#made my husband break out the dog stroller so i could take my dogs out

[erasabledinosaur]

Happy Birthday!

thank you! feeling this whole being 38 things so far

(the only face pics im ever posting.)

[koganegawasimp]

Poly Seijoh Third Years - Part 2

(Part one here)

So after I posted my first poly Seijoh third years headcanons, a few people suggested that I should do a part 2, so that’s what I’m doing here! This set of headcanons will include things like weddings, marriage, and also children/taking care of said children (although I don’t actually go into detail about how the children are...acquired?? to keep it gender neutral!) Also! I’m having a December holiday headcanon event, so if you’d like to request a character the overview is right here! I hope you enjoy these headcanons!

So Oikawa gets down on one knee

In front of a crowd of people

At the Olympics

Side note: he talked to you guys about a public proposal beforehand to make sure you’d be ok with it! Proposing in front of a crowd without making sure your partner(s) would be ok with it is yikes!!!!!

The whole crowd is hushed as he starts to talk

And he has a WHOLE lot to say

He pours out the last decades worth of his feelings and his hopes for the future

He gives this whole long speech about how you’ve always been a part of his life, and how he wants you all to stay in his life (and his heart) “forever and ever”

At this point you’re all in tears

And you obviously accept his proposal! He practically tackles you all while sobbing about how happy he is

Let’s be honest, you’re all kind of sobbing about how happy you are

The whole way home is a blur of congratulations and cheering and photographs

There are SO many photos

But the whole way through the crowds, Iwaizumi always has a steady hand on your shoulder to ground you

By the time you get home, you’re all exhausted and get ready for bed even though it’s pretty early

But not before Makki snags a selfie of the five of you proudly holding up your rings while cuddling

You didn’t even need to announce you’re engagement or anything, EVERYONE’S already heard about it

Your social medias are blowing up with all the congratulatory comments and posts

The whole rest of the week you just kind of laze around at home with them, starting to plan the wedding

Planning literally anything with the four of them is chaotic to say the least, but planning a whole wedding?

It somehow ends up being an incredible balance between romantic and goofy, and it honestly fits you guys incredibly well

You invite all of your friends and family

Especially the entire old Seijoh volleyball team! They’re so excited to see you all get married!

The wedding is being held on a hillside overlooking a lake and it’s so beautiful!

As they all walk down the aisle one by one, they start to tear up

It really just feels like such a surreal day

You’re the last one to walk down the aisle and that’s the moment when Oikawa and Mattsun both break, happy tears running down their cheeks

There’s a little bit of confusion once you get to the “you may now kiss the bride” part (I am genuinely curious how that would work??? Would everyone just take turns kissing or something????)

The “first dance”! Oh my god it’s so sweet and goofy, since there’s an odd number of you it couldn’t really be a traditional partner waltz, so it ends up being like a variation of a waltz, where you’re all switching partners and stuff (I’m so sorry I can’t explain it agdsgxs)

The whole rest of the wedding carries that same energy, it’s all very fun but still romantic

At some point Makki gets the musicians to play the cha cha slide and you are struck with the sudden realization that one of your husbands is actually playing the cha cha slide at your wedding

The cake is also so pretty!

It’s got those little wedding cake toppers of you all

Mattsun ALMOST shoved cake all over Iwa’s face, but you stopped him because Iwaizumi would have murdered him

The rest of the wedding is kind of just like a big fun party

Afterwards you’re SO exhausted, so as soon as you bid everyone goodnight, you’re barely conscious

Iwaizumi carries you upstairs and helps you change out of your wedding clothes and into your pajamas

And Oikawa helps you with any skincare routine you have to do before bed

You drift off to sleep in the arms of all four of your husbands 🥺🥺

After all of that excitement, your honeymoon is pretty chill

You all rent a little cabin/cabana type thing on an island and spend pretty much the whole time relaxing and enjoying each other’s company

Honestly? Married life isn’t that different from how life was before, only now you’ve got the rings

You’ve still got the same domestic moments as before, the same goofy moments, the same soft cuddles and kisses and teasing

But it just feels like so much more if that makes sense??

Like even when you’re going through the motions you still can’t help but look at your boys and think ‘wow...those are my husbands’

And their affection has cranked up to like ten

Like, even when you’re just walking around in old clothes doing chores they look at you with stars in their eyes

They also are casually affectionate a lot more??

Like they’ll drape an arm over your shoulder or rest their chin on your head, little touches like that while you’re just puttering around the house or doing work

It’s all just so soft I abdnsnfnsf

You do end up adopting a dog and a cat tho (as long as you aren’t allergic!)

The next really big step in your relationship is when you decide to have children

Surprisingly, Mattsun is the one who ends up with baby fever

While you were both at the grocery store, there was a baby in a stroller in front of you

He watched as you and the child made face at each other and couldn’t help but think about what it would be like if you all had children

It’s only a few weeks before he brings it up, he’s not embarrassed about it or anything

He sits you down for a “kind of serious conversation”

“I know that we’ve never really talked about this before, but I was wondering if we could have a kid?”

There’s a lot of talking and figuring stuff out, since Oikawa still plays volleyball and Iwaizumi is still a trainer, they have pretty long intensive hours and aren’t sure if they’re ready to have a kid yet

But a few months later they’ve come to the conclusion that yes, they do want to start a family with you

So you all....go through the process of procuring a baby (pregnancy, surrogacy, adoption, whatever you prefer)

And those four are the BEST dads in the world you can’t convince me otherwise

Iwaizumi is the practical one, the ‘strict but fair’ one, the one who makes sure that your kids are staying safe and following rules

He also carries around the kids whenever they ask him to 🥺🥺

Oikawa is kind of like Regina George’s mom in Mean Girls, he’s a lot more lenient with the kids but still makes sure that they’re safe and happy

He’s also so proud of his kids! He’s always talking to all of his teammates about the cute stuff they’re getting up to, and he always has the kids’ artwork and good grades up on the fridge

Hanamaki is like the goofy one, he’s always up for playing with the kids

I think that in this relationship, instead of getting a new job he would be a house husband to take care of the kids during the day

He plays pretend with the kids all the time and takes it VERY seriously

Matsukawa is like the chill one?? He’s the one who the kids will always go to for advice and once they’re going on field trips he’ll probably be the parent they volunteer to be chaperone

He’ll also allow the kids to bend the rules a little bit as long as they’re staying safe, like he doesn’t see anything wrong with letting them have a little bit of candy before dinner

They’re also all home a lot, and whenever Oikawa is traveling with his team he’ll FaceTime every night and wish them goodnight

ALSO LITERALLY ANY OF THEM READING TO YOUR KID WOULD BE SO 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Since your family isn’t the typical “nuclear family”, you all understand that the kid might be a little confused in the future

But for now, you’re all just a really happy, supportive, wonderful family

Hey @chibi-silverware-hoe and @kenmas-xbox, thank you so much for asking for a part 2!! I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

[justfrozenthings]

Eternal Happiness

Paring: Anna/Kristoff

Rating: G

Word Count: 1,431

Notes: Just a little fic I wrote for @annaofthenorthernlights. Hope you enjoy this fluffy family fic I wrote!

Summary: Anna and Kristoff spend a nice day on the lake with their newborn daughter Amara as they reflect on the happy times of their life together.

Anna hummed a soft tune as she cradled her newborn baby Amara in her arms. “She has your nose. Thank goodness,” Kristoff chuckled as he sat beside his wife on their bed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and happily looking down at the little bundle that they had created together. “And your hair,” Anna sighed dreamily, resting her head on his shoulder.

Kristoff rubbed small circles along her back. “You know. I used to think I never needed anybody, that it would just be me, Sven, and our boat. But then- well then I met you. And now here I am. I have a beautiful wife, a loyal dog, a great boat, and now a little girl that I can call my own.” Tears began to swell in his eyes as he thought about how lucky he had been. “I couldn’t be any happier than I am right now.”

Anna kissed his cheek, “Me either.” She rose to her knees and nestled herself in Kristoff’s lap, being careful not to disrupt little Amara from her slumber. “Tell you what. How about tomorrow we take the boat out for a nice little cruise on the lake. I figured we’ve been so busy as of late it would be nice to take a little break.” She looked down at the sleeping infant in her arms, “Plus. Amara hasn’t been on the boat yet and I think she’s old enough to go out as long as we’re careful.”

Kristoff beamed at this suggestion and kissed the soft ginger hair on his wife’s head. “I could not think of a better way to spend a day with the two girls I love most in the world.”

-----------

Anna placed Amara in her stroller and pulled the hood down so that the sun would not be beaming down on her. Anna dawned a huge white floppy sun hat with a cute little white sundress printed with sunflowers and brown sandals to match. She pulled down her sunglasses as she sat on the front porch, carefully rocking the stroller back and forth while she sipped on an ice-cold glass of lemonade. Kristoff was still in the kitchen packing up their lunches. As she waited, Anna closed her eyes and listened to the sweet chirps of the birds and the soothing music from the chimes that were being blown in the light breeze. She daydreamed about her life and all the opportunities that she had been blessed with. Growing up, she was often lonely. Her sister Elsa and her used to be very close as children, until one day she grew very ill and, in worry, their parents kept them apart so that Anna would not catch it as well. Though she knew her parents meant well by doing this, as they were told that the chances of Elsa surviving were slim, it still caused her to have just the tiniest amount of resentment towards them. However, that was all in the past now. Elsa had pulled through and Anna had fixed her relationship with her sister and now their bond was stronger than ever. Not only that but she had found happiness with Kristoff and now had a daughter made from their love. Kristoff always called himself the lucky one, but Anna thought that, if anyone was lucky, it was her.

When Kristoff came out with a reusable bag filled with their lunch he saw his wife looking ever so peaceful on the porch swing he had built. The sun cast a radiant glow upon her ivory freckled skin and her hair looked like wildfire. Gently setting the bag down he kneeled in front of her taking her hands in his. “Hey. Anna, ready to go?” Anna gave a small yawn and stretched her arms over her head. “Yep. Oh, did you make sure to pack the sunscreen?”

He gave a small nod. “Everything is all packed and ready.”

Together they strolled down the street of their neighborhood, holding hands and pushing the stroller as they laughed about the good times of the past. One story, in particular, made Anna laugh so hard, lemonade came out of her nose.

The story was about their first kiss and how awkward the both of them had made it. Both were too nervous to ask or give any sort of hint that they were ready to take their relationship to the next step. But, as Kristoff dropped her off on her front porch he decided that it was now or never. However, instead of forming one coherent sentence, it came out all scrambled and tongue-tied. At some point within the sentence Anna swore she could have heard him say “we me,” but he was rambling so fast that she couldn’t be sure.

When the little family had reached the marina they made sure to stop by and say hello to friends and neighbors. They had let those hold Amara who had already met the sweet baby and introduced her to those who hadn’t.

Eventually, after Kristoff had to nearly drag Anna to with him when she finished a conversation so that she would not go and start another one, they made their way down the wooden dock.

