piper makes some really questionable choices about her love life and role as a single mother. It culminates in an embarrassing food fight that is hard to watch, not just because its an awfully written scene, but because it's hard to see three characters who were once so admirable acting like this. I feel so bad for Holly. She deserves so much better than this sub-par material.

Potions and Notions

The Cleaners pop up this season. Their job is to clean up whenever magic is exposed. Where were they when Prue and Piper were exposed on live TV in 'All Hell Breaks Loose'?

There's a weird separation story line that plays out mid-season when Phoebe and Paige decide to leave with their respective beaus. It wraps up without much fanfare when Phoebe splits from Jason, and Paige leaves Richard.

Spells and Chants

Piper: "Okay, neurotic people, can we get back to my neurosis right now, please?"

Piper: "Come to me and be seduced, I have a girl to introduce. Fall for her, you can't resist her, Trust me, mister, she's my sister."

Chris: "I'm Piper and Leo's son." Paige: "What?" Chris: "They're my parents. I came back to save my family." Paige:"You're serious." Chris: "Yeah. Only now I've gotta save myself. Because if my mom doesn't get pregnant in the next month, there is no me." Paige: "This is all so wrong!" I'm right there with you, Paige.

Best Episode: It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World.

Honorable Mentions: Forget Me... Not, Love's a Witch, I Dream of Phoebe.

Worst Episode: Prince Charmed.

It's a shame that the decision to return to a big bad formula is destroyed by clumsy plotting and hack dialogue. At least Chris' death gives the series the chance to move on from this mess next season and try something new.

4 out of 10 Valkyries.

Panda

[cfshcdcws-1]

( TONI MAHFUD, MALE, HE/HIM) — ✧ that looks like NOAH JAMES ROGERS! they’re the TWENTY EIGHT YEAR OLD SON of STEVE ROGERS (ADOPTED). [ they are also a GRAPHIC DESIGNER at paragon. ] i hear they’re CHARMING & INTUITIVE, but tend to be MANIPULATIVE & CYNICAL. his file says that his power is ENHANCED VISION, ADVANCED COMBAT & WEAPONRY, SKILLED ASSASSIN, GENIUS LEVEL INTELLECT. [ ava’s shield kids wc, rory’s league of assassins members wc, Cooper’s fellow single parents wc, kate bishop’s clients wcs, makena thurman’s accidental victim wc, aeronwy gwynn’s parents club wc, laura kinney’s friend/partner/ally wc, gaia’s artist to her muse wc, wyatt gardner’s fight club wc, lars cobblepot’s friend-ish wc ]

tw death & murder below

Age: 28 DOB: genuine DOB unknown, recorded DOB 17/09/1990 (date of adoption, year of their birth) Hair colour: Dark Brown Eye colour: Blue Height: 6’1 Sexuality: Pansexual Father: Steve Rogers (adoptive) Mother: Unknown Powers: Enhanced vision, advanced weaponry & combat, skilled assassin

HISTORY ;;

You don’t remember being stolen away. You don’t remember your parents screaming, mother crying desperately as she scrambled to reach for you, you don’t remember her cries of agony when they move to silence her. You don’t remember seeing your father already dead on the floor from his attempt to protect you both.

Sometimes you swear you hear her screams in your nightmares, but you can’t be sure. You were barely a year old when it happened.

You’re never told why they chose you. Why they stole you. Why you. And they certainly didn’t raise you to ask anything of them.

You were forged in blood and fire, tools for murder in your hand before you were three years old. Your life was not one of loving arms or sweet words, no mother to hold you and no father to care for you. You had matrons, nannies, instructors. People to turn you cold, turn you hard. Turn you into a living weapon yourself.

As you grow, they learn you were made for this life. Your instincts are sharp, you’re intuitive, you learn things in the blink of an eye. It makes you arrogant, cocky, but hungry for more. Hungry to continue learning, to continue proving yourself, to make sure they know they will not find better.

You are six when Talia’s prodigal son leaves, you are determined to prove yourself. To show that blood is nothing compared to skill, to ability to dedication and loyalty. To make sure Talia knows that her son cannot possibly compare - how can he? He was not chosen, he is what Talia was forced to mould. You were hand-picked, you can prove your worth a hundred times over, and a hundred times more than him.

At eight years old your ability manifests. You can see further than anyone, you can pinpoint targets from across the city, first tens of miles away but with practice tens turn into hundreds. You can see in the dark as though the sun was high in the sky. Your eyes are a gift anyone in your world, the fact that you have been granted with vision that other assassins could only dream to have only feeds your arrogance, your conviction that you are, in fact, the best the League will ever see.

At ten you are made an instructor yourself, left to deal with the younger recruits, the children whose hands need to be hardened to the handles of weapons they are too small to weild. And train them you do, determined to prove those like him are more, are better than blood. You would be lying if you said you didn’t feel protective of them, that they weren’t what you would imagine to be younger siblings. But such connections are not encouraged, and while you do your best for them, you know you need to be careful.

You work, you train, you fight until you’re beaten and bloody, hands raw and shaking. You prove yourself time and time again, you handle all missions with an efficiency, power, and anonymity of an assassin more so than the others. You are skilled, more so than the prodigy who abandoned his mother, but by twelve it is apparent the recognition you’ve worked towards is never going to be given.

So, you begin planning. If they will not let you take it, you will find it elsewhere.

It takes 2 years for you to find a way out, to meticulously plan your escape, to leave the League of Assassins. To do so without being killed is practically unheard of, but you find a way. You escape, you disappear into the world you’ve been trained to separate yourself from, you choose a new name and form a new identity, and against all odds.. They do not find you.

It’s a year before he does.

