#if it was like a chain grocery place and you don't have access to anything else then i would understand

[lazylittledragon]

i refuse to believe that boycotting is hard. my favourite thing in the world is ordering maccies after a late night at work/a concert/getting drunk. yes i do miss it sometimes. but the other night i ordered from a small place near my house instead and it was the most orgasmic burger i've ever had in my life. i very rarely say this but fucking suck it up people are DEAD

[ilovesjamesbb]

Please Don't Leave Me (Pt. 14)

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: Mature themes, violence

Dark. Cold. Alone. The only words that went through her head. The only sound in the basement was the constant dripping, of what she didn't know. Water, gas, blood. Everything was a blur. 

Everything was going well until it wasn’t.

“Christian, we are gonna be late to dinner, Warner and Madeline are gonna be waiting for us.” I called into the bedroom. I heard no response and I huffed. He was always doing something and I never knew what it was. 

“Christian.” I called again but as I made it into the bedroom he wasn’t there. What the hell was he doing now? I walked to the other side of the apartment and I saw his office door was open. Great, he's working… I pushed open the door and the chair I expected him to be in was vacant. I was about to leave the room when I saw the desk drawer hanging open, a key in the lock. That’s weird. I was going to just shut the drawer and leave but I looked down to see photos of me. Photos before we met. Photos of me at the grocery store. At the club with my friends. Me at SHIELD, Fury with his hand on my shoulder. Photos of me at the coffee shop I visited every morning before work. What the hell? I then looked to see a file that read…

HYDRA - MISSION 1677

I picked up the document with shaky hands and opened the first page. 

TARGET: Y/N L/N

My breath hitched. 

FEMALE

DARK HAIR

DARK EYES

SHIELD SPECIAL FORCES 

PROFILER

What is this?

TARGET IS DANGEROUS. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

MISSION: TERMINATION

I looked down in the drawer to see if there was anything else and I saw two guns. It looked like there was a place where another gun should be but nothing was there. 

“I really wish you hadn’t done that.” Christians voice sounded in the room. I didn’t turn around. I knew there would be a gun pointed at me, the missing one. 

“I think we are gonna have to raincheck on that dinner.”

“What do you want from me? What is this?” I still haven't turned around. I didn’t wear my gun anymore, thinking I was safe to go on a date with my boyfriend. 

“It’s a mission. Nothing personal.” He said detached. I whipped my head around. 

“Nothing personal? We’ve been dating for almost a year. This isn’t personal? We’ve gone to galas, got an apartment, we..we had sex.” I said, realizing the magnitude of the situation. Tears started to well in my eyes. 

“Perks of the job.” He said menacingly. I didn’t know the man standing in front of me. This has all been a lie. 

“You really thought I loved you, didn’t you? Everytime I held your hand, got you flowers, everything I kissed you…” He approached me, circling behind me.

“Everytime I made you scream my name…” I shivered as his breath hit my neck. 

“If you’re going to kill me, do it.” I said, eyes closed. He laughed. 

“Oh no, killing you wouldn’t give the satisfaction I crave.” He grabbed my neck roughly so that I could see his face. 

“Basement, now.” I didn’t move. I couldn’t. He started to choke me and pushed me forward. 

“I won’t say it again. Be the obedient whore I know you can be and get in the fucking basement.” I let my legs carry me to the basement door. I slowly walked down the stairs and my eyes never left the wall. There were shackles hung from the ceiling and two from the floor. I had never been down here before, it was always locked. Christian said it flooded badly and I didn’t find a need to go down there. A drain lay directly under the shackles. He was going to torture me. 

“What, I thought you liked a little bondage?” He joked again but none of this was funny.

“Put them on. Feet first and then hands.” I moved toward the chains and I couldn't do it. I needed to fight back.

“Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on in that pretty head of yours. There is no use fighting back. I will get what I want.”

“And what is it that you want?” I bite back bitterly.

“Intel. Lots of it. Access to SHIELD database. Everything, you name it.” That was his game. How could I have been so stupid? What was I thinking? I should have run a background check, something, anything.

“I won’t do it.” I said, standing my ground. 

“I hoped you would say that.” Before I knew what was happening he hit me with the butt of the gun. Immediate pain flowed throughout my skull.

“Shackles, now.” Still, I refused. The beating started and I couldn’t tell when it ended. I wish I could say I got numb to it but I never did. At some point I made it into the shackles, hanging from the ceiling. His face was in mine. 

“You can’t escape me, Y/n.”

