#im not good a building characters and do like proper team building and rotations

[narzissenkreuz-ordo]

crowned lyney's burst today and.............96k burst omg

[the-raven-sisters]

Chapter One

Title: Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Theme Song: Team by Lorde

Word Count: 4,960

Warnings: language & mention of blood

Characters: (OC) Harper Raven, (OC) Maisie Raven, (OC) Piper Evans, (OC) Philip Calloway, (OC) Danny Anderson, Sam Winchester (mentioned), Dean Winchester (mentioned)

POV: Third Person

A/N: Harper x coffee is the real otp of this series. also im lowkey in love with Danny and if you have any good ideas for a Harper/Danny ship name let me know lol also originally part 1 and part 2 were supposed to be one part but it was too horrendously long… so we split it up for the readers sake… -mara

Forgive us for the lack of Winchester’s for the sake of building our own characters, but trust me, there will plenty of Sam and Dean in the rest of the series! If there are any triggers you think should be added to the warnings, please let us know. And yes, I know those are gifs from gossip girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but for our intents and purposes that is Haper and Maisie and Phillip lol  -Hope

Read the Raven Sisters Summary here!

Read chapter 2 here!

Check out the Character Roster here!

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you go; I’ll keep you safe.” Maisie Raven’s calming voice floats through the tense air in the cab of the sheeny black F-150, speeding down the back roads of outer Las Vegas. Her words are directed toward the injured hunter, splayed across the back seat, his head resting in Maisie’s lap and her hands applying pressure to the gruesome gash there. But the driver is more affected by the words than the barely conscious passenger; suddenly Maisie’s foster sister, Harper Raven, is taken back to the night she first met Maisie. The night their lives had taken a most drastic turn.

Seven year old Harper slid into the backseat of a rusted old Ford, quietly trying to accept her situation, unlike a five year old Maisie, who struggled against their savior, loudly begging for her parents.

“I want my daddy!” Young Maisie screamed while wildly kicking as she tried to escape the arms that were trying to save her from the same horrible fate as her parents. “Please, let go!”

“Sweetheart, please get in. It’s dangerous out here.” A gentle motherly sounding voice attempted to calm her, but Maisie refused to give in to her demands.

“Maisie? Please, we should listen; it’s not safe.” Harper urgently pleaded, reaching out to take Maisie’s hand in her own. Maisie turned to look into Harper’s frightened eyes; finally she nodded subtly, then clambered into the car with sporadic sobs still shaking her small form.

The passenger door closed once she settled next to Harper, who still held her hand tightly, trying to comfort each other with their friendly touch. Tears rolled down Harper’s cheeks, but she didn’t dare let out any fearful sobs, not wanting to further frighten an already traumatized Maisie. Instead she silently cried to herself as she glanced out the window, watching the flames dance around the inside of the burning barn. Her attention was brought back inside the now moving car, hearing Maisie’s slightly quieted whimpers beside her. Huddling closer to her, Harper leaned her head against Maisie’s.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let go; I’ll keep you safe,” Harper whispered comfortingly, as they were driven down the road towards their new life and home together as foster sisters.

“Harper! The turn, now!” Maisie’s strained voice snaps Harper back into their present predicament. Realizing she is passing the intended turn, Harper sharply rotates the wheel as fast as her hands will let her. Tires screeching and dust flying, she clips the edge of the stop sign posted just off the road, but gains proper control without further incident as she continues traveling on towards their destination.

“The hell was with that!?” Maisie asks, accusation lacing her tone.

Harper shakes her head, trying to throw off the remnant of her reverie. “Sorry, I don’t know… I just… Sorry,” she breathes out, tightening her grip on the wheel and regaining her focus on the task at hand.

“You okay up there?” Maisie presses, more empathetic now, knowing her sister’s habit of hiding away instead of speaking up about her true feelings and knowing she never just loses control out of nowhere.

“Yeah, it’s nothing. We’re almost there,” Harper redirects, believing that, right now, arriving home is more important than the haunting memories of her past.

Maisie nods her acquiescence, if only for the time being, returning to her ministrations on the fading hunter. Harper’s eyes strain slightly in the waning light of day, waiting for their destination to come into view. Finally she catches sight of the brick chimney peeking above the trees, then the soft green eaves barely hanging over the side of the three story building of the same color, that they called home. Or as the plaque on the front porch read:          

           Harvelle’s Safe House

In eternal memory of Ellen, Jo, & Ash.