You know who he is before he even speaks, you’ve studied all possible threats you may have needed to eliminate, you know who you are facing. Captain America is an icon, a symbol of everything you were never given the opportunity to know. By all rights, he should take you away, lock you up, make you pay for your crimes, if he knew just who you were.

Instead he takes you home, he gives you a soft bed and warm food, offers you comfort you’ve never experienced before. It takes three months before he can attempt to touch you without you flinching, your mind immediately assuming it’s a threat, another fight to be won, another chance to prove yourself. Another two for you to allow him to hug you - a motion so foreign to you, but so comforting. Comfort you could not possibly deserve, but you’re selfish and Steve’s kindness makes you realise how touch starved you truly are.

His world is bright and pure and full of hope. So different to the world for which you were forged. You are darkness and shadows, sharp edges and secrets. You learn to accept the kindness of a man who should hate you. You learn to make nice with those he calls friends, teammates. Other children your age, children who have grown up with these lives, grown up in the light.

You wonder if this is the life you were meant to have before you were taken. You wonder if this is how things should’ve been. So you try. You love your new father, the man who makes horrible dad jokes and seems to have the patience of a saint. He is the kind of father you could never deserve, but you want to be the good he sees in you. You learn to smile, to joke, to laugh, to live a normal life.

You didn’t expect an aptitude for art, for creating something with your hands, rather than destroying. You’re coming into it a little old, and you know it, but your natural determination to be the best at everything you do drives you, and with Steve’s help you find a comfort in art you never expected. And you’re good at it - maybe not as good as your father, but you work and you practice and you learn, you learn that your hands can be used for more than killing.

School is easy, your education so far advanced that you breeze through the classes that should challenge you. It’s more of a chance to meet others, to learn the vast differences of others in the world. To see more than just the dark, the shadows, the art of being nothing and no one. You should see it as a chance you never had before to make new friends, but instead you learn to manipulate, to charm. Survival of the fittest is so deeply ingrained in you that it’s easier to adapt to survive than to risk something.. new.

Steve trains you, recognises the restlessness in you, knows if he does not you will find the challenge somewhere else. He challenges you, forces you to push yourself, never quite enough to beat him - but maybe it’s because you’re holding back. Because you can’t bring yourself to risk hurting the man who gave you this life.

It’s not enough.

Someone suggests your skills would be suited for SHIELD, the agency you would have worked to dismantle were you still with the League. Your intelligence is no issue - the League never skimped on education, your schooling was compressed and delivered in its entirety before you turned ten, college studies had followed soon after, even as you’d planned your escape. SHIELD should be easy.

Training programs for the agency were a breeze. Your skillset is almost perfectly suited, designed for the espionage-style of work of SHIELD. But there is a requirement for restraint, for mercy, for dedication to a team. And whilst a select few are worth your consideration, perhaps even your care - at large, it’s still not enough.

It’s not you. While SHIELD may not work in the spotlight as your father, they are not in the shadows as you should be. As you were made for.

But you try. For your father, you try. You try to be better. To walk in the light as he does, as he wants for you, but you’re 22 when you take your first life in seven years, and the rush you feel.. As though breathing life into you, reviving you from death, and you know this life will never be enough.

Leaving is much more difficult this time, but necessary. Your ties here can be severed, your friends will replace you with ease, your family - well, you are not really theirs, they will fill the gap with another you’re sure. You’re careful to leave before you can see father’s disappointment at your disregard for life, at your bloodlust. You take what you need and you disappear without a trace, without a word, and without a note.

You’re careful to lie low while he searches, and you have on doubt he hopes to find you but you know him. You know his tactics, his methods, you know just how he will approach this and when he is likely to give up. And when you are sure it’s safe to do so, you make your way into the shadows again.

Your name gains you access to rooms you never expected, poses a challenge - being a Rogers, adopted or otherwise, is enough to get anyone’s attention and once you’re in it’s just a matter of proving what you are. It doesn’t take long for word to spread of the new assassin for hire, efficient and skilled beyond measure.

You expected it to be easy, to fall into your new life. You expected to fall back into the business of killing without a hitch. But you didn’t expect to fall in love.

You’ve never felt this before, you have no idea what it feels like and for a moment you don’t recognise the swooping in your stomach, the lightheaded feeling, the fact that nothing else in the room matters but her.

You didn’t expect her to steal your heart with a smirk and a kiss you can’t forget. You didn’t expect to chase her halfway across Siberia for another. You didn’t expect to find someone who’s made of rough edges just like you, but those edges fit like pieces in a jigsaw puzzles. You didn’t expect it, but once you had it you couldn’t consider your life without it.

She gives you the greatest gift you could imagine. A baby boy with his mother’s smile and your bright blue eyes, and you never knew you could love anything or anyone like this. He steals your heart and you just know there is nothing in the world you wouldn’t do for him, and no one will ever lay a hand on him. Xander Stephen Rogers, you call him.

It all seems to be going to plan until she’s taken from you. In the middle of the night, they come for your family, they come for your child - whether they plan to steal him as you were stolen, or to take him as leverage against you, you’ll never know. She doesn’t let them find out. The crying bundle is settled in your arms and you’re pushed out the door, hushed words to seal a promise that you will protect him from whatever may come and then you’re gone.

She stays behind to fight. You were both ready for this, both of you dreaded it would come but you were prepared. Weapons line your home, a bomb lies in the basement, and you’re barely clear when it goes off, your home and your love going up in flames and.. For the first time, you feel truly powerless.

This is a trip you never intended to make, but you need to lie low until you know your son is safe. He’s barely a year old, and you know you need to protect him at all costs, even if it means leaving your life behind. You take your fortune from murder, your favoured equipment, and you head to Paragon. If for no other reason than because you know one man there who will help you keep your son safe.

PERSONALITY ;;

Noah is arrogant, flippant, and very much a survivor - he will put himself before absolutely everyone with one single exception of his son.