Bucky could hear screaming and he shot up. It was y/n. She was fighting something. His senses were in overdrive. Nightmare. 

“Y/n. Shh.” I tried to call for her first knowing that waking someone from a nightmare can be dangerous. Nothing. 

“Stop! Stop, please! Christian!” She cried. At that moment I was so furious. Christian had hurt my girl enough. At this point she was gonna hurt herself. I sat up and I grabbed her wrists. 

“Y/n. It’s okay. You gotta wake up, doll. He’s not here.” Her eyes flew open and she tried to move away from me to the headboard. I have never seen her look so scared, it broke my heart. 

“That’s it, doll. It’s just you and me.” I tried to calm her down. She stopped struggling and she just cried. I wrapped my arms around and put her head to my chest. When she finally calmed down I realized we still didn’t have on our clothes. I went to reach to the floor to grab our garments and she clung to me. 

“Please don’t leave me.” Doesn’t she know by now that I would never leave her? 

“Okay, doll. I was just gonna grab us some clothes but I’ll stay right here.” She nodded content. She was still shaken up. 

“Nightmare?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Memory. It was a memory.” She sniffled, almost sounding detached. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” She lifted her head to look into my eyes. She looked hesitant. 

“I wanna know all of your dreams and all of your nightmares. I’m here for you.” I said caressing her hair away from her tear stricken face. 

“It was the night I found out Christian wasn’t who I thought he was. The first night he tortured me.” I hummed listening intently. Hoping she would go on. 

“The worst part is the beatings and… the physical pain wasn’t even half as painful as the betrayal I felt.” Her eyes were welling up again. 

“He can never hurt you again, y/n”  She nodded. I knew he was still out there and I knew I was gonna kill him. I let her rest her head down. She wanted to talk more about it in the morning. As she fell asleep in my arms I vowed yet another thing to her. 

I would kill Christian Valentino and I would enjoy doing it. 

PLEASE COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU WANNA SEE NEXT

[elljayvee]

This has been a large and growing problem for years and years. I get all my honey locally for this reason, and anyone who wants honey who has access to local honey should probably do that as a rule (the article mentions this as well). There's a few things to consider with doing that -- price aside, which can be a major barrier. One is, what's available in your area? I live in the northern US; any orange blossom honey sold here isn't local because we don't have orange trees. So I don't use orange blossom honey, even though I like it.

Another thing to consider is that with some mid-sized type of apiaries will bring in honey from other beekeepers to brand as theirs and that's a place where someone can adulterate it along the way. There's a medium-sized apiary near me that I have no reason to think is adulterating anything. They are part of a group of apiaries that supply each other with kinds of honey unavailable in their area for labeling and sale, and they always label the apiary of origin. Do I want to trust everyone in that whole group isn't adulterating anything? Well, I don't, personally. So I stick to the one kind I know for sure they are making locally (black locust honey, yum yum). Do I think it's wrong if anyone decides to trust the whole group? No, not at all. I think it's much less likely to be adulterated than imported honey or anything on the shelf in a chain grocery store, and part of why the apiaries do these exchanges is to try to protect their honey. I freely admit that my personal stance on this one is to the overly cautious side. Some mid-size apiaries will do this and NOT tell you the apiary of origin and I would straight up not buy any honey from those, including ones they supposedly are making themselves.

To sum up: if you care about honey and about the economic viability of beekeepers, buy from small to mid-sized local apiaries, buy kinds of honey local to your area and/or labeled with an apiary of origin only, do NOT buy any honey imported from country you don't live in.

[daughters-of-liberty]

I just read a post from one of my mutuals where they mentioned that God loves hard work and responsibility...and that got me thinking.

So, my husband and I are working really hard toward buying our first place. I say our first place, because we don't care if there's a house on it yet or if we have to build, or if it's a tiny cabin we could add onto to accommodate our family in the future; we just want a big ole plot of land. Like, at least 5 acres. You can do a lot with 5 acres. Admittedly, you can do a lot with 1 acre, if you're good at planning. We don't want cattle, but we want chickens, and maybe a goat or two. We'll see. But what we really want the land for is obviously because we both love nature, and not being right on top of our neighbors. We want a garden, full to the brim with fruits and veggies. I want apple trees, I want accessibility to a freshwater source for fishing. I want to be able to go hunting in my back yard, if at all possible. I want to help my husband provide for our children. I don't want to rely on the grocery store for literally everything anymore. Especially with all the uncertainties in the supply chains, or the innermost fear I have that it's being manipulated by the government for reasons I don't want to think about. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I don't trust our government to keep everything running smoothly. We have to take care of ourselves and take responsibility for our families' safety.