Harper pulls into the driveway, barely coming to a stop before throwing it into park in front of the porch steps, instead of next to Maisie’s Classic Mustang in the garage. She jumps out and runs to the passenger side to help Maisie carry the barely conscious hunter to the safety of the house, bringing him into one of the guest rooms equipped for medical emergencies like this one. Once inside, they waste no time, heaving the wounded hunter onto the gurney placed in the middle of the room; they weave around each other collecting the tools they need for patching up the ugly gash.

Maisie starts with a small pair of surgical scissors, clipping away the hairs matted with blood, obscuring the wound. Setting them out of the way, she starts to ready the suture and needle holder for the stitches while Harper applies the antiseptic for her. Once the prep is finished, Harper gets in position to hold the hunter still. With a nod from Harper, Maisie moves in with the suture, deftly pushing then pulling the first stitch through. Maisie only stills for a moment as the hunter suddenly comes alert with a yell.

“Arthur! I know it hurts like a bitch, but it’ll hurt like a motherfucker if you keep moving. Stay. Still,” Harper grunts at him, practically all of her upper body weight pressing down on his shoulders. He slumps still enough for Maisie to continue with the next stitch, and the next.  With Arthur’s twitching only occasionally noticeable, Maisie moves as swiftly as her fingers can allow, trying to get it over with for everyone’s sake.

Pulling the last stitch taut, Maisie ties off the ends and picks up the scissors, cutting the excess off. “Okie dokie, Arthur, now it’ll only hurt like a son of a bitch,” Maisie says with a contented smirk. Harper just shakes her head, holding back her own amused smile as she pats Arthur on the shoulder, recoiling when she sees the grimace on his face.

“Alright, we’ll let you rest now, but first have some Advil.” Harper grabs the bottle, unscrewing the lid before shaking two pills into her hand. Arthur happily accepts the painkillers from her, quickly downing the capsules without waiting for the water bottle that Maisie had grabbed for him. Shrugging, Maisie still opens the water and hands it to Arthur, who downs that almost as quickly.

As Harper and Maisie turn to leave, Arthur reaches out and grabs Maisie’s hand. “Thanks for always picking up the phone. Your mamas raised you girls right,” He croaks out.

Maisie and Harper look back, Maisie smiling in acknowledgment while Harper nods and simply replies, “Get some rest, Arthur,” before turning back to exit the room and softly closing the door behind them.

As soon as the door is closed, they both simultaneously let out a sigh. Harper turns to rest her forehead on Maisie’s shoulder, but is immediately disrupted when her white German Shepherd greets her with a nudge. “I should probably go turn off the truck. And I should probably get it into the garage before I do that. Huh, Neptune,” Harper mumbles to her dog as she reaches down to scratch behind his ears.

“And you should probably clean out all the blood before you do that,” Maisie says with a chuckle, then looking down at her own apparel, she adds, “which I think would be a good idea for both of us.”

Groaning, Harper lifts her head and moves toward the front door. “Do you want any-” Maisie starts to offer her help but Harper cuts her off with a hasty “Nope,” thrown over her shoulder as she proceeds out the still open front door, allowing Neptune to follow her out before closing it. Maisie shakes her head knowingly at her sister’s particular habits when it comes to her truck. Then she heads up the stairs to clean herself off, stopping at her bed once she enters the room as she sees her Siberian husky still sound asleep on her bed.

“When did you get so lazy, Gandalf? You haven’t even led your own fellowship yet,” Maisie says to her dog as he opens his eyes, but only receives a head tilt in return.  

“You’re right, I’m too bloody for those kind of nerd comments. Don’t wait up for me, you know how I like my showers,” she quips before continuing on to her task.

After parking her now blood-free truck into the garage, Harper grabs two beers out of the fridge before searching their home for Maisie; not having looked long, Harper finds her on the roof of their back porch, watching the stars on this clear, crisp night. Harper slides through the window and hands Maisie her beer, appreciating the gentle breeze and cloudless sky as she sits down beside her sister.

“I could show you the constellations if you want,” Harper suggests, trying to sound casual, but Maisie could hear the excitement in her tone.

“Harp, you’ve been drilling them into my head since I was five, I think I’m good,” Maisie lightly teases, before taking a sip of her beer. Harper just shrugs, taking the point and taking a drink from her own beer bottle.

“We’ve got to talk to Arthur about always hunting alone. I mean I know how hunters can be,” Maisie starts.

“You mean how stupid they can be,” Harper interjects.