He’s not a good guy - he’s not cruel but he’s not kind. He left the Rogers family for a reason, because he knows he’s not a good person at heart. He’s the kind of person who enjoys killing, who’s an assassin not just because he’s good at it (though there’s that too) but because it’s fun, because it gives him a rush, because it’s part of who he is.

He’s the kind of guy who will be ridiculously soft with his son one moment and turn around and snap at you the next moment if you bother him unnecessarily so be mindful of that. Being soft with Xander doesn’t guarantee a good mood.

There are a few people who can get past his very carefully built walls of arrogance like Steve, Kurt, and Lars

Despite his general lack of care for other people, he is very interested in what he can gain from people and when he wants something from you he will be as charming as you can imagine

He absolutely hates the League and wants nothing to do with them so definitely be careful mentioning them to him

Connections ;;

League of Assassin kids (Rory & Amara & others): Noah spent time training them both when they were still small, and did his best to take care of them as best as is possible in an environment such as the League’s. They didn’t promote attachment or emotional connections, but Noah definitely felt protective of them, and choosing to leave them wasn’t easy

Steve Rogers: Despite having left, part of Noah will always see Steve as his father - Steve gave him a name, a home, the chance at a new life. Without Steve, there’s no knowing what would’ve become of him, and while he may have buried it deep down, part of Noah will always feel guilty for not being able to be the son Steve deserved.

Kurt Rogers: The first real sibling Noah had, and while it took some time for them to navigate exactly what their relationship was like, Noah does care about him. He doesn’t say it and often didn’t show it the way he should have - and certainly doesn’t now - but if anyone tried to hurt Kurt they would have to deal with Noah.

Wanted Connections ;;

The Love of his Life: Okay so I know I said she died, but no one really ever actually dies, right? We’re talking about the woman he fell in love with, the mother of his bouncing baby boy, the one Noah would do anything for. He assumed she died in the explosion and thanks to the people chasing him and Xander he never had a chance to find out. Maybe she survived, maybe she died and was brought back and isn’t quite the same, maybe some weird combination of the two? Who knows. All Noah knows is when he sees her again, it’s going to be absolutely overwhelming and relieving and he will want nothing more than to hold her and never let go.

Best and most rotten friend: Any friendship with Noah is bound to be rough and dramatic, but his best friend would take the cake. The two of them are probably pretty even in their behaviour, both have enough bloodlust to enjoy their line of work, maybe even mirrored twisted pasts in some way. Just someone who understands Noah is not a good person and is totally okay with that, because they’re  not either.

Assassin associates: people who have worked with him, who are associated with him via jobs, who are assassins/have been assassins themselves and therefore they would’ve run in the same circles.

Former clients: People who have hired him in the past 6 years. He remembers everyone he’s worked for, he researched each of them before taking a job so he definitely knows a little bit about them. He might choose to extort them to keep the secret that they had someone killed, or he might just be amused to cross their path again.

High school & college friends: People who knew him before he disappeared, either early on when he was still adjusting to his new life or later when he was already charming and charismatic and a bit too manipulative for his own good. Maybe they always knew something was a little off with him, or maybe they were completely fooled by his charm and were left shocked when he left.

i’ll think of more but pls hmu for plots !

[moonskinshq-blog]

ABOUT:

→ WYATT is affiliated with the ROGUE GROUP. → His human name is WYATT JOHNSON → WYATT identifies as CISGENDER MALE and uses HE/HIM pronouns.   → He DOES NOT remember all of his past, and he DOES NOT freely talk about it. → WYATT has been described as ADVENTUROUS, PATIENT, and COOPERATIVE, as well as SHORT-SIGHTED, MESSY, and INEXPERIENCED. → WYATT’S possible faceclaim is PATTY WALTERS, and he appears 23 but is actually 23. → His imprint is JORDAN and they HAVE met. → WYATT is currently TAKEN.

BACKSTORY:

Wyatt’s family were both wolves that chose to retire and age when his mother fell pregnant with him. He grew up in marvel at what moonskins could do with the hope that one day, he’d be a werewolf, too.

Not too long after his eighteenth birthday, Wyatt triggered. His memories came back fast and his parents were there to teach him about their heritage along the way.

As he grew older, Wyatt began to outgrow his childhood bedroom. While his parents were happy to age, only shifting voluntarily once or twice a year, Wyatt was young and full of adventure. With no real pack nearby, he went out looking for a new pack to make his family.

There were a lot of misses along the way. Wyatt grew up living a normal, human life and couldn’t understand the disdain some wolves had for humans. After a half a dozen misses, he found the rogue group. They weren’t exactly what he was looking for, but it was a nice stop along the way.