As Kristoff got the boat ready, Anna was busy strapping a lifevest and lathering sunscreen on Amara. However, when he snuck a quick glance, a deep rumble echoed in his stomach as he laughed at his wife and daughter who was now covered in streaks of white. Okay, so maybe she went a little crazy on the sunscreen, but can you blame her! Amara was still only a newborn and Anna, being the protective mama bear that she was, would do everything in her power to protect her. Even if that meant applying an excessive amount of sunscreen.

Once the boat was all set, and Anna had finally decided that Amara had enough sunscreen, Kristoff pulled out of the little port. Anna went to go sit beside him, placing Amara in her lap and resting her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and let out a delightful sigh as she felt the soft wind blow through her hair. “This is nice,” Anna said, giving a small smile. “We have both been so busy lately, that we hardly get to spend some nice quality time with one another.”

Kristoff wrapped an arm around her shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze. “Yeah. I miss you when I’m at work. It’s strange not having you there.” Only a year after the two had gotten married they opened up their own flower shop. Flowers were actually what had brought them together, and they both hated being apart from each other for long periods of time, so they thought why not start a business that had a connection to their eternal happiness. But ever since Anna had the baby and took on the job of being a stay-at-home mom, Kristoff missed getting to work with her every day. After cruising around the lake for a few minutes, they found a nice shaded enclosure to anchor down and eat their lunch.  They continued to ramble on about the happy memories they have made as they ate their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and sipped on the sweet nectar of their ice-cold lemonade. Amara was still breastfeeding so Kristoff had packed the blanket Anna used to cover herself up with whenever she fed the small child. They finished up their meal with a nice chocolate cake with chocolate icing, Anna’s favorite, that Kristoff’s mother had made for them a few nights prior to help Anna get through the stress of taking care of a newborn baby.

The little family had spent the rest of the day basking in the summer sun and listening to Kristoff strum a silly song he and Sven had made many years ago. They felt sorry for leaving the sweet old dog behind, but he didn’t really care for he took his job as protector of the house, and Amara, very seriously.

As the sun began to set, casting hues of orange and pink across the sky, the family had made their way back to the marina. When they had made it home and the couple had nestled down in their bed holding each other contently, they reflected on the joys the day had brought them. “Today was perfect,” Anna sighed as she nuzzled her husband’s neck. “Yeah,” Kristoff said as he placed a kiss on her head. “Just another day we can add to our list of eternal happiness and more to come.

End Notes: Sorry for any grammar mistakes. This is just a fluffy little family fic that I may or may not make into a series. I already have a mermaid fic that I am writing and a forbidden love fic I want to start so we'll see how this goes. I have no clue why I like putting all this work on me either. But hey, at least it's something I like doing.

                 Ao3

[naturaldisasterfanfiction]

32.

Pushing the covers off of me, I did think Robyn would have got up, but she didn’t and to be honest I am quicker with getting up. I am used to it, I am so used to Fenty’ cries like that little kitten cry is her wanting some attention, which gives me some time to play with her, change her diaper and then feed. It’s only a small window but I have noticed she does not have a time when she does this, like now it’s about four in the morning. I could actually facetime Royalty while she goes to bed, I miss that time of the day because I am asleep “are you going?” Robyn finally woke up “yeah, I will do it. It’s ok” she nodded her head; Robyn honestly trusts me alone. I appreciate her so much, she doesn’t climb on top of me assuming I can’t do something, she expects me to do it because I can. It’s only if I really can’t but it’s really easy this thing but Robyn be tired as hell, then again she does a lot. I think she does too much, I do try and help of course but she is working in bed like stop working but I can’t tell her that “hey angel eyes” my voice sounds so rough there, Fenty’ eyes lit up seeing me. It’s unexplainable how much she already adores me, I say angel eyes because she really has Robyn’ eyes, I don’t mean in colour but just the shape alone, she doesn’t have my nose either but I love it “let’s get out of this room before I wake momma up” picking Fenty up carefully “bougie ass” she just sleeping in Gucci baby grows like, this shit is all gifted. She is going to be so blessed with what she will have, I don’t think I will ever have to pay out for her “there we go, you comfy now? Use me as a hammock, I don’t mind” walking out of the bedroom, she looks annoyed most of the time, but I think her little mind is just working out things.

The facetime connected finally “daddy!” she yelped “hey baby, are you doing homework? Don’t ask me nothing” she be trying to make life hard and ask me things “I am, mom said I can’t move the phone. I have to leave it there and just do my work while I speak to you” nodding my head “cool, you good? How is school” looking over to the side of me and Fenty is just staring at me, she is like why am I not looking at her “it’s ok, I have made new friends and I said you only want to be friends with me because of Rihanna, they said no. Where is she?” Royalty does not care for me at all “you love to harass my wife; she is asleep baby. It’s late here, it’s because Fenty is awake so I am awake” Royalty gasped “can I see her” nodding my head turning the camera “the bougie queen is here in her lounger” Royalty yelped out “can mom see her!?” Robyn won’t know and Nia won’t take pictures either “sure” looking at the facetime, Royalty is screaming around the house now “mom, Fenty is on the phone!” she is crazy “she speaking to you? Why are you screaming” Nia is not happy “but dad said you can see her” Nia took the phone from her “this looks like a grown man” she said seeing my face “that is dad mom, show her please!” I chuckled “yeah she is here” turning the camera, Fenty has not looked away from me at all “she is just relaxing until she cries for a feed” Royalty is screaming at my daughter “calm down” moving the phone away “she is so cute! My baby!” laughing at Royalty “she is so precious Chris, she is bougie already, but I am not shocked. She is so tiny; she got her mother in her a lot. Thank god” Nia is funny “whatever” the disrespect I get from these “I can’t wait to cuddle her, she will love it” rolling my eyes “you are forcing your love, we don’t do that over here stank” Royalty stuck her tongue out at me.

Moving the bottle away from Fenty and placed it on the side, her eyes slowly fluttered open which usually she just sleeps “what is wrong angel eyes? You ain’t drink all your milk either. Let me burp you, then you may just go back to sleep” slowly lifting Fenty up and resting her head against my hand, gently rubbing her back. Fenty is just beautiful, even her hair is like an ashy brown, it’s so light but what do I expect when Robyn and I both have light hair. Fenty felt sick “there you are” resting her back against my hand and then wiped her mouth on the towel “who would have thought I could do all of this” I didn’t think I could ever just handle a newborn baby, look at me doing this. Grabbing Fenty’ bottle to feed her again, she is awake this time around but hopefully she will go to sleep, because I do need to sleep, I do feel tired. I am getting into a pattern now, with Robyn she is just changing things around me, we have set things. Like in the morning we do go for a walk or sometime in the day we do, she has been cooking for me every meal in the day but now I do the lunch and dinner, but Robyn is looking for a chef. I actually go to sleep early now, I like it. I like having stability, this is what I needed.

I feel like every time I wake up it’s always based around Fenty, she is awake again “I was going to wake you actually, I mean you was looking after Fenty but you was asleep” I grinned rubbing my forehead, I stretched out my body “she is sat in the lounger like a boss, she is just staring at me. Where did you go?” pushing myself up on the bed “in the bathroom, just you know my bowel movements have been terrible” pulling a face at her “too late, you married me now so that includes what happens in the bathroom” rubbing my head laughing “well thank you for telling me” I sighed out “anyways, I think she has enjoyed watching you sleep, I can’t believe how blessed I am Chris. She is just so good” rolling my eyes “you are saying that, but she wakes up at silly times. I was sleeping good too” Robyn cooed out “thank you Chris, for getting up for me at night. I do see how comfy you are asleep but yet you do it” I grinned at Robyn “don’t say that it’s ok. I catch Royalty before she sleeps. All she did was ask about you” stifling out a yawn as I spoke “she is my biggest fan, she is cute. So shall we go and have some breakfast. Then take Zeus for a walk” nodding my head “I am excited” I like the walks; they are super cool.

Throwing a grape up in the air and catching it in my mouth “I put Fenty in the rocker, she is falling asleep anyways” Robyn sat down across from me in the dining room “cool, I can’t eat all that fruit. You have some” pushing the plate to her “I will, so. My family are arriving today Chris, my brothers are coming too. They will be down for a few days, I have already told them that they can’t stay here for weeks because no, I have my own family here and I need to think of my husband and my daughter now. I am a married woman so what comes first in my life has changed, so they know. It will be for a few days and they will go but it’s a lot for us Chris and I want you to be happy, and I want you to be ok to be in this home with the people I love also. If you feel a type of way, if you feel sad I want you to tell me Chris. I need to know this too, I have told you that they are coming but we will still go for a walk in the morning, I still want you to do your thing. I have told them so if any issues, then you say it Chris. You say it is your house and you have no right, I wouldn’t pick sides. I have a side unless you are being the worst then I would have to tell you off but other then that. I just want you to be happy” nodding my head agreeing, Robyn has been telling me about her family coming, but nothing will set me up for them because they be either nice to me or hate me but I know Robyn loves them so I need to try my best “only people I will be wary of is Rorrey and Rajad, I am ok. Like the space I am in, I feel good. I like the walks; the walks just give me peace. It’s wild that we just walk primrose, and nobody cares. Peace, I am so used to having a wild life, you know. Taking strolls is like a new thing” I laughed “this is why I moved here Chris, I wouldn’t bring us here knowing that it would be like Cali” I kind of understand why.

Clipping Zeus’ leash, he got a shave now. Robyn harassed me so much about it so I did it, it looks nice but I like the fluffy dog instead “ok, so you pushed the stroller yesterday. I will push it today, I think it was Zeus that made me feel so tired, he likes to pull sometimes” letting out an oh “maybe you shouldn’t hold him then, it’s cool. Is Fenty all wrapped up” looking into the stroller “she is, asleep also. She isn’t phased by this walk and doesn’t care for it unless it is cutting into her feeding time” Zeus is eager to leave he’s already dragging me, maybe Robyn shouldn’t have walked him yesterday, the big boy does get all hyper and stuff “wait here” unlocking the door and pulling it open “come on” Zeus walked by me and outside, it’s cold as hell here but I am all wrapped up like an eskimo. Stepping outside and then turning to Robyn to see her, she is also wrapped up but least it’s not raining “who would have thought me and you would be married and taking morning walks, who would think we would have such a boring life now” laughing at Robyn, she is always struggling to do something but she finally got the stroller out “yeah, I like it. I am enjoying it now though. I am happy” I feel like I just need to adapt.