“Well… Pretty much. I don’t get their lone wolf mentality. Why wouldn’t you want backup? It just makes sense,” Maisie contemplates.

Harper shrugs as she takes a sip of her beer. “Maybe their egos prevent them from asking for help,” she accuses. “Although, Arthur doesn’t seem to have a problem asking for our help and bleeding all over my truck. The little fucker needs to keep his blood to himself,” Harper grumbles.

“Well, I’m glad we had our moms so we didn’t get stuck with one of those fuckers,” Maisie remarks.

“Speaking of, mama Q called earlier today. Said she’s still waiting for us to gank that ghost. I’m pretty sure that’s just her excuse so we’ll come visit,” Harper admits. “We should probably visit soon, otherwise she’ll come visit us.”

“Good call,” Maisie agrees. “Or before she just burns down the whole facility to get our attention,” Maisie adds with a shake of her head.

Harper laughs and nods in agreement. “Yeah, we’ll have to start planning a road trip back home.”

“Tomorrow, though. Tonight I’m only planning on going to sleep,” Maisie replies, and with that, she stands to go inside, first reaching a hand to help her sister up.  

Harper shakes her head and states, “I’m going to stay out a little bit longer. Need to finish my beer first.” Maisie nods in acquiescence then heads inside, leaving Harper to her thoughts.

Harper stares up at the starry sky, thinking back to the sudden flashback she had earlier that night. It had been a while since she thought back to those dark days, but now she could see the memory playing like a movie scene in her mind. Reliving unpleasant memories is something she tries to avoid, yet tonight she couldn’t stop herself from acknowledging a time when she had never felt more scared and uncertain about her future. It is a bittersweet memory though, the night she lost her parents but gained a sister. And with Maisie by her side, fear and uncertainty didn’t lurk so close.

“Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna turn around and desert you,” Maisie’s eyes snap open, though heavy with sleep and confusion, as the song continues. She looks over to her nightstand, realizing the music is coming from her phone, lit up to display her best friend, Piper Evans’ number.

“Dammit, Harper,” Maisie grumbles under her breath, knowing full well who’s behind this Rick roll. After picking up her phone and pressing answer, she rests it to her ear and mumbles out a “hello” while absentmindedly running her fingers over Gandalf’s silky fur.

“He’s gone; he’s the second one, both from Cirque Du Soleil. Granted, at different times and from different locations, but the connection is there. I need you to help me find them-” Piper rambles, one senseless notion after another, muddling Maisie’s thoughts even further.

Maisie cuts her off before she can get any further, “Whoa, whoa, Piper! I need you to back it up, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Deep breath, and let’s try it again.” Maisie can hear Piper inhaling momentarily before starting again.

“It’s Ellis, he’s missing,” Piper breathes out, and Maisie can now hear the tears she’s holding back, her heart faltering a beat for her best friend.

“What happened?” Maisie hastily questions.

“I don’t- we were separated for like a minute, he went to talk to the valet, then I don’t know! I couldn’t find him.” Piper replies, a small sob echoing through the receiver, and Maisie shuts her eyes against the image of how devastated she must be.

“Oh, babe. Um why don’t you come on over here and we’ll ta-” Maisie starts trying to assuage Piper, but gets no further.

“I’m already on my way.” Piper informs her. Maisie smiles in spite of herself; at least Piper was still her ever proactive self.

“Mmm good. You want me to keep you company while you drive?” Maisie asks.

“I- I think I can manage. I’ll see you in a few, though,” Piper answers.

“Alright, drive safe,” Maisie warns.

“I’m not a Raven,” Piper returns with a soft tease on Harper and Maisie’s driving habits, before hanging up. Maisie lets out a light laugh, putting her phone back on her nightstand, then running a hand over her face. Time to bring Harper up to speed. Well, if I can wake her up, Maisie thinks.

Maisie walks down the hall toward her sister’s room, Gandalf following close behind, and pushes the door open slowly, revealing Harper curled up in her blankets, unaware of Maisie’s entrance. She sits down on the edge of Harper’s bed, sure to avoid Neptune’s sleeping form, and nudges her shoulder.

“Harp, wake up,” she implores as she pokes at Harper again. “It’s important.”

Rolling over, Harper faces her sister and gives her a sleepy glare. “What is it,” she grumbles and rubs at her eyes, trying to force herself to wake up quicker.