EXTENDED PERSONALITY

Growing up in a loving home is something Wyatt Johnson is very grateful for. His parents, a happy couple who chose to prioritize their newly conceived son, raised him with a lot of affection and support, and with no secrets. There wasn’t a thing about moonskins that they ever kept from Wyatt as he grew older. Of course the first few years of his life it was mentioned less for his lack of comprehension at that young age, but they weren’t shy about sharing any details. And Wyatt was enthralled in every detail. His parents’ willingness to share knowledge on what they were, and who Wyatt might be did nothing to quell the young boy’s insatiable desire to explore all that life had to offer. He was already brandishing plastic toy swords and golden paper crowns on the playground, and with the swing of his towel cape he would oftentimes set off to explore fictional kingdoms in tales of exciting adventure and heroism. Day after day, Wyatt would arrive home with new scrapes on his knees, skinned hands, torn clothes, and dirt everywhere, but along with it a grin and a story to tell. He had a drive to be as fearless a wolf as he could be, even though through his teen years it wasn’t yet determined he’d ever trigger. To say Wyatt was a little let down that his seventeenth birthday rolled around and he didn’t yet trigger wasn’t an overstatement. He knew he was capable of making his first shift any time after his birthday at that point, but it also happened to be the only time in his life that his patient nature seemed to vanish. It most definitely didn’t put a dent in his rather positive disposition, and Wyatt didn’t let it deter him from still remaining hopeful for the day he would trigger. That day finally came after he turned eighteen, and Wyatt was ecstatic when he came to and realization hit him. His parents were retired and willingly allowing themselves to age, but Wyatt’s future as a moonskin just started. But, there was a bit of a setback in that his mother and father were not affiliated with any packs and not involved in pack life. Wyatt learned of the heritage, wolf code, the like, but he did feel a bit cheated of the full pack experience. There was no resentment for it, just a drive to set out in search of one. It wasn’t as easy as he originally thought it would be, but Wyatt did have a terrible habit of just doing instead of thinking. With the plan to find a pack he still lacked a plan to reach that goal and not until he realized he was stumbling around clueless could he redirect himself. Again. And again. And again. It was when a rogue group of wolves near Rainsburg, New York provided him a spot with them did he finally feel some success in his efforts. Albeit mildly disappointed in the lack of normal pack structure, and for that Wyatt still was missing out on the full experience a real pack of wolves could offer, but this rogue group was his starter family, per se. He’d run with them for the time being, but he still had that itch to settle in something more established. Something where he could work on possibly reaching his full potential.

EXTENDED PERSONALITY

Wyatt is a young man filled with a strong sense of adventure, presenting itself in sometimes risk-taking ways and a sometimes undeterred bravery and desire to explore and venture out without looking back. Ever growing and ever learning, Wyatt doesn’t see a problem with how he can sometimes give off a careless air about him while he playfully dances through life. To be a moonskin is an honor to him, and he intends to do it without any reluctance. The absence of any foresight doesn’t help his casual incautious behavior that has landed him into trouble a handful of times. He spent years learning with diligence about his moonskin heritage, and he demonstrated quite the level of patience in doing so. He can listen without any inability to abide by whatever restrictions or rules may be set for him, and he likes to try to do what others ask of him. Was Wyatt ever an unruly child? Adventurous, sure, and a tad bit reckless, yeah. But unruly was never the word his parents could use to describe him. He was a great listener and it’s even demonstrated itself in later life when he joined the rogue group. Wyatt does, unfortunately, have a bit of an undisciplined personality. Although a nice kid, his manners can sometimes be lacking, and his behavior and actions a bit uncontrolled which can tie into his reckless nature. And despite his eagerness to learn and grow, Wyatt does have a lot to learn. He’s come some ways with his time in the rogue group, but ultimately it’ll probably be better approached and managed in an actual pack setting. He is also jumbled, in his thoughts and with his belongings. Scatterbrained and untidy, his disorganization had oftentimes led to the headaches of his otherwise neat mother.

PACK RELATIONS

Wyatt has always been and still is enamored with the idea of joining a real back. It’s not that his current rogue group doesn’t suffice but… It’s not the type of pack he really set out in search of. He thinks the dynamics of a legitimate pack of wolves who are so aligned and tight knit is a wonderful structure that all moonskins should desire to be in. Although this outlook is a bit of a starstruck perspective, Wyatt stands by it, and for that reason he doesn’t promise his permanent residency with his group of rogues lest in some way, maybe, they become an established pack themselves.

[thebooksbesideme]

The Sunrise at Normandy Series by Sarah Sundin 

Three brothers tied together by a fateful night that changed each of their lives forever. Each swears they cannot be forgive or cannot forgive. It takes a war to make each brother face up to the past and make his peace.

The Sea Before Us

Lieutenant Wyatt Paxton did something he swears is unforgivable. He might as well have killed Oralee himself in his brother’s eyes, then he stole Clay’s money to get away. It weighs heavy on his heart how he treated his beloved younger brothers. He meets a Wren, Dorothy Fairfax, who he becomes fast friends with when she asks for his help and Wyatt is only too glad to be helpful.  Dorothy struggles since the loss of her mother and both of her brothers. Her father is a shell of a man, she’s turned her back on her faith. Everything would be so much better if she could convince Lawrence that she’s not silly Dolly with the extra weight and many freckles... wouldn’t it?

A beautiful story of redemption and how sometimes you need somebody to tell you how it is rather than what you want to hear. I enjoyed reading about Wyatt and Dorothy’s relationship a lot but I also really appreciate that Sarah doesn’t allow romance to carry the entire plot. The levels of mystery in this story and trying to piece together who is stealing from Mr Fairfax’s company is brilliant - and you’ll never work it out but you’ll kick yourself when you find out with all the clever clues, it’s perfect!

The Sky Above Us

Lieutenant Adler Paxton ran away from home as his mama held a shot gun to keep his baby brother from killing him. After losing his sweetheart, Oralee, in such horrendous circumstances, he believes he’s missed his chance at love - especially after that night. He rescues Violet Lindstrom from a fellow pilot in his company, he hopes her job with the Red Cross will lead her far away from him and his destructive ways. Violet has always dreamed of becoming a missionary, serving and suffering for God - after all, that was the dream she shared with her former beau. She wouldn’t have to be looking after these entitled and coarse pilots if he hadn’t have abandoned their dream after college. Great aunt Violet reminds her not to fall for a serviceman, they’ll distract her from the cause. But Adler Paxton is just too tempting.

As the darker backstory in the trilogy, I was curious to meet Adler and Sarah handled his character beautifully. He was flawed and angry, but also sweet and a charmer. Again, Sarah weaves a mystery into the plot as rations begin to go missing. You suspect it has been solved fairly early on in the novel however a twist throws you off! I was a bit disappointed that Adler magically left the beach and reappeared on base. I would have loved to read more about his fight to return to the UK rather than hear it as a story. But what I did enjoy was that the ending built on The Sea Before Us, bringing Wyatt and Adler together at last as well as introducing Violet and Dorothy. 