I grew up watching Alaska: the Last Frontier, and it's because of that show and my great-grandmother's stories of growing up during the Great Depression that I want to be as self-sufficient as possible. I expressed the idea of having a homestead when I was like 14 years old to my grandmother, to which she just said "well, that's a lot of work", very bitchily. Like...yeah. Yeah, it is. And for the longest time I thought that was just cause she's a bitter old woman who can't just let people have fucking dreams, man.

But I've seen this sentiment repeated back to me again and again and again, by some more well-meaning, like my father who grew up on a hobby farm, and knows the work that sort of lifestyle entails, even if it's just for funsies. But others are very quick to point out the hard work. Like, life is full of hard work. Life is hard. Period. If you wanna get religious about it, that's the whole point behind what God said when he cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden. Life is hard for us. We will have to toil and break our backs to have anything of value.

And it's this idea that you can have something of value without having to work for it...at all. I used to have a lot of anger management and other mental health issues. If I hadn't worked on those issues, I guarantee I would not have my husband. I still have shit I have to sort out, like my self-loathing and inability to trust anyone, but because I have him, I'm stronger and prepared to do that hard work to make me better for me, as well as for him and our future children. I could've not worked on myself, but I guarantee you, I'd be single and just as self-loathing as I was before. I'm getting better.

I don't know what I'm trying to get at here. Maybe it's just an observation. Maybe God has revealed a mystery to me that if hard work and responsibility are things he treasures and values, then maybe the phrase "that's a lot of hard work" is the Devil creeping in, trying to make you miserable and subservient to evil deeds. Maybe I'm just too inside my head.

I will close with this: my grandmother always accused Alaska: The Last Frontier of glamorizing the self-sufficient lifestyle. But...they really don't. They show Otto and Charlotte falling into cow shit while out milking the herd, because that happens! They show fishing lures getting lodged in someone's thumb while out salmon fishing, because that happens! They show deer and elk and bear hunts that end with them going home without any meat, because that happens! They show the fights between family members as they're trying to come together to build a new cabin when tensions are running high, because that happens! Life is hard. Families disagree about how to do things, hunting is never a sure bet for getting food, fishing has it's dangers, and animals...are straight up disgusting most of the time. But at the end of the day, if you're willing to put in the work, you got milk and cheese, you got fish, you got to explore the wilderness even if you didn't shoot anything, you have a home. Life is never easy, it's not supposed to be. It's even less easy when you're dead set on doing everything yourself.

But it's worth it.

(Hey @siberianwendys, you inspired me today and thus acted as a tool of God to remind me what's important in life. Thank you. 💖)

[imalifegen89]

A Legacy Left Behind - Chapter - 7 - When the Past Unfurls - Part I

Rating: Mature

Category: M/M

Fandoms: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1, Hawaii Five-0 (2010)

Relationship: Steve McGarrett/John Sheppard

Characters: Steve McGarrett, John Sheppard, Danny "Danno" Williams, Evan Lorne, Bates (Stargate), Laura Cadman, Alicia Vega, Kono Kalakaua, Adam Noshimuri, PO Higgins (OC), Samantha "Sam" Carter, Jack O'Neill, John McGarrett, Dr. Lam, Catherine Rollins, Wo Fat, Original Goa'uld Character(s), Original Characters

Additional Tags: Action/Adventure, Action & Romance, Military, Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Violence, Character Bashing, Not Catherine Rollins Friendly, No DADT, Swearing

Summary :

"Sure John, I'll call," He promised as the SUV came to a stop in front of them. He and Danny both got in and seated themselves. He then gave a short wave to John who was still standing there by the exit watching them leave. Steve hoped what John had told him would be true, that his dad would be able to make it through. He was not ready to lose his only remaining parent. ‘God please, not again! Not so soon ...' His mind was repeating the mantra as Steve let out a weary sigh and closed his eyes."

Steve will find out about what happened to his father, who was involved in it, why it happened and so much more than he ever bargained for...

Hello All, Here's the next part of the series, and it's a two-parter. There are some plot twists on the way and hope you all will enjoy it.

Aethir - Thank you so much for your hard work and for finding some time to help me with editing, commenting, and giving out very helpful tips and suggestions. Idea bouncing and snark is always so much fun with you!!!