Throwing the stick as far as I could and then Zeus ran after it “imagine it Chris, Fenty is like two and she has all this freedom to run the fields, just be herself with us. She is going to love it, I can’t wait. I know this place is so nice in summer too, how does it feel to feel that freedom?” walking slowly back over to Robyn “it feels weird, I like it, but I also feel like it is too good to be true. I have never had a break; I could be stood in my yard and someone will take a picture. I do feel like my mind is just clear, it’s not racing anyways. But if your brother fucks with me I will knock his ass out” Zeus placed the stick on the ground next to my foot “good boy” leaning down to pick up the stick “I don’t want you to beat anyone up Chris but if that does happen then come to me but also this time is different, he is in our home and if it does get to a point where you need to argue with him. Then what can I say, I rather it not happen” looking at Robyn sighing out “your brother has been asking for a beating to be honest, he is overly cocky with his shit and think he rules your life and stuff but if he wants to act civil, then so can I. He needs to remember who was calling his sister a whore in his songs” throwing the stick again for Zeus “do you think I was being a whore? Like before we even got back in contact and all that, did you think I was being one?” stuffing my hands in my pockets as I turned to Robyn frowning “never, I had so much respect for you Robyn. The words whore never ever crossed my mind, I think what got me the most is how misled you was with your team and you took their side. I think you did what you needed to do but the thing with you, you didn’t sleep around like people assume. I know you; I know your heart and you don’t just sleep with just any man. I remember you telling me that sleeping with people you leave a piece of yourself with them, it’s draining so I know you won’t. I respect you the most, always did” Robyn put her head down “I always get upset that I was like the poster girl of being a whore, like they assumed I was childless because I wanted to be but it was because men saw me as that and when I didn’t want to fulfil their imaginations it was like no, we just want to play. It was draining” walking over to Robyn slowly “I love you so so much, I love you. You are the most precious woman” wrapping my arms around Robyn “you think that” pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

Placing my arm around Robyn as we made our way back home “you mean so much to me” Robyn said “do I? I honestly don’t know how you put up with me. I can be hard work” I chuckled “you are but you’re not at the same time, you can be handled, I just needed to know you, but we have a lot of things to come. You know when my team come, we are going to start designing stuff and I want you to start putting your ideas forwards with Fenty clothing line and the lingerie, I know you have such a eye for detail. I was thinking if you want, we could put a studio in this house too?” moving my arm back “that would be dope, we can make music together too. Is it a lot of family coming?” I asked, I hope there isn’t “erm, the usual family baby. But I said I would visit them, so just my mom, dad, brothers. That is it, that is what I was told” well this will be interesting then, I hope there isn’t no drama between me and the brothers.

[rose-sunlight]

Can You See The Sparks?

Pairings: Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago, Ray Holt/Kevin Cozner, Charles Boyle/Genevieve Mirren-Carter, Sharon Jeffords/Terry Jeffords

Warnings: One mention of childbirth (non-graphic)

Summary: The Squad get together for a Fourth of July party!

A/n: This is for the @b99fandomevents​ Summer 2020 Fic Exchange written for @impossiblyizzy​! Hope you enjoy!

One thing that Jake had never known throughout his years of knowing Captain Holt and his husband: they had the biggest back yard he’d ever seen growing up in the rough parts of Brooklyn. They had a large brick patio, and their garden was surrounded by a stereotypical white picket fence. The grass was perfectly watered, and Jake knew that Kevin had probably calculated the exact amount of water his grass needed to get that specific shade of green, Jake wouldn’t expect anything less.

Upon seeing their yard for the first time in daylight, he’d immediately suggested a Fourth of July party around their house. What with the arrival of the latest Nine-Nine baby, Mac, Amy was desperate to get out of the house, meaning their tradition of going to the Peralta-Santiago household would have to be put on hold so the new parents could finally feel more—well, human.

It wasn’t that Amy didn’t want to host, Amy loved hosting parties and conversing with her colleagues, but when she had a screaming baby attached to her, wailing because the noise, or the lack of his father by their side (yes, Mac had turned into a daddy’s boy), or the lack of food being delivered directly to him. When Holt and Kevin had agreed to his suggestion, and invites had been given to the squad and their families, he could feel Amy’s tension around the holiday ease and evaporate, even after Mac had thrown up on her uniform before she left for work.

So, here they were, on the Fourth of July, surrounded by the Squad, their family members, and pets. Although most dogs had been left at home (Charles and Genevieve could not bring their six dogs through Kevin’s freshly vacuumed house). Diaz had however fought to bring Arlo, considering him as her plus one as she had no family members coming. So, on their perfect green grass that had probably cut with nail clippers, Cheddar chased after Arlo, brushing past the legs of Terry and his wife, arms slung around each other as they watched the twins and Ava play tag with Nikolaj and Iggy.

The kids careered around a large oak tree at the back of the garden, spinning around as they laughed, running back towards where Charles and Genevieve manned the barbeque, all different assortments of traditional American foods sizzling on the grill. That wasn’t all, though, as Kevin was cooking pizzas and making potato salad, cakes, casseroles and more. Kevin worked side-by-side in a comfortable silence with Rosa as she made cocktails for the adults.

��Can you pass the potatoes?” Kevin asked, quietly and without small talk. He was observant, and throughout their years of small conversations, Kevin knew all too well that Rosa hated small talk.

She passed them wordlessly, watching him as he began to chop them up for the potato salad.

Rosa hovered as she went to pick up the cocktails, turning to Kevin once more, “What made you change your mind about us?” She asked, “I mean, you hate cops.” Her mannerisms were blunt, Kevin knew she wasn’t trying to offend; she was just a very direct person, and he respected that more than he did others. He did, however, had to think about her question.

When did he start to trust his husbands co-workers? “I don’t hate the individuals. I dislike some aspects and prejudices in the system, yes, but I never hated anyone.”

“Oh.”

“If I had to pinpoint the moment my feelings around the nine-nine changed, it would be mine and Raymond’s anniversary, when Charles taught him how to cook. It was quite memorable.”

Rosa nodded “Oh,” She said again, unsure how to either end the conversation or continue it “well, I am…glad you don’t. Like, hate us, anymore.” She responded in her most sincere voice.

Kevin nodded towards the drinks on the side “Those cocktails can go on the table outside. Use coasters, though, please.”

Rosa nodded, leaving their kitchen and passing the living room, where Amy and Jake were sat with Holt, Gina, Scully and Hitchcock. Surprisingly, through the first few months of Mac’s life, Hitchcock and Scully had been surprisingly attentive towards Mac and Amy. Jake would never admit it, but Scully was responsible when it came to children, and he did feel bad that his two kids refused to talk to him since they had grown up.

Mac sat with wide eyes searching around the room, looking up at his grandpa Ray, who was bouncing him on his lap. Amy didn’t think she’d ever seen her Captain so relaxed and smiling, cooing down at the baby occasionally in between leisurely conversations with the small gathering sitting in his living room. Granted, his kind of cooing was a lot more observant than most, saying things like “did you know you have the perfect weight for your age right now? Yes, you do, McClane, you’re perfect!”. Holt and Kevin were the only ones who would call Mac by his full name, which made it personal to his grandpa and grandad (because if we don’t have separate names, Jake, how will he call for us individually?).

The food began to pile high on the outside table, and soon enough, everyone was called to eat. Specifically for this gathering, Kevin had brought a smaller table for the kids to eat at, and was enjoying watching all the kids have their own conversations at the table, most lead and dominated by Iggy, whose presence was as infectious as her mothers, who was also leading the conversation at the adults table. Kevin looked down towards Mac, who had been passed to him now, and adjusted the baby so he was more upright on Kevin’s knee, his arm wrapped around Mac’s torso protectively. Kevin smiled at the thought of Mac joining the kids table in a few years, and smiled even larger at being able to watch him grow. Raymond offered him the bowl of salad he had prepared previously, knowing he wouldn’t eat the burgers or anything that greasy. He gratefully accepted, and settled into a cycle of eating his food then paying attention to Mac.

“Oh, wait, it’s nearly seven, we need to be at the field at nine p.m.,” Amy said, nervously checking her watch

Charles, ever the time-sensitive character, began to sweat and fidget in his chair, eating his burger as quick as possible—he had wanted some more unique 4th of July food to be served, but Holt had restricted him to strictly traditional meats, “oh, uhm, it’s fine, if we leave now, we can probably make the end, right?” He turned to his partner, who took his hand and calmed him down.

Gina groaned, “Oh my god, you guys, don’t get your panties in a twist. We’ll be fine, if we’re late we can commandeer a bus or something.”

“How long does it take to get to the park?” Amy ignored Gina and directed her question to Kevin, her eyebrows furrowed.

Kevin checked his own watch “Only a seventeen minute walk. We’ll be fine, Amy.” His voice was reassuring, and so she relaxed, nodding happily. When it was time to go, Holt disappeared into their back room, digging through the things he had brought for the kids, and reaching the best fourth of July tradition—sparklers. He handed them out to the kids (with parental consent, of course,) and watched them happily hold the unlit sticks as Kevin went around and lit them.

Cagney and Lacey began to act out a wand battle worthy of being in Harry Potter, crying out curses that made Jake start to laugh too, practically begging Amy for a sparkler too. She nodded with a laugh, and watched him childishly join in with the twins in their battle.

Nikolaj and Ava, despite their five-year age gap, wrote each other’s names with the sparklers, and then began to circle and dance with the sparks, all the time being warned to be careful by their dads. Iggy was in her own world, twirling around like a princess, dancing with her sparkler like she was a ballerina preforming for the masses.

Mac watched all the pretty lights from his stroller, making grabbing gestures and watching his dad dancing around with Cagney and Lacey. Amy noticed, when she checked on him for the fifteenth time, that he was laughing, full on laughing, for the first time. His giggles were indistinguishable from those of the other kids, but she started cooing, and Mac laughed harder, looking at his dad dancing around.

“Jake!” She called out to her husband, who span around “Jake! Jake! Look, he’s laughing!” She excitedly informed him, and Jake looked to Mac, and felt his heart burst. His son was laughing at him. He’d smiled before, but at four months old, he was uncontrollably giggling.

Uncle Charles appeared, phone in hand, “Ohh! I captured the moment, Jakey, don’t worry!” He patted Jake on the back

“Thanks, Charles.”

The group set off walking to the park, the kids taking turns pushing Mac’s stroller, giving Amy and Jake a break, even if they had to make sure the stroller wouldn’t capsize.

Amy was talking with Sharon, who, throughout her journey into motherhood, had been a source of comfort. They often bonded over their experience of labour at the precinct, too, even if Sharon didn’t have to give birth there.

“You’re doing good,” Sharon reassured her, “when we had our first babies, we had almost no clue what to do. You’ve either done your research or are a complete natural.”

Gina nodded, the one and only time a compliment regarding Amy had ever slipped from her lips “Yeah, I mean, when Iggy was Mac’s age I was neck-deep in barf and decaf coffee.”

Amy blushed; compliments on her parenting had become the most gratifying thing to hear (other than ‘don’t worry, I’ll feed him this time’, of course). She found herself a little lost for words, but regained them fairly quickly “Well, I had younger brothers and little nieces and nephews growing up. And I read almost every book there was on…everything. Wasn’t prepared for birth, though.”

Sharon and Gina both winced “Yeah, they don’t put that in the lovey-dovey books, do they? If they did, I don’t think a single woman would want to go through that.” Sharon said

Amy could only laugh her agreement, hoping that the word ‘episiotomy’ would fall out of her memory and vocabulary one day.

When they arrived at the fireworks, the carnival was already in full swing. Terry had been bribed by all three daughter’s pleading eyes, and so far, all three had won a teddy bear (the biggest from the surprisingly easy strength test), and Terry was out a good twenty-five dollars on games and fair-rides. Gina probably had lost the same amount, although she had spent everything on the rides; Iggy never really wanted anything from the games booths, which must be a first for any child ever, Gina had tried to convince them. Charles was out much more, and Nikolaj was now a proud owner of a tiger, teddy bear, and a DIY crystal kit. He’d also been on every ride conceivable with his parents, and was currently sharing a huge wad of cotton candy three-ways.