“Piper is coming over; Ellis is missing. Come on, she needs us,” Maisie pinches Harper’s arm before standing up and walking downstairs to start the coffee pot, knowing the rich aroma will be the best incentive to get Harper out of bed.

Deciding to wait until she could smell the coffee, Harper continues to lay in bed, wishing her thoughts would’ve let her fall asleep before three in the morning. Her memories had driven unconsciousness from her grasp again and again until physical exhaustion overpowered her. Though usually used to getting hours of sleep that could be counted on one hand, that single deprived hour is enough to sour Harper’s mood for the day. Or at least until coffee.

Speaking of coffee, the appealing smell is now reaching Harper’s nose and propelling her off the bed, down the stairs, and straight to the steaming pot of deliciousness. Seeing Maisie had already set out her favorite morning coffee mug, she immediately grabs the pot and starts pouring.

“Thanks, beautiful,” Harper murmurs appreciatively with a soft smile.

Maisie laughs and replies, “You’re welcome, you addict.”

“I wasn’t talking to you…” Harper looks longingly at the coffee maker.

Maisie shrugs, not even bothering to question it. “Naturally,” she mumbles, still smirking.

Now that caffeine was a part of the equation, the girls, especially Harper, feel more prepared to take on the matter at hand.

“So, Ellis is missing?” Harper queries; Maisie nods slowly, still trying to process it herself.

“I didn’t get much else out of Piper that made sense but…” Maisie trails off as she hears the front door opening and shutting.

A rather bedraggled Piper enters the kitchen a moment later; her usually perfect red hair thrown into a bun on top of her head, and signature bright, red lipstick faded from her long night. Neptune and Gandalf instantly paw over to greet her.

A brief, tired smile washes over Piper’s face at the sight of her friends, including the four legged ones. Maisie is now on her feet, going over to Piper and wrapping her arms around her waist, Piper instantly collapsing into the embrace. Harper even sets down her coffee mug momentarily and comes up behind Piper, wrapping her arms around both her and Maisie in a little group hug. After a couple minutes like this, the girls begin to release each other, Maisie notices the bag Piper carried in and slides it from her shoulder.

“Hey, sit down, I’ll pour you a cup of coffee,” Maisie says, setting Piper’s bag down on the counter and walking back to the coffee pot. “You ready to walk us through what happened?” Maisie adds as she pours the rest of the coffee into a mug before sliding it to Piper along with the sugar container and a spoon.

After sitting at one of the bar stools placed around the island in the middle of the kitchen, Piper stirs in her sugar and stares down at the mug silently for a beat before giving a small but resolute nod. She takes a long appreciative sip of her beverage then setting it down, and begins her recap, “It was our third anniversary.  We went to the Michael Jackson Cirque Du Soleil show.”

“Where you had your first big date,” Maisie quietly interjects.

Piper smiles fondly and nods, then shakes herself from her memory, back to the task at hand. “The show ended at eleven. It took us approximately ten minutes to get through the crowd, then I stopped at the bathrooms while he went out to get in line for the valet. But once I got outside I couldn’t find him. He didn’t answer his phone, and when I asked the valet about it, the keys were still there.”

“Did you track the GPS on his phone?” Harper prods, after sipping at her coffee some more.

Piper raises an eyebrow and responds, “Don’t you think I would have led with that if it was as easy as following his GPS?”

“I was just asking. No need for the attitude,” Harper replies in an indignant tone, putting up her hands in defense.

Piper sighs. “Sorry, I’ve just been up all night trying to figure something out. But his GPS was turned off,” she said in a consolatory tone to Harper.

“You said he was the second one? What else have you found?” Maisie asks, easing away from the tension.

“Um, yeah,” Piper starts as she pulls her laptop out of her bag and begins to pull up her files. “I have a contact at the police department that owes me a favor, well a few actually,” Piper says, referring to her job in journalism that tends to get you favors. “I asked him if he had any similar missing persons reports on file. And there was one guy.” She opens the missing persons report and gives a brief overview of the case.

“Hue Truong. Thirty-nine. Last seen attending the Ká, Cirque Du Soleil show at the MGM Grand. Found… Uh, found dead two days ago,” Piper’s voice shakes as she utters the last sentence. She takes a ragged breath as she tries to keep herself composed in the face of the fear and doubt that plagued her mind. Ellis needs her, lest he succumb to the same fate. If he hadn’t already…

Maisie reaches to take Piper’s hand and gives it a comforting squeeze, while Harper places a quick kiss on the top of her head. Her friends’ warming reassurances help Piper continue with the task at hand.