Part 1 - Honolulu General

Honolulu General Hospital

Hawaii

The six-hour-long flight in the old and noisy Globemaster had left both SEALs travel-weary and sleep-deprived. Neither had talked much during the flight, trying to catch a few hours of shut-eye, but among the jarring engine noise, the comms chatter, the endless shuddering, and the training maneuvers, that had been impossible. At the end of the flight, they had thanked the crew and disembarked with relief, each carrying their single duffel.

They were both on leave and therefore in civilian clothes, and instead of the usual armory they carried around, they only had their handguns and with extra clips in their bags. Although they were only making a visit to the hospital, neither of them was willing to go completely unarmed.

A short taxi ride brought them to the hospital from Hickam closer to the midday visiting hours. They figured if needed, they could wait in the hospital until they could see John McGarrett.

……….

"Hello, My name’s Steve McGarrett, I got a call last night about my father. Somebody named Curtis called me," said Steve, presenting his credentials to the male nurse manning the reception area of the Outdoor-Patient-Department. The nurse - L. Rider, according to his name tag - gave Steve and his ID a once over and started accessing his system.

"Yes, Mr. McGarrett, your father's been moved from the ICU. He’s in room 308. You can take that elevator to the left," he informed.

“Thanks.”

Steve and Danny both took off towards the given directions.

The room Steve's father was in wasn't hard to find. It was located on the third floor and the room had the number and the name 'John McGarrett' on a plaque clearly displayed. It also had 'Dr. Leonard T. Lester - Cardiologist' listed as his primary care physician.

"I'm going to go look around and find some coffee. Do you need anything?" Danny asked. He was going to give his friend some time with his dad before going in.

"Yeah sure, I could use some coffee.”

……….

During the six long hours he’d had to think about what happened, Steve’s mind had been busy contemplating some horrible scenarios. He hadn’t realized that he had been subconsciously bracing himself for the worst. Nobody in his family had any history of heart attacks and he didn't know what to expect, what to do or how to prepare. Being the trained planner that he was, Steve found the lack of knowledge rather unsettling.

What the nurse at the reception told him, gave him hope though. He theorized that since his dad's already been moved from the ICU to a regular room, his condition shouldn't be that bad.

Steve took a moment to compose himself, watching Danny as he walked away. Then he took a deep breath and knocked on the door before entering room 308.

……….

He stood still by the door to take the scene in.

His dad was lying on the bed and a white and blue hospital gown was peeking out from underneath the white blanket. There was a monitor attached to his chest and Steve could see the leads disappear through the opening of his gown. The apparatus was quiet and its screen indicated a steady rhythm while John McGarrett slept. Steve noticed there was an IV connected to his dad's left hand as well. He scrunched up his nose when the strong odor of antiseptics hit him in the face, contrasting starkly with the smell of gun oil and Old Spice aftershave he usually associated with his dad.

McGarrett senior was sleeping peacefully and didn't seem to be in any pain. Steve was content to let his dad be, preferring to let him wake up on his own. As he stepped further into the room, he saw a chair by the bed and lowered himself to it slowly, mindful not to make a sound. Then he placed his duffel bag on the floor and settled in to wait.

Maybe it was his instincts of being an active duty police officer - John McGarrett surfaced from his slumber knowing that there was somebody in the room with him, within a few minutes of Steve’s entrance. The slight change in the rhythm of the heart monitor alerted Steve to the fact. Not wanting to startle him, Steve leaned forward and addressed his father softly.

"Hey dad," he reached to touch his hand, the one without the IV needle.

"Steve!" His dad's eyes went wide, realizing his son was sitting by the bed. "What are you doing here?" John knew Steve was deployed and he was the last person he expected to see in the hospital this early. He hadn’t even been in here for 24 hours.

"The hospital called me and told me you had a heart attack," Steve explained. He was relieved to see that his dad was speaking clearly and wasn't showing any signs of disorientation or pain. In fact, he looked quite normal. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright," John smiled at the raised eyebrow he received from his son at that. So he elaborated. "Just a little tightness in my chest area. But the doctor says it's normal after an attack. Other than that, I really am feeling fine. To be honest, I didn't even know what it was. I only knew I had a heart attack when Dr. Lester told me this morning," He was more curious as to how his son got here so quickly. "Where were you when they called you?"

"Colorado Springs." Steve smiled. He couldn't really get into details about his deployment or his whereabouts other than that, but he was glad that he was in the States to make this trip.