The Land Beneath Us

Private Clay Paxton has a two-brother-sized chip on his shoulder. His older siblings did him wrong all those years ago: Wyatt stole his education and Alder stole the only girl he thought he could love. He should have been a doctor but with no money, he volunteers to join the Rangers. While he’s still bitter, he meets Leah Jones, one of the base’s librarians. He saves Leah from a terrible attack then saves her once again when the threat of the only thing that was every truly hers might be torn away. He marries Leah as one of his last acts of goodness and goes to war with the intention of never coming back. Clay has had a reoccurring dream that nobody believes holds the same significance as he does - he will die saving his fellow soldiers. Leah Jones is pining for a family she struggles to remember. Her parents died tragically, leaving her to grow up in a home until she was adopted then abandoned by a couple with no clues about her twin sisters they left behind. She’s desperate to belong and wants to care about abandoned things like her - that’s why she stole things growing up. The doll that was left out in the rain, the ribbon so carelessly left behind - she never knew that it was a secret that would haunt her for this long. I am very happy to admit I finished this book in an afternoon - the writing is so easy to get into and you find yourself joining Clay on the front, hoping he won’t leave Leah alone again. Your heart bleeds for lost and lonely Leah as she hunts for her little sisters, travelling to orphanages with Clay’s mama to try and find them but without knowing her true surname, you find yourself part of the mystery. With this being the final book, it ties together the three books very nicely. I really want more from these brothers, years later when they’re more settled in their lives!

Thank you to Baker Publishing Group for copies of these books. These opinions are my own.  

[totuproject]

WYATT ELTRETA-DISCIPLE EXILE-MEMBER OF SECRET

Basics:

Name: Wyatt Eltreta

Nickname: Gummi

Age: 34 (Displain equivalent is anywhere from 17 to 19)

Homeworld: Dopla

Current Residence: Blackenera

Occupation: Programmer for AI and VI systems. Information collection (legally AND illegally)

Talents/Skills: Hacking, programming, small device engineering, knows some woodworking but doesn’t do it.

Siblings: None

Significant Others: Jessica Starchild, Wren, Darven Slith

Physical Characteristics:

Height: 5’3”

Weight: 110lb

Race: Disciple

Eye Color: Sky blue

Hair Color: Blonde with brown here and there

Glasses or contact lenses: Glasses sometimes. They help but he doesn’t need them so doesn’t wear them much.

Skin color: Pale

Distinguishing features: Wears Disciplian clothing despite not living on Dopla.

Mannerisms: Constantly trying to kick a gum chewing habit. If he’s in the middle of a programing thing he’ll talk to you but won’t look at you, and use one hand to talk and one to type. Wren thinks its creepy. Is good at multitasking.

Habits: Used drugs (formerly)

Health: Miraculously somehow good.

Hobbies: Making small computer games, looking at bugs, programming, being around his romantic partners.

Favorite Sayings: -angry mumbling over code-

Speech patterns: Very very quiet and soft voice, most people have a hard time hearing him. And that’s when he DOES talk, he’s normally shockingly silent, even when he moves around.

Greatest flaw: Too quiet and not brave when alone

Best quality: Very smart and motivated.

Character History:

(Content warning for drugs)

Wyatt Eltreta is a member of the former vigilante group Secret. 

Wyatt is a homeworld born Disciple who was born into the Craftsman and Skill level. His father was a woodworker, and his mother was a chef. It was decided for him by his parents that he would become woodworker like his father. Wyatt showed some ability for woodworking but got no joy from it. He was however able to save up enough money from trinkets he made in his free time to purchase a small computer. With that computer he was able to teach himself basic programming.

Over time however he spent more and more time away from practicing woodworking, and more programming. This led to his father confronting him, an exchange that would ultimately turn out for the worst. Wyatt expressed interest in attempting to switch his class to a technologically focused one (a possible, but incredibly difficult process) and his father did not take kindly to this. He became immeasurably disappointed in his son, and took and destroyed his son's computer. It started a change of abusive behavior towards Wyatt, but Wyatt persisted in his dream of switching his class, abelit in secret now.

Wyatt caught the attention of some of the voices and perhaps a few lower level leaders since class changing isn’t something attempted by many. Somehow this attention caused him to be put up for exile.

It was partly because of prejudice of someone being born into a lower class trying to get into a higher class, and during some meetings it was brought up by his father that Wyatt spent some time with a male friend of his, which lead to forcibly making Wyatt admit that he had romantic feelings for this male friend. With all this prejudice in play the quality of Wyatt’s rune was called into question, and upon examination it was declared that his rune had a small defect, and he were therefore classless. However neither Wyatt or anyone else he’s spoken with has been able to find this defect so far. With all of these things, Wyatt was exiled from Dopla.

This was devastating for Wyatt because despite all the difficulties he faced he still loved his homeworld. Wyatt ended up falling into a depression, and with no home and no resources left to his disposal, he ended up pedaling drugs for awhile, before becoming addicted to them himself.

He ended up finding a home in the cargo bay of a former drug peddling outpost station. It was filled with old Sarplax-1c, which on one of the most commonly used recreational drugs due to its easy to produce nature and its commbatality with many humaniod and beastial races. He and eventually two others ended up camping out there since it had most the the supplies they needed to fuel their addiction.