“The other thing is, he was almost completely drained of blood,” Piper finishes grimly, a realization now dawning on Harper and Maisie’s faces, which quickly darkened.

“Fucking vampires,” Harper and Maisie spit out almost simultaneously. Then Harper goes silent, thinking back to her flashback from just the day before and feeling as if the memories will continually haunt her throughout the following days.

“You get into the security footage yet?” Maisie barrels on through the barrage of feelings, weighing even heavier on her with the newest development.

“Hacking isn’t exactly in my job description which is why I need your help,” Piper says as she gestures for Maisie to take control of her laptop. Never one to shy away from testing her skill, Maisie nods in compliance, repositions the laptop to a better angle, and starts moving her fingers dexterously over the keys.

“Okie dokie, I’m in,” Maisie states in triumph, before asking Piper, “What time did you get out again?”

“Ten after eleven,” Piper replies. Maisie nods, and her face scrunches up in concentration as she searches for the correct time stamp.

As the right time on the video approaches, Maisie slows down the speed of the recording and the three girls start watching intently. “There! He’s there,” Piper points adamantly to a spot on the screen and Maisie instantly snaps her finger down on the pause button. On closer inspection to the spot Piper is still pointing at, she can now see Ellis’ dark, slicked black hair. She starts moving the video forward at a slowed pace, watching intently to find what could have transpired.

Finally, a new development comes along in the form of a tall man with blonde curls popping out from under a valet hat. He strides straight to Ellis and gestures somewhere to his left, Ellis looks a little reluctant as he nods and starts in the suggested direction; after looking from side to side, the valet follows close behind.

“Damn, we can’t see his face,” Harper mutters into her coffee cup as she begins to take another sip. “What about the other guy? Maybe there’s something on those security tapes,” she suggests, and Maisie shrugs before she starts trying to gain access to the other footage.

A minute and a few more keystrokes later, Maisie has the other footage pulled up around the estimated time of the disappearance. The girls watch carefully for the first victim, Hue Truong, among the crowd. After watching the video a couple of times, Maisie finally spots him and pauses it as soon as she recognizes the face off the missing persons report.

“Here he is,” Maisie says, pointing to the dark-haired man, then begins the recording again slowly. They watch Hue Truong as he begins talking to who appears to be the same tall, blonde-headed man from the last security recording with Ellis. “Wait,” Maisie stops the video once more to focus on the man; she zooms in the video, enhancing it to obtain a clearer picture of this tall, blonde mystery.

“That’s the same guy; let’s see if we can get a better look this time,” Maisie says, inching the video forward frame by frame. Finally, as the man goes to trail behind Truong, his face turns at just the right angle for the camera to get a shot of most of his face. “Ah-ha! Bingpot!” Maisie beams, and Harper simply rolls her eyes.

“This isn’t the nine-nine, Mais, that’s not going to catch on,” Harper sasses, but she still gives Maisie a squeeze on the shoulder in confirmation of a job well done.

Maisie simply ignores her and continues on to print the suspect’s picture out. “Let’s get this son of a bitch.”

With minimal amount of sass, Harper convinces Piper to stay and rest at the house while Maisie checks in on Arthur. Dressing for the day, Harper and Maisie head over to the police department to gather more information on the mysterious blonde-headed man. A police officer sits behind the front desk, his short, light brown hair cut to police standards. Maisie warmly greets the officer; his warm brown eyes light up as he smiles brightly at the sight of the sisters.

“Agents,” he responds, giving them a nod, and Harper smiles back. “This is the second time the FBI has graced us with their presence today.”

Maisie raises her eyebrows. “Second time?”

“Yeah, two tall FBI guys were here earlier, looking into a death. Did your boss not warn you?” The officer looks between the two girls, his eyes lingering on Harper a little too long.

“Must have missed that call… But nice to see you, Danny,” Harper says, as they keep walking deeper into the police station to find the one officer on the force that knows of the supernatural horrors in their world, Sergeant Phillip Calloway.

The girls find him sitting in his office, his deep, brown eyes flitting over paper after paper as his dark hands flip the pages. Oblivious to their approach, Harper startles Philip by falling into the seat beside his desk with a smirk on her face, effectively gaining his attention.

“New pot of coffee just finished,” Philip nods toward the break room before looking back down at his paperwork.