"Hah, and you’re here already. That was quick,"

"Yeah, I got lucky and caught a transport.”

Steve was more than happy to just sit there and exchange pleasantries all day long. But he needed to know what happened first. He got up to go and fetch a glass of water for his father from the bedside table. "Dad, what happened?"

His dad took it and drank some water before handing it back to Steve. Then he turned on his bed to fully settle on his back. Steve put the glass away and leaned towards his dad, giving him his full, undivided attention.

"It was the weirdest thing, kid," said the senior McGarrett, frowning as he cast his mind back to the chain of events that led to his sudden health failure. “I was in that small grocery shop by the filling station near home. I had just finished filling up the tank on the truck and was getting some stuff for the weekend. I remember walking towards the counter to pay and that’s it - for the life of me, I can't remember having any pain or calling for help or anything. I was standing there one moment and was waking up on this bed the next.” He paused to take a deep breath and then exhale slowly. “Then there’s this fellow - Dr. Lester - is telling me how lucky I was to come back from a severe myocardial infarction with no visible damage to my heart,” he made a face, remembering his earlier conversation with the overly cheerful doctor who described the incident in vivid medical detail.

“How’d you get here?”

“He said that the shop owner called for emergency services and sent me here. Apparently, I coded on the way, but they managed to get my heart started again without much fuss. And now, here I am.” John finished recounting the incident.

Steve rubbed a hand across his face, trying to take it all in.

“I wouldn’t obviously know what to expect, it’s not like I’ve had a heart attack before - but I'd have thought that at least you get some kind of a warning sign, you know? Like breathing difficulties, chest pain or something,” McGarrett senior continued after a moment. “Not this going about your normal day-to-day business, and then a complete blackout, followed by waking up in a damn hospital bed - it just doesn't feel normal,” his frown deepened.

Steve didn’t say anything for a long while. He just took his time to sit there and watch his dad who seemed to be doing pretty much okay after going through such an experience. He was immensely relieved and was happy to take his time to enjoy the feeling, letting go of the worry and stress that had built up since the moment he’d received the call.

A knock on the door interrupted the comfortable silence in the room and Danny Williams entered carrying two styrofoam cups of coffee.

“Ah there you are, Cap, how are you feeling?” He asked, handing over a coffee to Steve and coming closer to stand near the bed railing.

“I’m feeling alright, considering,” John smiled crookedly. “Where’s my coffee, Williams?”

“Hey, I don't think coffee is on the approved list for you,” Danny grinned. He was glad to see the man looked healthy enough for someone who had just had a serious health scare, fit to be up and making demands. “Besides, this hospital swill is so bad it might just give you a different problem or three,” he sipped his coffee and grimaced theatrically to prove the point. “So when are they letting you out?”

“Don't know yet, my doctor is supposed to drop by any time now. I don't think I need to stay here any longer at all.” John stated confidently. He was not accustomed to sitting around on a bed all day, especially when he wasn’t feeling different from any other day.

“Let’s let the doctor decide that, yeah dad? As you said, this is the first time something like this has happened to you and they just might need to keep you under observation for a bit - just saying,” Steve cautioned.

He knew his dad and he could see the stubborn man was already planning on going home, to start acting as if nothing happened. He might even insist on going to work unless the doctor gave him strict orders to rest and take it easy for a while.

“Which reminds me, do they know at the station that you are here?” Steve asked his dad before he could start protesting about staying put in the hospital. “I tried calling Kelly before I left, but it went to voicemail,”

“No, I’m on leave - only due back the day after tomorrow,” his dad replied somewhat petulantly.

The room door opened again, this time granting entry to a short, balding Hawaiian native. The name tag embroidered over the chest area of his white coat identified him as Dr. L.T. Lester. He smiled cheerfully at all of them and went to the nearest monitor connected to McGarrett senior.

“So how are you feeling today, John?” the doctor inquired while studying the monitor.

“I’m fine doc, when do I get to go home?” John got straight to the point.

The doctor continued taking readings and making notes with an amused smile on his face. Then he went to unclip the chart hanging on the bed railing and made a few notes on it. After that, instead of answering his reluctant patient, the doctor turned to Steve and Danny to introduce himself. At the end of exchanging pleasantries, he finally turned to address John.

“Well, Mr. McGarrett, I can see you’re doing quite well and your readings are good. But, as I explained to you earlier, what you went through is quite serious and you might have damage to your heart muscle.”