Holt and Kevin watched as the kids came up to them after every win, proudly displaying their new item for the pair to hold while they went off to do another ride. Holt would smile, and actually mean it. After Ava dropped off her final win, a mock-forensics kit, she turned to sit in between the two of them.

“I want to be like you and daddy, Uncle Ray!” She had told him (Ava called them Uncle Ray and Uncle Kevin, because grandpa never felt right for the Jeffords family), and Holt had wrapped his arm around her and let her snuggle in close—for warmth only, he was sure.

“Really? Well, I have a few friends at the academy, Ava, I will make sure that they have a spot open for the class of twenty-thirty-six.” He said it deadpan, as he often did, but Kevin knew there was a touch of sincerity to his promise too.

“Promise?” Ava had asked, extending a gloved finger.

Holt looked at his husband, who was smiling back “Oh, I suppose I do promise.” He said, shaking her pinkie finger with his. She skipped off to tell her dad, leaving the couple alone.

Kevin laughed as Terry listened intently to Ava relaying the story, before looking to Raymond “Do you ever think about how we have managed to adopt a fully-fledged, albeit slightly delayed, adult, and somehow become entwined in others’ lives, so much so that we are now uncles and grandparents?” He asked.

Raymond pondered for a second, watching the separate families “yes, it is odd.”

“Do you ever regret not having kids….adopting them?”

“It was never allowed when we were in our prime.”

Kevin nodded, looking towards where Ray was staring Jake, grabbing Amy by the waist and kissing her softly, while still keeping one hand on the stroller, “I know. I just sometimes wonder how it would be different.”

“I do too. But, although we are late, I do think of Peralta like a son. We’ve watched him grow over these few years, from a childish boy to a grown, responsible man with a family. Who is still a childish thorn in my side, if I am honest. I think that describes having a child perfectly; watching them grow.” Raymond seemed sentimental—to anyone else, his voice remained unwavering, but to Kevin, he could sense the fondness, the same fondness that he himself carried.

“I would not change it, either.”

“I know you wouldn’t. He’s strangely ours.”

Nikolaj came running up to them, barrelling into their conversation with brazen confidence, the same type his father and mother had, “Mister Kevin! Mister Raymond! The fireworks are going to start!” He had run off as soon as he had arrived. He never called them uncle or grandpa, but that was okay, because Kevin and Holt both knew he had issues with attaching himself to others due to his past. They never asked it of him, anyway. Kevin stood up, dusting off his pants, and began to grab the various toys left with them, before parents came to try and help them out.

The squad and their families all huddled in a muddy and cold field, making sure they didn’t lose anyone in the massive crowd forming, most kids sitting on the shoulders of adults. Jake had Iggy on his, who was pulling his hair softly to direct him on where to go, all the time giggling as he obliged to her requests, before standing next to Amy.

The display was amazing, colours of red, white and blue flashing across the starry night sky canvas, painting it in different colours before sharply dissipating. The crowd would let out ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ every time something vaguely interesting happened, and Jake couldn’t help but join in, looking to Amy, whose face was perfectly illuminated in a glowing bright light. He squeezed Iggy’s hand, yelling up to her.

“Can you see the sparks, Iggy?” He was looking at Amy, who had rolled her eyes at the cheesy joke, but for Iggy the meaning was the fireworks, obviously.

“Yeah, Uncle Jake!”

Amy wrapped a hand around his waist, allowing herself to be embraced, dodging Iggy’s leg as it swung in the air “Eyes on the fireworks, Peralta.”

Jake leaned into her touch, “Baby, you’re a firework. Katy Perry, she’s always right.” Amy giggled, but it was drowned out by another loud boom. Mac had big ear protectors on, but his eyes still flickered across the sky. Amy’s heart swelled again, her family surrounding her as the fireworks spurred on.

She was so glad that they were invited to Holt and Kevin’s. This was just perfect.

Little did they know, Holt and Kevin had already decided between themselves to make this a tradition to carry on for decades.

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[alexthepartyman]

Fine Line

Chapter One: I open my eyes

“He’s so gorgeous,” JJ comments.

“Thank you.”

“If you find baldness and wrinkles attractive-ow!” Spencer wails after I hit him in the knee.

“All babies are cute,” I whine from the floor. 

“Look at his little, witty, bitty nose. Oh,” Penelope gushes. “Don’t you want one of these?”

“Mm. I’ll stick to practicing,” Derek remarks, and I look up at him, holding my feet.. “Why are you down there?” 

He asks, looking at me before walking away, and the adults laugh quietly.

“Congratulations,” Elle says, approaching us.

“Thank you. She’s amazing. I’m a little terrified.”

“Well, um, we should get going. Jamie,” Haley says, nodding her head towards the elevator and putting Jack back in the stroller.

“No, no, he can stay today.” Aaron gently argues.

“Please, Haley? I have my homework all done and I have everything I need with me,” I beg.

“Okay. But if you guys are going out on a case, I want him brought back home. Dave wouldn’t be too happy if you took him.” 

“Of course. Go say hi to Jason.” I smile, using Aaron to pull myself up to my feet and walk into the bullpen.

“Grant? Where’s Uncle Jason?” I ask, stopping Spencer’s boyfriend. 

“He’s up in the conference room,” the man answers.

“Oh. I’m just gonna say hi. Aaron said I could stay today.” 

“Oh, nice. Yeah, I’ll take you to him. Come on.” He says, taking my hand and leading us up to the conference room. “Agent Gideon, you have a visitor,” Grant says, leaning in and knocking on the door.

“Hm? Oh, hello, Jamie.”

“Hi, Uncle Jason. Aaron and Haley said I could stay here today,” I repeat, giving Uncle Jason a hug. 

“That is amazing. We have a case right now, so I’m going to need you to sit quietly. Can you do that?” I nod aggressively, going to my favourite corner of the room and plomping there, I pull out one of Dad’s books to read as Derek walks into the room. “Crawford family. Murdered three days ago.”

“Saw it on the news.”

“They were found in the basement of their house.”

“Bas packed for a vacation they never took.”

“Reporter said it was a murder/suicide, father stabbed the mom, then shot himself.”

“That’s the conclusion Maryland State Police came to. The gun was found next to the father, had gunpowder residue on his right hand.”

“And now, you must have some compelling reason to think that Chris Crawford didn’t off his family?”

“Yeah. Another murdered family. The Millers, found a month ago.The mother, Reese Miller, her two children, and her new husband. Again, they were found in the basement, and like the Crawford, their suitcases were packed for a vacation.” I twist a stuffed turtle fin in between my fingers as I read about serial killers. 

“Both cases, the bodies were discovered five days after their vacations were supposed to have started.”

“Yet the coroner determined that they had been dead only twenty-four hours.”

“So, for four days, both families remained in the house.” 

“Location of the bodies, both cases, the basement. Indicates a level of organisation-

“With a quick, but disorganised application of overpowering force.”

“If these aren’t murder/suicides, someone’s doing a damn good job of making them look like it.” 

“Possibly this man, Eric Miller. Biological father of the Miller children. Arlington PD issued a BOLO for Miller after the bodies were discovered.”

“Ex-wife Reese Miller had a restraining order against him for domestic violence.”

“When she get remarried?”

“The week before they were killed.” 

“Violent husbands believe their wives and children are property. Reese Miller getting remarried possibly made him snap.” I pout at the sound of that, something just screams that it would have been too easy to pin it on him. 

“Well, the Virginia cops finally located Eric Miller last night, responding to a drunken disturbance at a motel where Miller had been hiding out. When they found him, they discovered blood on his black leather jacket...belonged to his children.”

“Was any of his DNA found at the Crawford’s?”

“No.”

“Did he know the Crawfords?”

“If he does, he’s not saying. In fact, he hasn’t said a word since his arrest.” 

“Smart move. Can’t use have your words used against you in court if you don’t give them anything,” I comment, flipping to the next page. “But the paradox is that your silence will be used to indicate guilt…”

“Uh, the Arlington PD have asked us to interview him,” JJ says, trying to bring the focus off of my weird statement.

“If anyone could apply overwhelming force, he’s your man,” Spencer comments.

“I want you to find out. Talk to him.”

“You want me to talk to him?”

“Yeah. You’ve done interviews before with other agents running point. You can go solo.” I look up from my book and squint at Spencer in confusion. 

“Morgan, the Crawford house is a fresh crime scene.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Are you sure Jamie can be out in the field?” 

“He’s not directly involved in anything. We’re just watching him.”

“No offense, but can’t someone at the office do that? We have a serial killer to catch.” 

“Once the Crawfords were brought down to the basement, they must have known their fate,” Uncle Jason says, completely ignoring Derek. I shake my idle hands, carefully walking down the staircase to the basement, I stop at the final step. “ME said they were all killed down here. Jamie, leash,” he gently chides.“Sam was found here, Emily over there...so...I’m the unsub. How did I do it?” 

“Well, I had to bring them down here, first,” Derek says. 

“How?’

“I had a gun.”

“Okay, use a gun to force them down here,.what next?”

“Stab them.”

“Who’s first?” I look around at the basement, noting the dried blood contrasting the white dryer and washing machine, the dark blood stains on the blue carpet.

“The strongest, the father. He was found right there, and then the mother. That’s her right there.”

“How are you going to keep the kids from running away?”

“Restraints. Can’t aim a gun at them and stab the mother at the same time.”

“No restraints were found on the victims.”

“I took them with me.”

“No ligature marks,” I add.

“Snooping again?” Uncle Jason asks, looking towards me. “Let’s go upstairs, see how they lived.” I help myself up with the railing and lead Uncle Jason and Derek back up the stairs to the main part of the house, the living room and dining room area. “The yard is overgrown, and like the roof, Chris Crawford’s car is in need of maintenance, and Allison Crawford’s SUV is in pristine condition.” 

“Says here that Allison drove the kids to school. If they were educated privately, maybe the car was just an attempt to show the other parents wealth.”

“Like this house,” Uncle Jason says. “Designer magazines conspicuously placed, expensive modern furniture, plasma TV. Behind the curtains, water damage. Allison spent money on the things her friends could see and neglected those they couldn’t. The Crawfords lived beyond their means.” 

“So, where’d the extra cash come from?” 

“Get Garcia to check their financial status...Emily…” he pulls a painting off of the grey fridge. “This painting is of this house. Strange that, for a child, it has no colour. Has lines, dimensions, but no colour.”

“No dog collar was found, right?”

“No,” I answer. 

“Maybe he didn’t have one?” 

“Uncle Jason...who the fuck woudl have a dog, but no collar?” I ask, not minding my mouth.

“He’d have to have one. Come here. You see that?”

“Is it one of those dog doors that only opens with the collar?” I ask from the kitchen, sitting on the floor and drumming on my thighs.

“Yeah. It only opens via a chip in the dogs collar. If anything attempted to get in without one...the alarm would have been activated.” 

“Derek! Stop trying to break out!” I yell. 

“When the cops got here, the house was locked tight and the alarm was hot.”

“So, the night the Crawfords were murdered, the only way in and out of the house was with a dog collar.”