Harper immediately pops back up to her feet, leaving Maisie to explain the situation while she began her quest to acquire more caffeine. Maisie shakes her head while Philip’s usually stern features are lightened by his smirk, only half paying attention to his work due to the amusement he found in watching Harper nearly skip to the break room.

Philip leans back in his chair, gazing expectantly at Maisie. “So, what do you need?”

“A name and where I can find him,” Maisie replies as she hands him the photo of the blonde mystery man. “And hello to you, too,” she adds with a smile.

He lets out a low sigh, “Can I ask why you need this information?”

“We linked him to a case,” Maisie answers simply as he looks over the picture, then adds, “So, two other FBI agents were here?”

“Mmhmm agents Geddy and Lee, looking into a death and a missing person case. Can’t tell if they were the real deal or wannabes like you two,” Philip replies with a short raise of his eyebrows.

“Geddy and Lee?” Maisie questions, her eyebrows furrowing, and Philip simply nods. A realization dawns on Maisie that Geddy Lee is the lead member of the rock band, Rush, and she shakes her head. “With those names, they’re about as real as the Captain America being hydra storyline,” she scoffs out saltily.

Philip shrugs. “Alright, I’m going to scan this,” he waves the photo in front of himself briefly, “but I can’t guarantee we’ll get a hit unless he has a record. Be right back.”

As Philip leaves, Harper reappears finally, walking out of the break room with Danny and laughing at something he had said. He accompanies her back to Philip’s desk, smiling all the way and saying a quick “see you later” as he continues to the front reception desk. Maisie gives her a knowing look and Harper shrugs before trying to hide her grin by taking a sip of her coffee.

“So, Danny ask you out yet? Or is he waiting for you to ask him?” Maisie asks, smirking at Harper.

“Why would I? I have everything I need right here,” Harper responds, gesturing to the cup of coffee in her hand. “I don’t need a boy when I have coffee.”

Maisie raises her eyebrows skeptically, “You can’t hook-up with coffee, Harp.”

“Well, how do you know?” Harper challenges, earning a groan from Maisie as she rolls her eyes to the ceiling in exasperation.

“I don’t know why I even bother,” Maisie mumbles.

“Because you’re a stubborn pain in the ass,” Philip answers from behind her as he comes back into the office. The girls part, making way for him to get back to his desk.

“Well, hello, Philly,” Harper chirps as Philip plops down into his office chair with a sigh.

“Harp, don’t patronize him; at least use his full nickname, Philly Cheese Steak,” Maisie contributes, not even trying to discourage the grin spreading across her face. Philip only glares with a completely unimpressed attitude, making the girls nearly lose it altogether.

“If you are finished amusing yourselves, I would like to give you this information so you can go be a pain in the ass to someone else,” Philip responds. The girls attempt to gain their composure, but not trusting their voices to cooperate, only manage a brief nod.

“Your guy’s name is Cannon Isaacson. Here’s the best address to find him,” Philip says shortly, but a small smirk flashes over his features as he hands over a post-it note with the name and address scrawled out.

“Thanks, you’re the best, Philly Cheese Steak,” Harper remarks, smiling down at him, and his face darkens slightly.

“Alright, get out of here before I have you both detained,” Philip practically growls, effectively causing the girls to turn on their heel and dart out of the room.

“Love you, bye!” Maisie throws over her shoulder before looking at Harper right as they both burst into laughter, causing Harper to lose her footing momentarily and stumble straight into Danny.

He catches her before she has a chance to fall and gives her a charming grin. “I feel something is brewing between us, like the coffee I made for you this morning.”

“A cute guy using a cute pick-up line about coffee? Damn, pick me up at seven for our coffee date,” Harper says with a soft laugh.

“Harper, I think we’re a little busy with catching kidnappers,” Maisie interjects coolly.

“Ah, shit, you’re right. Let’s make it tomorrow then, Danny,” Harper returns. Maisie, having watched this awkward attempt at flirting long enough, just heads through the exit. “But seriously, coffee date tomorrow,” Harper reaffirms as she gives him a pointed look.

Danny lets out a small laugh, “Alright, I’ll text you later about it.” Harper doesn’t say anything but shoots finger guns at him with two quick snaps, as she backs towards the exit after Maisie, causing laughter to roll out of Danny. He reciprocates the gesture, giving her a wink before she disappears through the doors, smiling.

Danny shakes his head, then immediately straightens and turns at the sound of Philip calling his name. Philip holds him with his steely gaze for a solid minute before speaking, “Don’t look so pleased with yourself; it’s about damn time.”