Then sensing the alarm from the visitors of his patient, the doctor hurried to explain. “It’s what happens during a heart attack. The blood flow into the heart gets interrupted and it goes into a sort of overdrive trying to restore the flow. This overactivity can cause damage. Your dad was quite lucky that people near him reacted quickly and sent him to the hospital on time.” The doctor smiled again.

“So, what’s next, doc?” Steve asked.

“We do need to assess the possibility of damage and the cause of the infraction. The most common reason is usually coronary artery disease, which means cholesterol clogging the arteries. There are some instances this could happen if you were experiencing a seizure with severe spasms and contractions. We’ll need to run some tests to determine the cause and then plan steps for the recovery,”

“And how long will all this take?” The McGarrett senior looked crestfallen, resigned to the fact that he wasn’t going to get out soon.

“I actually have you scheduled for some of the tests now. Some blood work, an EKG, and a scan. An attendant should be here shortly to take you for those,” Then the doctor turned to Steve and Danny. “The tests will take about an hour or so. If you need to step out and have a meal or something, now would be the time.”

An elderly female attendant entered the room quietly, pushing a wheelchair as the doctor finished, and started unhooking Steve's dad from his various monitors. Steve took the doctor's advice and took his leave with Danny, after letting his dad know that they’ll be back once the tests were done.

……….

“Well, I’ve gotta admit man, your dad’s right. That does sound weird.” Danny said after listening to Steve about what happened.

“Why?” Steve frowned.

“My uncle Mario had a heart attack a couple of years ago. The man was moving some heavy boxes around. He’d been sweating buckets and breathing through his mouth for about an hour when my aunt found him and made him take a break. Then he felt pain in his chest and aunt Rea took him to a doctor. The doctor took one look at him and sent him to an ER. He’s been suffering from a heart attack for hours by then,” Danny paused and tried to remember the exact details his mother told him about what happened to his uncle. “He is fine now. He had to have a bypass and has to stay away from all the greasy food and the alcohol, but he made it,” he said inspecting the sandwich he took from the vending machine. They were both seated in the hospital cafeteria with bottles of water and sandwiches.

It was crowded and almost all the tables were full with families huddling together having lunch - most probably waiting for news about their loved ones. It wasn’t that noisy, despite being crowded to capacity - and nowhere near cozy or inviting - as one would expect from a busy dining area. It felt as though the sense of expectation, the sense of happiness, and the overpowering sense of grief had all tangled up together to create a very subdued atmosphere. Even the smell of food mixed with the underlying odors of disinfectant contributed to the gloom that pervaded over the souls lost in their own private worlds.

“Wow, I’ve forgotten how crappy the hospital food is. This doesn't look like a roast beef sandwich man,” Danny sniffed at it. “Sure doesn’t smell like it either.” Then he shrugged and started eating. It didn’t taste much better either, but he was hungry after the long flight.

Steve didn’t say anything as he nibbled on his food. He wasn’t really hungry but knew he had to have something to keep his energy up. He was thinking about his dad’s recounting of the incident. He hadn’t said anything to his dad earlier, but the more he thought about it, the less it made sense. What Danny was telling him also made it clear how unusual the whole thing was. He made up his mind to pop into the shop his dad was in, later when they left the hospital. Maybe he could talk to the shopkeeper and even have a look at their security footage if they had any. He might even find something that could explain his dad suddenly suffering a heart attack. Maybe there was something that his dad had forgotten to mention.

He needed to get in touch with Sheppard as well, to let him know his dad’s condition. He knew that John would worry until he heard from him. Taking the last bite of his sandwich, he decided now would be the best time to make that call.

“Listen, I need to call Shep and let him know dad’s alright. I’m just gonna be over there by that balcony,” he told Danny as he stood up, fishing his phone out of his jacket pocket. Then he walked to the area he pointed, dialing Sheppard. “Be right back.”

………..

The sweet and subtle smell of her perfume reached Danny first, as he realized the lady who was wearing it was standing right in front of him. He looked up and saw the familiar, smiling face of Lieutenant Catherine Rollins looking down at him.

“Well, hello!” He grinned. “Fancy running into you here, of all places,” he gestured at the seat Steve had just vacated. “Take a seat,”

“Thanks,” Rollins smiled charmingly as she sat. “I’m just here visiting a friend of mine. She just had her second baby - a cute little baby boy,” her face took on the same expression all women wore when talking about babies. “I popped in here to get a drink and then I saw you,” she said. “I thought you guys were in Colorado? Is everything ok?” Her expression turned into one tinged with concern.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I’m here with Steve, actually. We got a call about his dad, but he’s alright. We just saw him,” Danny explained without going into much detail. He noticed the Lieutenant perking up at the mention of McGarrett junior.