“Gideon, whoever killed this family had to be a big guy. Chris Crawford was a black belt in judo.”

“So are you. I’ve got a gun to your back. Maybe you could take it from me, but your children are in the same room, and if you fail, they die. Does it matter how big I am now?” Uncle Jason makes his way towards the kitchen. 

“Bound or not, Allison Crawford would have put up one hell of a fight. Emily and Sam would have been sobbing.”  

“Crawford didn’t kill his family, and there’s no evidence Miller was ever in the house or even knew them.” 

“HELP ME! HELP! PLEASE! HELP ME! NO! NO! PLEASE! PLEASE, NO! GOD, NO! NO!” A dog bark emerges from the silence, I can hear it through my hands.

“What are you doing?” Derek asks. 

“Why didn’t anyone hear them scream?”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I believe the unsub had control over this family. He may have separated each family member. He tells the mother, ‘if you scream, I’ll kill your children.’ He tells the children, ‘if you cry, I’ll kill Mommy.’ The suspect found a way of restraining them without leaving marks. Based on lividity...the ME estimates that the father was the last to die.”

“He witnessed the whole thing. If he did spend time with both families, he must’ve known he had the time to spend with them.” 

“Cause he knew they were going on vacation.” 

“Look at travel agents, relatives, work colleagues, contract workers, childrens’ tutors-”

“Gideon. We’ve been looking into the Crawford financials.”

“Allison Crawford spent way more money than Chris could afford. They were in major debt.”

“And Chris Crawford wrote a number of checks for a series of visits to a therapist.”

“She had two cell phone accounts. And one of them billed to a separate address in southeast Washington DC.”

“You get that?”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Did Derek really nearly get bit in the dick by a dog?” I ask, petting Ace’s head. 

“Language, Jamie,” Aaron warns.

“¿Derek estuvo a punto de ser mordido en la polla por un perro?” I ask again in Spanish. 

“Si. ¿Hablas?” 

“Suficiente para saber que mi abuelo siempre se queja,” I respond. 

“Why am I here?” The big man asks. 

“I think you know why,” Derek responds. 

“That’s mine.” 

“Colours indicate a self-confidence...an outgoing personality. Shows an above-average intelligence. The child that painted this was left-handed. Emily Crawford was left-handed.”

“Right...you’re not.”

“How’d you get the painting, Frank? You froget to take your medicine today, Frank? For a severe manic-depressive, that’s not good.”

“Should we get him his medication?” I ask. 

“No. He’ll be safe with us.” 

“They make me feel wrong!”

“Wrong enough to kill the Crawfords?”

“Frank.” 

“I-I did a-a bad thing.”

“What did you do?”

“I shouldn’t have gone to the house. Allison told me not to. I would never...never hurt Ally.” I place my hands up against the window, feeling nothing but sadness. “She’s the only family I got.”

“Family?”

“She’s my sister...she’s dead...she’s dead…” Frank cries. “He killed them…Chris did. I know he did it.” 

“What bad thing did you do?” 

“The rule was that I was never supposed to go to the house. That was the only rule. Allison said if Chris saw me...he would never let me see her again. He was gonna lock me up in the loony bin. He never liked me.” 

“You went...to the house.” 

“She said...she couldn’t visit me anymore. I just wanted to see her. Seeing Allison made everything better, but they cut my phone off. That day! The day I went to see them! They cut my phone off! I never would’ve gone to the house if they hadn’t cut off the phone!” I look on in despair as Derek tries to calm him. 

“There’s no way this guy could’ve gotten into the house without a key. Knowing how CHris Crawford felt about his brother-in-law, you see him having one?”

“No.” 

“Frank, you went to the house. What did you do?” 

“It was...dark...and...and cold. I went around to the side to look through the window. My breath steamed up the glass, and I wiped it clean, and...and I-I could see them, sitting down for dinner. I saw Emily and Sam, and...Sam was crying, I guess he was in trouble.”

“Did you see Allison?”

“Yes. She was saying grace over the table...and then...she looked up and saw me...and she mouthed something at me, I think it was get the hell out. So I left.”

“Did Chris see you?” 

“No. He wasn’t there, but a friend was at the head of the table.” 

“You said a friend?”

“Mm-hmm. I saw someone.”

“What did this person look like?”

“I-I didn’t see their face...but...uh...tiny. Really tiny.”

“White or black, Frank?”

“I don’t know. But…”

“What?”

“The hair. It-It...It was red.”

“White. Redheaded people are most likely white with blue or green eyes.” I offhandedly comment.

“If Frank saw them that day, it wasn’t Chris Crawford at the table.”

“Maybe it was the suspect.” 

“And she wasn’t saying, ‘go away.’ She was saying, ‘help me.”

“It was a friend…”

“Frank…”

“It wasn’t a friend at all...it was him...he’s the one who killed them...ohh!” 

“Frank…”

“I-I-I-I-”

“Frank-” 

“No! No! No! No!” Frank starts to yell out, slamming his giant fists into his forehead. 

“Frank, Frank, Frank- Frank, stop-”

“No!”

Derek starts to yell, I can’t hear the words, just shouts and screams. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Both families had a dog...and both houses had a dog door.”

“Fielding said that the person he saw was small.” 

“Yeah, well, in order to get through that door, you’d have to be five-four, tops, and real thin. Jamie’s the only one in here that could do it.” 

“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” 

“Sherlock Holmes was a fictional character. Whoever did this isn’t. We can be pretty sure he’s probably found himself another family by now.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Okay. No, I understand. Yeah. I figured as much. Thank you.”

“He’s been looking at those pictures all morning,” Elle says. 

“Well, I sure hope he sees a connection, cause I’ve checked doctors, lawyers, travel agents, tutors, contract workers, I’ve got nothing.” 

“Why target those families?” 

“Well, to know that, we have to know how.”

“Alright. We know organised killers are often skilled workers with above-average intelligence. High birth status. And in most cases...male. In the work place, he’s socailly confident. And with women...sexually confident. Every offense  is preplanned. Targeting the victim is almost as preasureable as the actual kill. These guys, they’re...they’re meticulous. It’s a compulsion, Everything has to have its proper place. They do exhaustive amounts of research on their victims. They watch their every move.” I watch Derek pace around the room. “Every last detail is observed. Everything has to be written ever so neatly in a book or a journal. Like, when the kids are coming home from school and when Daddy’ll be home.” I cringe at the sound of Derek saying ‘Daddy.’ Ugh. The internet ruined me. I should really not read fanfic anymore. “Playtime. Bath time. Bedtime. Plan the work...work the plan. This is the way he maintains control. It’s also how he personalises his target...so nothing’s left to chance, and nothing, absolutely nothing...is left out of place, ever. So he plans the work...and when he’s good anre ady, he works that plan. He takes great pride in his job. I think the workplace has to be the connection.” 

“Didn’t the Crawford finances indicate a therapist?” I ask as Jason comes back to us, holding up two paintings. 

“Both are by Emily, painted months apart. This one is full of colour and life. The one I found at Emily’s house has lines, dimensions. No colour,” he explains. “I believe Emily was coerced to paint this. It is a point of view. It is his point of view. It’s where the killer stood and just watched the family.” I hear a clang on the desk I’m at, and Aaron grabs my wrist, letting the gold ring spin for a few moments before grabbing it and putting it back on. 

“Each of the dead husbands was missing his wedding ring. This is the unsub’s trophy. He targets a family because he lost his own, and for a few days, he gets to play Daddy.” I cringe again at Aaron. 

“And he can do whatever he wants and nobody’s going to come looking for them because they’re supposed to be on vacation.”

“Let’s get forensics to check the inside of Chris Crawford’s clothing, the unsub might have worn his clothes, too. Whew! Complete the fantasy.” 

“Maybe you should talk to Stephen,” I murmur.”

“So why kill them?”

“The fantasy can’t last.”

“Do we know anything that actually helps us identify this bastard?”

“Wait a minute,” I say, walking over to Derek, who has the files on his desk. “Chris Crawford worked for the IRS, and Reese Miller was a secretary at the GAO.” 

“That makes them both government employees.” 

“Let’s check out Chris Crawford and Reese Miller.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“He has his sfair share of problems, who doesn’t? But he didn’t fix them by killing his family,” the IRS man tells us as he leads us to Mr Crawford’s office. 

“Were you aware he was in therapy?”

“He mentioned marriage counselling.” 

“Did he say who?”

“Nope. And I didn’t ask. I don’t like to pry.”

“That’s surprising, coming from an IRS agent,” I comment. “You mind if we go through his belongings? See if he had anything that could connect him to Reese Miller?”

“You’re welcome to look through anything you like.” Jason pulls out a crayon drawing and stares at it. “A family therapist. They often use children’s paintings to assess the family unit.” He then pulls out his phone. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The receptionist just said she’s in an...Dr Howard?” I ask. 

“Oh, hello, Jamie. My, you’ve grown.” she greets me sweetly before staring coldly at Aaron, Uncle Jason, and Derek. 

“How do you know her?” Jason asks me.

“He was one of my patients a long time ago. How are you doing?”

“I told them they shouldn’t have interrupted-”

“I’m Agent Jason Gideon with Behavioural Analysis.”

“We both deal with the dysfunctional. Happily, in my line, the end results aren’t quite as unpleasant as yours.” Did she...did she really just say that? Wow. What a good therapist.

“Unless you’re the Crawford family.”

“Or the Millers. You knew them both.” 

“Yes. I knew them.”

“Ma’am. I think you should take a seat.” 

“Why?”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“We’re going to have to check your alibi.”

“Dig all you want. I have four teenagers. If I had anytime to myself, it wouldn’t be spent killing my clients.” 

“You worked with both families?” I ask. 

“I assessed their cases. This office deals with hundreds of families. Military, cops, lawyers, congressmen, feds. I only met the Crawfords and Reese Miller once.” 

“But you prescribed medication for them.” 

“I’m the only medical doctor here.”

“Who’d you hand the cases over to?” I ask. 

“Uh, I’ll have to check my files.” SHe gets up and heads to her file cabinet, pulling it open and surfing through.

“You don’t use a computer?”

“Not all of us have embraced the technician revolution. I keep everything filed. It makes me feel more in control. And do not read into that...the Crawfords...Karl Arnold dealt with their case.”

“What about the Millers?”

“I’d like to talk to him now.”

“You can’t. He works a four.forty, four ten hour days.. He’s off today, but he’ll be in first thing tomorrow.”

“Do you have his home address?” She grimaces and writes it down.

“I’ll get a team down to his house.”

“In the meantime, we’d like to see his office.”

We head out, her leading us down a hallway. 

“Suspect’s cell is going straight to voicemail,” Derek reports. 

“Karl is a good man.”

“That’s what they all say until you find a body in the basement,” I remark.

“It’s locked.”

“I’ll get security.”

“No time for that. I’d step out of the way,” I tell her, pushing her aside as Derek kicks the door in. 

“Someone will have to pay for that.”

“Karl Arnold will.” 

“Gideon.” We turn our attention to the colourful paintings on the walls. 

“Where is he, now?” 

“I can’t believe Karl -”

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know. If he’s not at home, then maybe he’s gone off to see his family.”