These two other people were Wren, a mutated human, and Darvin, a controller. Gummi didn’t speak to them at all. Even Gummi isn’t sure anymore if he made the choice not to speak or if he just couldn’t. But Gummi was so quiet that Wren and Darvin didn’t even know his name, so they gave him the nickname Gummi. They called him Gummy because of the gum chewing habit he picked up during he pedaling days, that continued into his drug using days. But they wanted to use it as an actual name and not a nickname so they added an I, making him Gummi.

Eventually a fourth member found their way into their drug hideout. Though she was not widely known at the time, its was Jessica Starchild.

Jessica was mostly uninterested in making friends at that point but when she saw the quiet Gummi poking around the ship and fixing part here and there, as well as working out issues with the ships systems, her interest was piqued and over time she slowly learned about Gummi’s interest in coding and mechanical things. So she would show him things she knew how to do on her computer in between drug-induced hazes, and though Jessica wasn’t too sure of it, it made Gummi really happy to be learning again and he enjoyed the time they spent together greatly.

Jessica’s interaction with Gummi slowly gave him some confidence back and he started spending time with Wren and Darvin, even if spending time with them meant just sitting with them. Wern and Darvin grew more confident around Gummi as well. They both knew he had a habit of crying by himself or having nightmares, so they would openly go to comfort him or calm him down, and both grew to be very tender towards Gummi. Their relationship together grew more and more, even without words, to the point the Gummi, Wren, and Darvin had no interest or intention of leaving each other’s side. Though at this point it was not considered romantic by them, it is what it would ultimately grow into being. Jessica was too of course involved in this, but with her more abrasive, high energy, and at the time, anxious personality did not at readily fit into this dynamic.

Due to their growing closeness each of them became concerned with eachothers drug-usage, and it was ultimately decided by all four of them that they would attempt to quit. Though this was not an easy process on any one of them, it was successful.

After quitting and after leaving the outpost. The party found themselves on the closest plant, Blacknera, part of the Black Planetary System. Blacknera was primarily known for dirty and dingy back alleys, drugs, crime, and shitty bars. There were nicer parts of the planet, but mostly it was shitty.

Because of Jessica Starchild and her heroic habits, Gummi, Darvin, and Wren attempted to help the crime issue by becoming a vigilante group. They called themselves Secret.

Between the crime stopping and their knack of doing surprisingly good karaoke in bars, they gained quite a reputation. Gummi, from gaining more confidence in his skills, and partly from karaoke, found his voice again. Although softer and more timid before his exile, Gummi could finally speak mostly freely with his partners and others he knew and trusted.

Gummi started earning money from hacking and programming things for people, and with that money, and Jessica Starchild’s money she gained from “crime stopping” here and there Secret rented a small apartment. The viliangete stuff slowed and now they only worked when called on from the Starchild, or the people of Blacknera.

Even though in the present day, Jessica is no longer around often at all, Gummi is content with his life.  He is still quiet, and still chews too much gum. And he would have never of guessed he would end up as an exile, and still misses and still yet resents his homeworld, Gummi is content to do the things he likes to help out his boyfriend, and girlfriend. And sometimes his ever-adventuring girlfriend too!

Past, future, present, personality and goals:

Educational Background: Taught woodworking by father. Learned code by teaching self with a lot of help from Jessica Starchild.

Gummi's short-term goals in life: Just live. 

Gummi's long-term goals in life: Don’t get addicted to drugs again. Make his partners happy.

How does Gummi see himself: Badly. Doesn’t have much self worth. This is mostly habit. If he thinks logically about it he knows he’s not as bad as his gut tells him.

How does Gummi believe he is perceived by others: Knows his partners love him. But doesn’t think the general population thinks much about him in contrast to the other members of Secret, and that's fine.

How self-confident is the Gummi: Not very, but not with zero confidence.

Does Gummi seem ruled by emotion or logic or some combination thereof?: Loaded question for him. Will be ruled by emotion (the emotion being anxiety) with alone. Logic when he’s comfortable.

OTHER PAGES YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN:

Darven Slith

Wren

Jessica Starchild

Secret

Dolpa

The Black Planetary System

Disciples 

Disclaimer: I have very little personal experience with drugs and drug addiction. If something in this seems tasteless or is just not well informed please let me know. Thank you!

[sueboohscorner]

The Haves and the Have Nots S4 Ep19: Haunted By The Surname*Recap & Review* #HAHN

Episode Rating: (9) Excellent

The biggest bomb has finally been dropped. Candace finds out her son is dead. Omg!!! What will she do? It was also good to see, and Candace does love someone other than herself. She loves her brother, Benny. Let's jump into the recap and review. It's time to discuss The Have and the Have Nots.

I was waiting for Candace response to Charles fix it method for Quincy's murder. I guess he also felt Candace was heartless. Candace turns down Charles offer. She could have it all with the most powerful man in the world; however, it would cause her brother's freedom. Candace refuse to let Benny go down for a murder he didn't do. Charles must have dig so deep into Candace's life. He knows way too much about everything. He seemed surprised that Candace made it clear, she would turn herself in before allowing her brother to go to jail. Charles doesn't know that kind of love. That's confusing because he has kids. Charles wants to take Candace to the inauguration. Being that she is wanted for murder, that wouldn't look good for him. Quincy's death is too public; someone has to take the blame for it. Candace can't believe Charles set her brother up for the murder. It all appeared to be smothering Candace. She asks Charles to leave her hotel room. By not agreeing to set Benny up, Candace gave up her start over opportunity.