“He’s over there, on a call.” he pointed with his head.

Steve was leaning over the balcony with his elbows resting on the railing and busy talking to Sheppard. He didn’t see the new arrival as he had his back to them.

Danny saw the wattage of Cathrine’s smile go up as her eyes ran over the view the oblivious SEAL presented. He hid the grin and blinked at her innocently when she turned back to face him.

“So, will you guys be here for a few days then?” She inquired, her gaze snapping back to where Steve was, almost unintentionally.

Danny knew she was mostly interested in finding out whether Steve was going to be around for a while.

“Well, that depends.” He hedged. “We have to see his dad’s doctor and see how it goes,”

He didn’t want to give any definite answers or any other details without Steve’s say so. He opened his bottle and drank some water, wishing Steve would soon return. So that he could decide what to tell this infatuated Lieutenant who was back to staring at Steve’s ass with a dreamy look on her face. Then something started to nag at Danny about what she said earlier, but he couldn’t place it. He pushed it away to sort out later as he saw Steve finishing his call.

……….

“Yeah, so that’s what happened. He seems alright and man, that’s a relief. Depending on what his tests and scans show, it’ll be a day or two more. But I’ll message you when I find out,” Steve said to John, who was quite relieved at the fact that Steve’s dad was fine. He insisted that Steve take as much time as needed to make sure his dad got all the support he needed. He also made Steve promise to message him with updates and implored him to take care of himself before finally ending the call.

Steve put his phone back inside his jacket with a smile. He very much appreciated the time he was given to take care of his dad. Moreover, he was deeply touched by the way Sheppard sounded over the phone. He had been really worried and the relief that poured over from his lover through the call was almost a tangible thing. Steve made a mental note to send regular updates as promised. It wasn’t something he would have done for anyone else, but he knew Sheppard would stress otherwise. It felt nice to know that he had somebody who cared that much about him.

He felt the good feeling wilt away when he turned back to see the penetrating gaze of Catherine Rollins directed at him. He was pretty sure he caught her in the act of staring at his ass. She smiled brilliantly at him and waved. Steve was somewhat reluctant to wave back and tried his best to summon a smile for her. He was sure it looked more like a grimace instead.

Steve didn’t have anything against beautiful women. He was definitely not opposed to being the subject of desire of one, either. He had gone out with many pretty women and Catherine Rollins, with her long black hair, soulful brown eyes, and radiant smile was exactly his type. But he was very much invested in another hazel-eyed brunet and he didn’t see himself veering off anytime soon - if ever at all. Even if he wasn’t, Steve knew that he still wouldn’t be interested in this particular woman. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something off about Lieutenant Rollins - something that rubbed him the wrong way - that made him want to be on his guard whenever she was nearby.

“Hi, Steve,” Rollins greeted cheerfully as he walked towards them.

Again, he was instantly put off by the overly friendly greeting. They had only known each other for about 48 hours, hadn’t they? He had to make a conscious effort to return the greeting without letting his true feelings show.

“Hello, Lieutenant,” He asked, more or less politely. “What brings you here?”

Danny cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes, picking up on Steve’s discomfort instantly.

Rollins either didn’t notice or didn’t let it bother her because she launched into the story of her friend and her cute little babies with great enthusiasm.

Steve kept the smile plastered on his face as she talked. Then he made a show of checking time and gestured to Danny. “Hey, listen, it’s nice bumping into you here. But Danny and I’ve gotta run. My dad should be done with his tests now,” he said to the woman as Danny got up from the chair to go with him. Steve didn’t want to give her any details about their visit here and hoped Danny hadn’t run his mouth either.

With that somewhat curt parting, he turned and walked out of the cafeteria, with Danny following closely behind.

“So, it isn’t just me, hah? She gives off weird vibes to you too?” Danny asked, turning his walk into a half jog to keep up with Steve’s longer strides. Steve was eager to put as much distance as possible between them and Rollins.

“Yeah, you didn’t tell her why we’re here, did you?” Steve asked while stabbing the buttons on the elevator.

“Nah, not really. Just told her that we’re here for your dad. That’s it.”

“Is she following us?” Steve was staring at the shiny surface of the elevator door.

The reflections on it were slightly distorted. But Danny could discern the shapely figure of Rollins in tight-fitting jeans and green sleeveless top, slowly making her way towards them.