“He’s married?”

“With two children, Karl Jr and Sarah.”

“How long ago did the marriage collapse?” Jason asks.

“About five years ago. It wasn’t a good time for Karl. He took some time off work. He couldn’t concentrate. He started...drinking.” I hear a phone going off, and Derek steps aside to answer it. “I can’t beli- maybe you’ve got it wrong.”

“Yeah?”

“We don’t always see the dark side of people,” I advise. 

“I would’ve seen…oh my god, I feel sick.” I fetch a trash can from the corner and hold it out to her. 

“Where does Karl’s family live?”

“She took the kids and moved to Idaho.”

“They just raided Karl’s home. He’s not there.” 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hotch, there’s gotta be hundreds of families here.”

“Then we’ll send an agent to every last one if we have to.”

“Karl Arnold, he has a boy and a girl, just like the Millers and Crawfords.”

“Okay, uh...younger boy, older girl…” I say, helping look through hundred of Karl’s files. “On vacation right now…” 

“Target family would be the same.”

“How could I not have seen it?”

“He’s just that good at hiding it. If he wasn’t, you would have seen it, and you shouldn’t blame yourself for this,” I remark. 

“Does he have a journal?”

“He writes everything down, takes it everywhere.”

“It’s likely he also collects trophies. If they’re not in his house, they’re right here, hidden in this room. Jamie.”

“I’ll get to it...why does he have creepy dolls?” I ask, staring at dolls with weird plastic heads on the shelf. 

“What does he mean by trophies?”

“From the families he killed. If he doesn’t confess, we’ll need them as evidence,” Uncle Jason answers. 

“Here’s one. The Harrises. One oy, one girl.”

“Are they on vacation right now?” I ask. 

“Can I see it?”

“I got a few. The Boyds and the Dunkens.”

“Wait. The Dunkens. That’s not one of his cases. That’s mine. They have a baby boy and a slightly introverted eight year old named Jackie.”

“Jackie…” Jason grabs a painting. “Jackie’s work?”

“He took it from my office.” 

“Were they planning a trip?”

“To the Adirondacks.”

“Let’s go. Hotch, tear up the room.”

“Here, take this. I call you some backup.” Derek snatches the files from my hands and runs out after Uncle Jason,and I run after them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“We’ve got three adults and two children sitting at the dining room table,” one of the agent says, using a thermal camera to see inside the house. He waves, and the other agents advance towards the house. I follow after, carefully walking with a gun pointed in front of me. Don’t make me shoot this thing, don’t make me shoot this thing. 

I gulp and move the dead dog with my foot before advancing. “FBI! FBI!” We yell out, bursting in through the patio door. 

“He’s got my baby!”

“Is he alone?” I ask.

“My baby!” 

“Where’s the basement?”

“Under the stairs!” 

“Son of a bitch. Get out of here! Get them outta here!”

“I got her! You go! Get them out of here!” I yell, stepping towards the mother and the little girl, putting the gun in my waistband and pulling out my pocketknife. “It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s okay. I need you guys to with these people, okay?” The woman and the girl nod as I undo the leather bindings before moving on to the dad and cutting him free. “Go, go, go,” I say, putting my knife away and taking the gun back into my hands. I creep forward, gently pushing the open basement door and going down the stairs. I creep forward, seeing beams of light further in.

“Why don’t you give me the baby?” I hear Uncle Jason ask. “Karl?” Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Not the baby. Not the baby. Not the baby. The baby starts crying, and I silently gulp before stepping forward, aligning myself behind the bookcase. “Karl, I want you to look at me. I’m gonna put my gun away…” The baby keeps on crying. Come on, come on, come on, come on. “And I want you to hand me that baby.”  A few moments pass by, nothing happens except for the baby’s cries. “Hand me the baby.” I take a deep breath, taking the gun off of safety and cocking it, placing my finger on the trigger, transferring the weight into my foot so I can pivot around the corner. A loud metal clash rings out, and a few grunts. I venture forward, whipping out my flashlight and turning it on, shining it in the direction of Karl. “Jamie!” Uncle Jason hisses. 

“I can carry the baby out,” I quickly offer, putting the safety back on as I hear someone choking, I shine my flashlight to find Derek holding Karl by the neck. 

“You move, I will break your neck.” 

“Okay, okay,” Jason coos, trying to sooth the baby. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jason pulls me aside as Derek escorts Karl into an interrogation room. 

“Did he say anything?” JJ asks. 

“No. Can we tie him forensically to the other crimes?” 

“Negative on foreign data. He must have washed Crawford’s clothes.” 

“Then we’ll need a confession.”

“Can you get one?” 

“Did you do what I asked?”

“Yeah.” 

“Then maybe.” Jason then walks off towards the interrogation room, and I yawn. 

“Here, Jamie. You should probably get some sleep, it’s late and you’re going back to school,” JJ says, leading me up to Aaron’s office.

“I’m not tired. JJ, I pointed a gun at someone today.” 

“You did what?”

“Can I watch the interview? I basically helped.” 

“Yes, you can, but you are going to have a talking-to. Where did you even get the gun, anyways?”

“Elle got me it for Rosh Hashahnah, uh, I didn’t tell her that we only get gifts during Hanukkah.” I explain as we walk into the room and stand by the evidence board. 

“Emily Crawford was a very talented and gifted girl,” Uncle Jason says. “Her brother, Sam, a bright, energetic child. You watched them from the yard for days, maybe even weeks. You learned everything about them, you studied their every move, and then you wrote it all down.” I look to Karl, who is scanning the board, and my eyes flicker to the bandage on Derek’s arm. 

“May I have a glass of water?” Karl asks calmly. 

“Something wrong?”

“No. I’m just thirsty.” 

“Water, please.” I nod and fetch the glass of water, quickly bringing it back without leaving earshot.

“Could you remove my shackles? I’m clearly no threat to you.” 

“They stay on.” I hand Derek the glass, and he sets it down by Karl, I return to my spot by JJ. 

“You chose families that reminded you of the one you lost. You stalked them, you bound them, you terrorised them. Then you killed them...one by one. We have your journals, Karl.”

“It’s my job…” I roll my eyes and nearly start laughing. “To write everything down, to get to know them. I can’t help them solve their problems without knowing background. And I make home visits...sometimes without their knowledge because people lie. You, of all people, should know that.” Uncle Jason holds up a couple of pictures. “Eric Miller was an awful husband and father. Allison Crawford hemmoraged money her husband didn’t have. It can strain any marriage.” Uncle Jason then holds up a framed picture.

“On the surface, this looks like any family, USA. Two parent household, two kids, a boy and a girl. If you look a little closer, you’ll see that their body language tells a different story. The woman and children are distant from the man. Their smiles are stiff. Their eyes are frightened. Every hair is in place, wearing their Sunday best, their own private hell being memorialised on film. Are you okay?”

“It isn’t right.” I watch Karl shudder. 

“What is it?”

“You’ve got the pictures mixed up! The one in the middle, that is Sam Crawford’s. It should be Ty Miller’s! You need...to swap them. You need...to make it right.” 

“This one here?” I ask, pointing to the foot. 

“What the hell have I been trying to tell you?” 

“You’re right. They’re switched. That is Sam Crawford’s foot with the Miller family. But how did you know that, Karl?” Uncle Jason asks.

[hockeysweetheart]

Parts  7 and 8... The final 2 parts of My Story Back To District 12 

Katniss who lost her Husband 3 years ago.. Comes back to District 12. With her 3 Children. She finds out Peeta  Who also Lost his wife  4 years ago came back to District 12 as well. They fall in love again and have bumps along the way... Their life is crazy but they make it work...

Notes:  Part 8 Made me cry... 

Part 7. Are we In Trouble now

No idea what I will find. When I arrived  Johanna got the twins and  Peeta said he’s on his way since he got the call at work. We go in at the same time.. it hasn’t been more then 15 minutes since she called us… We walk in and see that all of our kids are sitting in an Empty Classroom …   with 6 teachers and  Craig Wilson with a bandage on his eye… And The Principal who invites us in Peeta says “ Are we late to the party” Quietly only I hear I almost smack him but here’s not the best time to do that…  shortly after we arrive  Martha Wilson comes in… She takes one look at me and Peeta and says “ Why am I not surprised” and sits down.. I knew I never liked her she was in our year… as a parent It’s taking everything not to tare her apart, If I didn’t have the manners my mother taught me then I would be in this office a lot…  A teacher who's been around forever I can read her mind say and the battle continues years later…  But I am better then that… I go to Craig and say “ I am sorry for what my children did I expect they have a good reason” I say looking at them  “ Oh Mrs Hawthorn  Craig Is the one who started it” Craig speaks up “ Yeah until they all jumped me and Grayson”… Peeta asks “ Where is Grayson?” The Principal answers “ Hes In the Hospital he will be alright Just broke a bone and His parents are not taking any legal action for this”  We don’t even know what Happened yet and It already sounds bad what could of my 6 done that made ones face bleed and another to break a bone and in Hospital…. Because I look at them and I see them all unharmed…. So I say “ What Happened then”

The Principal tells us this at Morning Recess which is all classes combined before the Bell goes…. Craig and Grayson  who are in The same grade at  Noah.  See that Ella is playing on the Play Structure and go up and  Tug on Ella’s braids and she Starts to Cry Kai comes to her Rescue but Craig pushes him down.  Kai starts to cry… The more I look at Kai He is a bit banged up… Then Paisley comes tells them to stop Before they can Do anything to her Owen Comes in Punches  Craig in the face. When He fell down he cut his face on the Play structure.  Noah came and Pushed Grayson off the play structure and Aubrey comes and says “ That’s what you get for Messing with my Siblings” Craig then who’s bleeding no less tries to push Aubrey easily stops him and says “ Never hurt my siblings again”  Someone gets a teacher on duty and  here we are… We are all quiet for the longest time until Peeta says “ Hey at least they are working together they never do that at home.”.. I elbow him even tho they fight like cats and dogs but not know… Then He says “ Sorry that came out wrong, I am sure our children are very sorry for what they have done”… The Principal says “ Mr Mellark   Mrs Hawthorn…. We agreed to suspend Noah and Owen for their actions”… I say this slowly “ So they are suspended for self defense and defending their siblings?” I ask…She answers “ Yes I am sorry that is our policy if the ones who are harmed have to end up in the hospital they are to be suspended.”   Martha Wilson makes a joy sound The Principal says “ Mrs Wilson your son is not off the Hook either or is Grayson Sage… Craig here has been expelled…” Martha makes a Huff  “ For what for Pulling a kids hair and Pushing a kid down they have think skins I mean look at who their parents are..” She says giving Peeta and I a look…One of the teachers whispers something into the Principals ear  she nods her head and then says “ I forgot to mention the most important Detail. When stuff like this happens we look though the backpacks… Nothing Interesting in 6 kids in this room… But we found this in Craig’s backpack.”  The Principal is holding out a knife…