It may be hope for Wyatt after all. Looks like he was trying to get his life in order.  I am trying to understand how Anna is going to fit into this. Her and Wyatt flirt with each other a little. She is going to be staying with Wyatt for awhile. To keep Wyatt sober and clean a plan has to be done. Wyatt completed a questionnaire. Interesting he wanted to be a firefighter. Wyatt feels like his life always been controlled by Jim and Katheryn.  Maybe it has but can't blame his choices on his parents.  Wyatt has been through a lot, but his choices are on him. I think this time he will indeed stay clean. I also wish he stop seeing Jeffrey as a gay man that's in love with him. He is, but he is more of his friend who loves him. Anna seems to be making some breakthrough with Wyatt. However, I think his biggest test of sobriety is on the way. He gets a call from George about Jennifer Sallison. George tells Wyatt that Jennifer is dead. Wyatt knows his parents have the motive to kill her. Will he give his parents up?

Back at the police station, Veronica was able to get Hanna a visit with Benny. I swear Veronica never miss a chance at wearing her B card. Meaning her bitch card is always being played. She knows Hanna is Benny's  mother not his grandmother. Smh. While Hanna visits Benny, Katheryn and Mitch sit in the lobby waiting. Katheryn questions Mitch on about his friendship with Benny. She makes a statement about his last name being powerful. We all know Mitch use his last name for power when he needs too. Other than that, he is just Mitch. Now Mitch is sexy, Katheryn's eyes aren't blind. She starts flirting with Mitch. She tells him I can use a man like you. Lmao. Mitch asked, " How much are you paying?" This scene was too funny. Mitch got away from Katheryn so fast. Remember, he clowned Benny for sleeping with Veronica. Mitch, older ladies need love too. Lol!!! 

The hurt in Benny faces when he saw Hanna was powerful. That was a look of mama I am sorry for disappointing you. The love he has for Candace got him in this position. Hanna asked Benny again, "Did you kill Quincy?" Benny refuses to answer, but Veronica is sitting in on the visit. He can respond to the question, and the police can't use anything being said to his lawyer. Sadly, he can't say too much because Jeffrey is Veronica's son and his attorney. But he told Hanna who killed Quincy. Benny mentioned the Secret Service asking for his DNA. Veronica knows that isn't good. She gets up to handle that situation. Now Hanna and Benny can honest talk. Before Veronica leaves, she tells Benny to watch what he said. Once she is gone, Hanna asked Benny, "Did Jeffrey Harrington really kill Quincy?" Benny tells her, "yes but I can't say that in front of her." Veronica has a conflict of interest in this case. Regardless of her hate for her son sexuality, she will still protect him. Hanna blames everything on Candace. You can't deny that this whirlpool of events, lead right back to Candace. She has cost Benny so much already. But, why is Candace so messed up? Hanna played a role in that. What is her and Hanna beef with each other? I am lost on that issue. But Hanna is wrong on one thing, and Benny knows best; Candace doesn't know her son is dead. Regardless of the news coverage, she knows nothing. She doesn't have a phone, and when she did, she answers Benny's call. Hanna is very upset about the two men she loved most being affected by Candace's decisions. So much is happening at once. She asks God for relief and Benny telling her to calm down. So much heartache in Hanna's heart right now.

Veronica makes a phone call. She is trying to get information on the Secret Service agents. Right now, no one knows why they are involved. Once she enters the police lobby, Justin approaches her. Justin asked her to delete the recording she made. Veronica laughs at him. She is going to destroy Justin. Justin doesn't realize Veronica is a toxic, heartless and devious woman. She truly is about to expose him. Can Justin get out this predicament with his double life still being a secret?

Candace visits Erica. We soon find out what we thought was a friendship truly isn't a friendship. And am I the only one who think Candace and Erica had a sexual encounter at one point. How was Erica going by fixing her stress? Hmmmm. Candace vented out her troubles with Charles. She can't tell Erica too much, but Charles has Candace spooked. Candace is a new Path now, a high and powerful path. I don't think she ready for this lane. She tells Erica how Charles once her to let Benny take the fall for Quincy's murder. Sometimes it's best just to listen. Erica makes the fatal mistake of saying, "that's not a bad idea." Before you know it, Candace smacks the crap out of Erica. Girl, no way that should have happened. Candace uses to pimp Erica and made it clear she wasn't good at being a show. Lmao. Insult and a smack, hell no!!! Erica also made a mistake at leading Candace a dress with War's smell of cologne on it. When she questioned Erica, she didn't have any interaction with War. We know that's a lie. Did Candace believe her? If she didn't, she made it clear she will throw her out a window. Maybe Erica isn't time enough for Veronica as I thought. Hmmmmmm!!

Jennifer Sallison's body is about to be a problem. George arrives at the County Jail. He questions Katheryn about Jennifer being at her house. Car tracker and phone records place Jennifer's last whereabouts at the Cryer Mansion. Katheryn keeps her calm, but Veronica tells her not to say another word. Regardless of how much they hate each other at this point; if one goes down; they all go down. Veronica tells George, he knows better to be questioning her without a warrant. He makes it clear he will get one. Man, this episode had a lot of punch lines. George says to Veronica, "You sure representing a lot of people." Lmao!! Duh, isn't she a lawyer!!! Lol. Veronica tells Katheryn to meet her at her house in 15 mins. Katheryn doesn't trust Veronica, but at this point, she has no choice. They in this together whether they want to be or not.

Jeffrey visits Melissa in the hospital. Her mother walks in just as Jeffrey was trying to convince Melissa things will get better. He soon finds out, Melissa's mom is just as crazy as his mother. I understand why she says her father is the only person who loved her. How does her mother whore her daughter to a crazy woman for financial stability? What mother wants her daughter to have a baby by a gay man? Doris, Melissa's mom, basically tells her to grow up and get it together. She comes for Jeffrey by saying he likes hands jobs. Lmao. At times, you know Jeffrey is Veronica's son. He can become a queen when need to. He fires back with, " Gay or straight, and anybody can like a hand job." Lmao!!! He has a point. LMAO. Doris tells Jeffrey, Melissa will not be a problem anymore. She leaves. Melissa and Jeffrey agree that both of their mothers are crazy. At Melissa's request, Jeffrey leaves. I honestly feel the two need to become a best friend. They are stuck with each other at this point. They need to come together and find a way through this together.