“Forget this,” Steve spat, pressing a few more buttons for various floors on the keypad. Then he swiftly walked away to the nearest staircase and started climbing two steps at a time. He knew his behavior was a bit irrational; she was just a colleague after all, not another enemy combatant gaining on him. Nevertheless, he wanted to get away from her as soon as possible.

When they finally reached Steve’s dad’s room, the man was already there, enjoying his lunch. It didn’t look much better than what they had either. John McGarrett insisted that there was no need for them to hang around since he was just going to take his pills and take a long nap anyway. He could see the boys were tired and wanted them to go home and catch a few hours of sleep for themselves. Steve relented and promised his dad that they’d drop by later around dinner time. He made him promise to call them if he needed anything before that and then finally hugged him fiercely, before taking their leave.

[aletman262]

Promotional Strategy for Elements

I created a promotional strategy for my Elements project. Creating a promotional strategy let me consider things such as;

Why they want to be on social media

Who is the target audience

What are they going to share and wher

When are they going to share

Promotional strategy’s to consider

Contests as a Promotional Strategy

Contests are a frequently used promotional strategy. Many contests don't even require a purchase. The idea is to promote your brand and put your logo and name in front of the public rather than make money through a hard-sell campaign. People like to win prizes. Sponsoring contests can bring attention to your product without company overtness.

Social Media Promotion

Social media websites such as Facebook and Google+ offer companies a way to promote products and services in a more relaxed environment. This is direct marketing at its best. Social networks connect with a world of potential customers that can view your company from a different perspective.

Rather than seeing your company as "trying to sell" something, the social network shows a company that is in touch with people on a more personal level. This can help lessen the divide between the company and the buyer, which in turn presents a more appealing and familiar image of the company.

Mail Order Marketing

Customers who come into your business are not to be overlooked as they have already decided to purchase your product. What can be helpful is getting personal information from these customers. Offer a free product or service in exchange for the information. These are customers who are already familiar with your company and represent the target audience you want to market your new products to.

Product Giveaways and Samples

Product giveaways and allowing potential customers to sample a product are methods used often by companies to introduce new food and household products. Many of these companies sponsor in-store promotions, giving away product samples to entice the buying public into trying new products.

Point-of-Sale Promotion and End-Cap Marketing

Point-of-sale and end-cap marketing are ways of selling product and promoting items in stores. The idea behind this promotional strategy is convenience and impulse. The end cap, which sits at the end of aisles in grocery stores, features products a store wants to promote or move quickly. This product is positioned so it is easily accessible to the customer.

Point-of-sale is a way to promote new products or products a store needs to move. These items are placed near the checkout in the store and are often purchased by consumers on impulse as they wait to be checked out.

Customer Referral Incentive Program

The customer referral incentive program is a way to encourage current customers to refer new customers to your store. Free products, big discounts and cash rewards are some of the incentives you can use. This is a promotional strategy that leverages your customer base as a sales force.

Causes and Charity

Promoting your products while supporting a cause can be an effective promotional strategy. Giving customers a sense of being a part of something larger simply by using products they might use anyway creates a win/win situation. You get the customers and the socially conscious image; customers get a product they can use and the sense of helping a cause. One way to do this is to give a percentage of product profit to the cause your company has committed to helping.

Branded Promotional Gifts

Giving away functional branded gifts can be a more effective promotional move than handing out simple business cards. Put your business card on a magnet, ink pen or key chain. These are gifts you can give your customers that they may use, which keeps your business in plain sight rather than in the trash or in a drawer with other business cards the customer may not look at.

Customer Appreciation Events

An in-store customer appreciation event with free refreshments and door prizes will draw customers into the store. Emphasis on the appreciation part of the event, with no purchase of anything necessary, is an effective way to draw not only current customers but also potential customers through the door. Pizza, hot dogs and soda are inexpensive food items that can be used to make the event more attractive.

Setting up convenient product displays before the launch of the event will ensure the products you want to promote are highly visible when the customers arrive.

After-Sale Customer Surveys

Contacting customers by telephone or through the mail after a sale is a promotional strategy that puts customer satisfaction first while leaving the door open for a promotional opportunity. Skilled salespeople make survey calls to customers to gather information that can later be used for marketing by asking questions relating to how customers feel about the products and services purchased. This serves the dual purpose of promoting your company as one that cares what the customer thinks and one that is always striving to provide the best service and product.