I have Noah and Owens back packs and the other 4 go back to class. They  are Suspended only for 3 days as We are leaving the school Martha Wilson comes to us and says “ I am sorry about that I never knew he would bring that to school. I talked with his father and he is going for some  treatment. That he needs” I am surprised by this apology because Martha is one of those parents who think her child is Better then everyone else … I tell her “ Well your lucky we are not pressing any changes for your son putting his hands on my 6  year old girl and for pushing my 5 year old son”….Then Walk away…

I don’t think pushing other children is okay but  this was in self Defense as soon as we get home I send both of the boys up to their room ...when they rest of the kids came home that day I talked to them  about it.. But when I am washing dishes with Peeta I start Ranting I say “ Oh that Martha I thought I got rid of her when I graduated school, My kids did nothing wrong. Okay sure they pushed a guy and sent one to the hospital did they deserve it Yeah…” Peeta just puts his hand on his  on my shoulder and I suddenly feel relaxed He says nothing   “ Peeta do you feel like I was to harsh on them I mean with making them do stuff around here for the next few days” I ask him… Peeta is hugging me at this point from behind and says “ Not at all When Craig  left the school he was saying I did nothing wrong, when we left what were our boys doing?.” I answer him “ Not bothering to fight us because they know they have done something wrong and we are not happy about it” I give Peeta a kiss and tell him “ You always know what to say” And Kiss him again… Then I hear the babies crying. Peeta says “ Allow me” I realized he left me to finish washing the dishes He is  so lucky I am in a mood where I clean because he would pay for it later…

When we are getting ready for Bed that night I am in our bathroom getting ready for bed.. and Peeta is laying in Bed I  hand him a list of things I want the boys to do while they are suspended   Peeta looks it over and says Katniss you expect the 8 year old  and an 11year old to change the baby , Burp and Feed … Katniss  Noah or Owen cannot pull out a boob to feed them  Mow the Grass…  on what planet  does an 8 year old know how to mow grass.   Owen Barley knows how too.. Make the kids lunches you expect the 8 year old and 11 year old to make  lunches…”  I tell him from the bathroom “ Oh I gave you the wrong one that one is for you…” Peeta Takes it back and with A smirk he says “ Don’t think the feeding thing will work on me either”… I roll my eyes.  I walk over to him and Give him the right list as I climb in bed and start to cuddle with him. He reads it and says “ Katniss is this a punishment to me  you expect them to help me out at the bakery?”  I tell him “Owen can handle a bit more, And Noah can do the small stuff” This isn’t some from of punishment for ditching you to do the dishes is it I tell him “ Maybe” A little to innocently.. And I give him a kiss.. When we break apart he says “ Well lesson learned” I Say “Mellark I thought you would learn that lesson long ago”.. This time he gives me a kiss…

I drop the kids off at school well 4 of them Owen and Noah are already at the bakery… I take the twins with me to the Bakery and I see that Owen and Noah are in chefs hats and coats… made for them they look adorable. Peeta must have had a talk with them because they are so proper . When I enter they say Welcome to the bakery..  and Tell me you might be my mom but you have to wait in line  the costumers giggle a little one whispers in my ear “ How did you train them to be like this” I tell them “ Their father” … When It’s my turn I  order I say Noah I want cheese buns and Owen I want some chocolate special… Noah looks at Owen and He says “Ma'am I am Little Mr Mellark” and Noah chimes in “ I am Little Mr Hawthorn”… I smile Look at Peeta and correct my self and say okay “ Mr Little Mellark I would like the chocolate special and Little Mr Hawthorn I would like Cheese buns” ..I Shake my head… Owen says “ Okay that will be 5 minutes you can wait over there”… I get a kiss into Peeta before I go and wait.. Owen tells us “ No public affections in my bakery”… And  Noah said “ You two should be ashamed and daddy will bring your food to you”.. I can hear the giggles around me.. Did my Boyfriend send our kids to culinary school or Military… These can’t be the same boys who we have to tell 5 times to chew with their mouth closed as they bother their sisters…  When Peeta brings the food he sits down with Me and Picks up Gretchen and  I am already Holding Cooper… I ask him “ What did you do to our boys?” He smiles “ Oh just taught them a few life lessons” He says “ Well  I should of sent them here a long time ago then” I add with a smile Peeta kisses me this time and this time Noah comes to us and says “ No kissing in this Bakery mommy and daddy”… I ask him “ Can I kiss Gretchen or Cooper?”… Noah stutters and says “ Let me get back to you on that”.. He walks over to  Owen and asks something and he nods and Noah comes back and says “ Yes but only because they are babies and don’t understand”  Noah leaves after saying this and the last thing he says is “ I got my eyes on you” then Is gone… I laugh.. Peeta puts Gretchen back into the stroller and goes back to work he says “ Before they burn the place down” I smile and shout out “ Honey those boys who are so proper couldn’t burn down this place if they tried”…

Part 8… Back to District 12 The Journey

The babies are 5 Months old now they are growing so I get a call that Prim is in labor with her first baby Girl. She has already have a name for her Evelyn.… I am hurrying off when I realized the House is to Quiet…

Meanwhile Peeta has all 8 Children in their bedroom and  I have no idea why  Sitting on our bed when I ask  when I walk in all say “ nothing” too innocently. Well at least 7 of them in the room since the babies cannot talk yet..  I Tell them “alright  well I have to go and because you guys are going to have a cousin soon.” Give Peeta a quick kiss and I am out the door. When I am gone Peeta asks the children if it was Okay to Marry me… they all said yes… we love our mommy Aubrey asks him “you wont hurt my mom right?” Peeta answers  “ Of course not I love your mother very much as I love all of you” Aubrey gives Peeta a hug and says “ I am happy my mom found you”…

A few weeks Later After Prim gives Birth Peeta takes me out on a picnic. The Kids are with my Parents and Johanna offered to take the babies to give them a break… It’s like old times as we have a picnic in the meadow I forget how nice this is to do  without kids without them all over us… we eat and talk and kiss and I eventually lay own with my head on Peeta’s lap… and he plays with my hair. This is like what we did 5 months ago but I didn’t have twins trying to get out of me and this time it’s only us.. I fall asleep in his arms and He wants me up to see the beautiful Set.  We stand up to watch  the sun escape into the evening darkness.  I am so  distracted enjoying this  I don’t even notice what is going on behind me. When I turn around Peeta is down on one Knee holding out a ring to me…  I am in shock.. Okay I guess we would get married at some point… But with life so busy I thought it would be when we slowed down a bit but then I realized with 8 kids that’s not gonna happen for a while.  Peeta says “ Katniss  the biggest mistake was not proposing to you 16 years ago. But without that Mistake we wouldn’t have 8 of the most beautiful children… I asked them and they all said it was okay to do this…” I am fighting back tears the whole time Peeta continues “ I fall in love with you everyday. I am so  Lucky when I wake up and go to sleep you are there with me.  I am Lucky to have someone like you in my life Katniss who shows me my flaws and the good in life.. Even tho we are basically married… Will you marry me Katniss Everdeen?” With tears coming down my face I say “ yes” and I kiss him we fall onto our picnic blanket and we kiss for a while… I forgot he didn’t put the ring on my finger yet.. I pull off the one Gale Gave me 15 years ago and Peeta replaces  it with his engagement ring to me…  I am so in shock we kiss a bit more then we head off to my parents house where they all knew what Peeta was going to do.. He asked  for my fathers Blessing and of course he gave his Blessing.. The 6 spent the night at my parents but we do  take the twins home… We head home and put the twins to bed and head to our bed… After a while I whisper to him “ Is this real”  He tells me “ Yes and I’d do it a million times over again if I could”…  When I wake up in the morning. My clothes are still in the heap of where we threw them last night… I remember that the ring Gale put on my figure on our wedding day 15 years ago is in my dress pocket… I go and get it and Peeta is still out cold. He must of woken up a few times to tend to the babies as he is wearing at least his boxers… I get dressed and I dig in the pocket of my dress I was wearing when Peeta proposed to me and grabbed the ring I also felt a piece of paper in there. If I recall The last time I wore this dress was almost  5 years ago… The Letter is in Gales Handwriting.

My Dearest Katniss

I know I cannot be their In person to say goodbye to you. But just to let you know I love you and the children Very much… Something bad is happening in here so if you ever see this it will be a miracle in it self..  I wrote this  to know it’s okay to move on as hard as it will be I  know you will find the right man at the right time to love and take care of our children when I cannot be there.  I know this is hard to read as it is to write but we always find our way back home. And the Journey that leads us back there.  I hope you find a man who will be There to walk Aubrey and Ella down the Aisle  and  to be supportive on Noah’s day…Because I know I cannot. I want you to find someone who will scare away the men who try to steal our daughters. But know when the right one comes around. I want a man to be their for a firsts  their growing mile stones heartbreaks, New lovers, fights with their mother, Slamming doors , embarrassing them, and  things that will happen a lot sooner Missing teeth, first day of kindergarten, tears over silly things that mean the world to them, siblings fights , baking nights,… There are times we will make our children cry and they will too. But for now until you find that person I am sorry I cannot be by your side. Thought it all… Not saying without me will be easy  But I will always be in  your heart and In our children everyday Supporting you crying with you and One day when You walk down the aisle again Yourself I will be there with you.... I will die Happy to know you find that someone who could pick up the Pieces I couldn’t finish with you… I am so sorry Katniss but it’s my time to go.  I love you my darling...                                                           Gale.

I only realize the tears rolling down my face as I put the note down.. Peeta who just woken up asks “ Katniss are you alright”… With tears in my eyes “ I say yes I am now”… I give him a kiss and when He goes and checks on the babies I Say my personal goodbye to Gale I put  the wedding ring her put on me 15 years ago and his goodbye note in it and give it a kiss goodbye… I look at my engagement ring Peeta put on me and smile as I walk out of our bedroom..

Here I am standing In a white dress again. I think to myself as I look in the mirror. I often  wondered how this day would of looked if we Married years ago… But I know I  needed to leave and Find myself before we settled…  The twins who are starting to walk now I get ready I remind myself those twins have the Mellark Last name before I do My children who remind me of everyday of their father always. Also remind me of the journey we went though to get to this day.. Our children lost that one thing they never thought they would for years. As my hair gets curled my Brides maids helps out with the children. And I put my dress on  and my father comes and gets me and those doors open and I see my husband down the aisle  and my 8 children in front of me I know this is just the beginning of our Journey that brought us back to District 12...

[believingispowerfulmagic]

“Comfort Food” Part XXX: Babymoon (Part One)

This is also my first entry for OQ Realms Week! 

           “That’s it,” Robin said, backing away and wrapping his arm around her waist. “The nursery is all set up.”

           Regina looked at the beautiful wooden crib, the center piece of their nursery. A dresser sat against the back wall and the changing station was right next to it, already packed with diapers, wipes and bottles of baby powder. There was also the toy box Geppetto’s Toys had given her and sitting on top of it was one of the stuffed monkeys from their baby shower. It matched the jungle theme painted on the walls—trees and different jungle animals decorating it, from monkeys to birds to snakes to a tiger.

           “It’s perfect,” she said, leaning against him. “We’re all ready for Henry.”

           “Yes, we are,” he agreed. He grinned. “I say we deserve a reward.”

           She raised an eyebrow, hoping he meant what she thought he meant. “Muffin Man strudel?”