Finally the bomb drops in Candace world. Charles was the speaker at a gun control event. At that event, he learns the little kid who was just murdered is Candace's son. Charles and Landon knock on the door. Candace isn't in the mood to deal with Charles. Charles tells her that her son is dead. For the first time, you see a side of Candace that has been lost throughout every season. We finally see her heart. I mean a fragile, tender and vulnerable piece of her heart. Even Landon felt a little empathy for her by the look on his face. As the tears flowed down Candace's face, she screamed for them to get out. At that moment for once, I felt sorry for Candace. At that moment for once, she knew she was the blame. Did you hear her say, "what did I do?" However, how much you want to bet she blame Hanna when she sees her. 

Now that the cops know Jennifer was last at the Cryer mansion, Veronica has her plan. Veronica is pouring gasoline all around the house. Katheryn arrives and asked her what she was doing. Veronica states, "no evidence." Veronica refuses to go down for killing a District Attorney. Honestly, you can't blame her for that. Katheryn truly got them in a jam this time. Jim made it worst by pissing off Mama Rose. Katheryn doesn't want to burn her house down but honestly that house only has bad memories of her. If love once existed, it faded long ago. Why not burn all those bad memories? Katheryn gave in. Burn baby burn. The Cryer mansion is now on fire.

Stay tuned in! Two more episode left for this season. Who will survive and who will die? Somebody have to die because war has been declared. Catch up on The Have and the Have Nots on Comcast On Demand or download the OWN app. 

Be the first to like, comment and share. Subscribe to sueboohscorner.com and visit Sueboohs Corner TV Series Page on Facebook for the latest talk tv of your favorite shows.  

Editor: Lattice Johnson

[shadowvillerp-blog]

WYATT FITZGERALD is SIXTEEN YEARS OLD and is a STUDENT at SHADOWVILLE HIGH SCHOOL. They look just like TOM HOLLAND and are currently OPEN.

HISTORY

Wyatt never felt like he belonged in his family. The Fitzgerald’s are, after all, the most important family in Shadowville, with their ancestor being the town’s very first mayor. He always had anything that he wanted and his parents, to him, seemed perfect. They are smart and successful and known by everyone around town, while Wyatt is just the disappointment child. He’s the youngest and he gets really nervous when talking to anyone that he doesn’t know all that well, like his family. When he was younger, he would hide behind his father’s legs whenever they were in public or hang around Austin whenever they had to attend some weird party. Austin always let him follow him around. He didn’t talk to many people either, unlike Anna who was always ready to chat with anyone around. He always felt closer to Austin than Anna and when he was really little, he could remember sneaking into Austin’s room whenever his adopted brother had a nightmare.

Of course, there is one thing that Wyatt inherited from his parents. He’s smart… really smart. By the age of ten, he was reading Austin’s textbooks and when he was twelve, his parents bought him a science kit that he fell in love with. His love for science didn’t make him many friends at school, and he often got teased for being a nerd. The teasing turned into bullying once they realized that he wasn’t going to fight back, which led to Wyatt becoming even more hesitant around anyone he didn’t know. When he was thirteen and had his lunch stolen, Anson Miller, a boy in his grade, shared his food with him. The pair instantly hit it off, even after realizing who the other one was.

The Miller’s and Fitzgerald’s were always enemies. About seventy five years prior, their great-grandfathers were business partners. Everett Fitzgerald and Ulrich Miller were rather close and on their way to success when Ulrich accused Everett of stealing from him and, in a fight that broke out, killed him. Because of the Fitzgerald’s high standing, he went to jail for life and the Miller’s were furious. The feud continued on through the generations, up to the point where even Anna and Anson’s brother, Beckham, couldn’t stand each other. Wyatt and Anson came to the conclusion, however, that neither was their ancestor and since they didn’t have anyone else to lean on, quickly became close friends behind their parent’s back.

Anson was the only person that Wyatt ever felt like he could truly be himself around. Wyatt often dragged Anson to the Science Lab, and Anson would drag him to The Ice Castle, an Ice-Skating rink in town, as Anson dreamed of playing hockey one day. As they got older, Wyatt found himself spending more and more time with Anson and less with his family. Much to his chagrin, they didn’t even seem to realize it. Anson was always quick to reassure him that they were just busy or something and always followed it by doing something stupid that would cheer him up. He honestly didn’t know what he would do without his best friend.

When the mayor and his wife are killed, however, Wyatt can’t help but begin to grow a bit paranoid. The Lewis’ are a prominent family in Shadowville and he had seen their son, Tyrell, around school a few times. If someone could get into their home, which had to be wired with security, they could easily get into his own and it would be a breeze to get into the Miller’s. With the town going into chaos and fear running rampant, he knows that this isn’t something that a stupid act from Anson can make go away.

PERSONALITY

[✔] Intelligent, Kind, Open-Minded

[✖] Sarcastic, Shy, Dependent

CONNECTIONS

♥ Anna Fitzgerald - Sister. Wyatt and Anna aren’t really close. Anna is popular and beloved around school, while he is the shy, bullied kid. He’s pretty sure that she’s embarrassed of him. He doesn’t blame her, but it hurts.

♥ Austin Fitzgerald - Adopted Brother. Wyatt always looked up to Austin. He was, and is, everything that Wyatt wants to be. Now that he’s in college, though, Wyatt doesn’t see much of him. He hopes his brother will be around more.

♥ Anson Miller - Best Friend. Anson is his best friend, despite the fact that their families are enemies. They do everything together, or at least everything that they can do without their families finding out. It’s a secret, but they make it work.