           “You read my mind,” he said, kissing her forehead. “Let’s go get our shoes on.”

           They hurried to their room and put on their sneakers before heading downstairs. Queen was asleep on the couch, meaning they could sneak out without her wanting to come with them on their walk. Robin quietly closed the door behind him before taking her hand. “And here we go,” he said.

           A warm breeze blew past them as they turned out of their walkway and headed toward the main road. Regina laced her fingers with his and gave their latched hands a couple gentle swings. “It’s a beautiful evening for a walk,” she said.

           “It is,” he agreed, squeezing her hand. “Maybe we should get some ice cream instead of the strudel.”

           She gasped, looking at him with wide eyes. “Who are you and what have you done with my husband, Robin Locksley?”

           He let out a belly laugh, letting go of her hand so he could wrap his arm around her and hold her close. “We can get both—but have the strudel another day. I now really want ice cream.”

           “Ice cream does sound good,” she admitted, already tasting the creamy goodness on her tongue.

           “Okay,” he said, turning in the opposite direction of the Muffin Man once they got to the corner. “To Any Given Sundae we go!”

           They continued to walk down the street and Regina sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. “Soon we’ll be pushing a stroller with us.”

           “Yes, we will,” he said. “And one of us will be lugging a diaper bag with them.”

           She snorted. “You mean me.”

           “Not necessarily,” he replied. “I also intend to lug that thing around. We’re a team, right? Why should you break your back alone?”

           “Good point. Can I get this in writing?” she teased him.

           He pouted, pretending to be wounded. “What, my word isn’t good enough?”

           She smiled, raising her head so she could kiss him. “Of course it is. I know you will pull equal weight when it comes to parenting.”

           They arrived at Any Given Sundae and Robin pulled away from her. He opened the door and gave a little bow. “After you, milady.”

           “Thank you,” she said, walking into the store. A blast of cold air hit her and she felt goosebumps rise on her arms. She wrapped them around her as Robin’s warm body quickly pressed against her, gently pushing her toward the freezer so they could choose their ice cream flavors.

           Regina eyed the chunky monkey as well as the cookie dough options, debating between the two. Without looking away, she asked her husband: “You getting Rocky Road?”

           “Of course,” he replied. “No need to have any other flavor when the best is right there.”

           She rolled her eyes. “Well, some of us do like to vary things up. Do you think I should go with cookie dough? Or something else?”

           “I think you know my opinion,” he teased her.

           “Right,” she replied, shaking her head. “Why did I bother asking you?”

           He laughed as she continued to look over the options. Her heart skipped a beat as she spied one toward the end, hurrying toward it to confirm that her eyes were not playing a trick on her. “I don’t believe it,” she breathed.

           “What?” he asked, moving closer to her. “Is something wrong?”

           “No. It’s just…look.” She pointed to the container in question, her finger pressing against the cold glass.

           He leaned toward the glass and she saw his eyes widen. “I hardly see that here in the States.”

           “It took me ages to perfect that,” the proprietor said, emerging from the back. The blonde woman leaned against the counter. “Would you like it?”

           “Yes,” Robin breathed. “I haven’t had a good raspberry ripple in the States yet. And it’s usually too cold for ice cream when I go back home.”

           The owner nodded, opening the glass by her. “Cone or cup? And how many scoops?”

           “Cone,” he said. “And can I get two please? One raspberry ripple and one Rocky Road, please.”

           Regina would’ve chuckled if she hadn’t been in absolute shock. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that she found this particular flavor now, especially as it was a flavor that wasn’t popular in their area. She knew it was a sign.      

           “Can I have a cone with two scoops of raspberry ripple, please?” she asked. “Just the raspberry ripple.”

           The proprietor nodded. “Of course. I take it you are a big fan like your husband?”

           “Like my father,” Regina replied, a lump forming in her throat. “He loved it and was always so upset that no one really sold it.”

           “Was?” the blonde woman asked, handing Robin his cone.

           Regina swallowed past the lump. “He passed away a few weeks ago.”

           “I’m sorry to hear that,” the other woman replied, making Regina’s cone. She held it out to her. “On the house.”

           “Thank you,” Regina gasped out, tears threatened to overwhelm her.

           Robin rubbed her back. “Why don’t you go find a seat? I’ll be right there.”

           She nodded, moving toward a far table as tears fell down her cheeks. Regina licked her raspberry ripple, savoring the flavor her father had loved so much. It wasn’t her favorite but she still liked it enough to always split a bowl with Henry whenever he could find it. She felt he was with her now, sharing the cone with her in spirit.

           A stack of napkins appeared in front of her. Robin sat down next to her, taking her free hand with his. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

           “No,” she admitted. “It’s just…it’s weird. We’re going about our day, being all normal and happy…and then WHAM! Something reminds me that my dad’s not here and I’m sad all over again.”

           “I know,” he replied. “It happens to me too.”

           She felt some comfort knowing she wasn’t alone in her feeling. “When do you think it will stop?”

           “I think that’s a question for Archie,” he said, taking a lick of his ice cream. “But I don’t think it ever stops.”

           “I was afraid you would say that,” she replied, taking a good lick of her ice cream. She closed her eyes, once again imagining she was enjoying it with her father.

           A few moments later, Robin said: “I didn’t know Henry liked raspberry ripple.”

           She nodded, opening her eyes again. “I forget where he first tried it but he loved it and would try to get it whenever he could find it. One time, he tried to get our local grocery store to stock it but he was really the only buyer so that didn’t work.”

           “Too bad he didn’t tell me,” her husband replied. “I would’ve been a second buyer. Maybe that would’ve changed their minds.”

           “I doubt it, but he would’ve appreciated the gesture,” Regina replied, smiling now.

           Robin chuckled before covering her free hand with his. “You feeling better now?”

           “A bit,” she told him. “There’s still some sadness but you’re helping me smile through it.”

           “Good,” he said, giving her hand a squeeze.

           They finished up their ice cream before Robin returned to the front. Regina watched as he spoke with the owner, who disappeared into the back. A few moments later, she emerged with a container. She handed it to Robin, who then gave her some money. He returned, smiling triumphant. “I got us some raspberry ripple to enjoy at home,” he announced. “And Sarah said she’s going to have it all summer.”

           “Is she?” Regina asked, glancing over at the blonde proprietor. “And how much did you pay her to get her to agree to that?”

           “I just paid her for the container,” he said, patting it. “She already made the decision before we walked through the door.”

           Though suspicious of that, she decided to drop the subject. She stood and took his hand. “Let’s get that in the freezer before it melts.”

           “Good idea,” he said. They left the ice cream shop, noting that the sun had set and the streetlamps had come on.

           A cool breeze blew past them and Regina shivered a bit, leaning closer to Robin. “The summer seems to be flying by.”

           “That’s because we’re eagerly waiting for our son,” he replied, wrapping his arm around her to share some of his body warmth. “So we’re speeding toward his birthday.”

           She nodded, still amazed by that. “We’re going to be parents any day now.”

           “I know,” he said, kissing her head. “It still feels like a dream.”

           “That will probably end the first sleepless night,” she replied.

           He laughed, nodding. “Probably.”

           “But it will be worth it,” she continued, smiling as she thought of their beautiful baby boy lying in their arms.

           “Yes,” he agreed, kissing her head. “All of it will be worth it for our little Henry.”

           They arrived back at the house and let themselves in. Queen greeted them with her leash in her mouth and a look in her eyes that almost seemed to say “How dare you go for a walk without me?” Robin sighed as he handed Regina the ice cream, asking her to put it in the freezer while he took the dog on a walk. She agreed, watching as he put on Queen’s harness and then her leash. With a little wave, he left with Her Majesty.

           After putting the ice cream away, Regina headed upstairs. She was going to go to her room and prepare a bath but found herself standing in the nursery. It still amazed her that it was complete and ready for their son. Everything seemed so much more real and she couldn’t wait until she had her baby boy.

           She walked over to one wall, where she had set up a photo family tree. At the very top was an empty frame that said Baby waiting for Henry’s first picture. Then right underneath that was a picture of her and Robin from their wedding, the two posing on the steps of their back porch. She leaned against him, looking up as she smiled at him. He beamed down at her, his hand on her back. It was placed in a frame that said Mommy & Daddy.

           Underneath that were three more picture frames. One held a picture of Susan in a frame that just read Nana. Neither of them had wanted a picture of George on the wall—he certainly wasn’t going to be a grandfather to their child. Instead, they placed a picture of Grandpa Roland and Grandma Ellie next to Susan. They had to special order the frame that said Great-Grandpa & Great-Grandma for that photograph.

           Regina reached out and brushed her fingers over the photograph on the left. It showed her parents, both sitting on their deck. Her father had his arm around her mother’s shoulders, holding her close. They both smiled at the camera, looking very relaxed.

           “I miss you, Daddy,” she whispered. “I hope wherever you are, you are watching out for all of us.”

           “I’m sure he is,” Robin said, wrapping his arms around her. He held her close. “And I know he’s always going to be watching over us.”

           She leaned against her husband. “You’re right. Though I hope there are a few times he looks away.”

           He laughed at that. “True. I would hate to think he was watching last night.”

           “Oh, I hope not,” she replied, feeling her cheeks heat up as she recalled how many times Robin made her come.

           “And maybe he shouldn’t watch tonight,” Robin continued, leaning her back so she could see his suggestive smirk. “That is if you’re up for an encore.”

           While it was a tempting offer, she shook her head. “I just want to cuddle. Can we do that?”

           He kissed the side of her head. “Of course. We can do whatever you want.”

           Regina took his hand and they headed to their bedroom together. Her Majesty was already curled up on their bed, waiting for them. She gave the dog a scratch behind her ear before retrieving her pajamas so she could change into them. With a quick kiss for Robin, she slipped into the bathroom to go through her nightly routine.

           After washing her face and moisturizing it, she brushed her teeth and headed back out with minty fresh breath. Robin was already in bed, cradling Queen. The dog’s tail moved every so often, creating a dull thud as it hit his leg. She certainly looked comfortable.

           “Did I get replaced by Her Majesty?” Regina asked, teasing her husband as she climbed into bed next to him.

           “Not at all,” he replied, setting the dog down. Queen scrambled to her feet and took a couple steps before curling up on Regina’s legs like usual. “See?”

           She chuckled, moving closer to her husband. He wrapped his arm around her and held her close, kissing her head. “There. Cuddling achieved.”

           “Good,” she sighed, resting her head on his chest as she curled closer to him. Queen shifted so she was lying in the small space between Regina’s bent legs and Robin’s. The dog let out a content sigh before closing her eyes.

           Regina curled her fingers around Robin’s soft t-shirt as she let her eyes fall closed. She always felt at peace in his arms and today was no different. While she always missed her father, the grief was easier to bear with Robin by her side.

           She was the luckiest woman in the world.

           “I love you,” she murmured into his chest.

           He raised his hand, entangling his fingers in her hair. “I love you too,” he whispered.

           Regina smiled, drifting off to sleep filled with happiness and contentment. She knew only good dreams awaited her with Robin’s arms and love enveloping her. Hopefully, he felt the same way thanks to her.

Continue reading on FFN (no smut), AO3 or Wattpad

[cristinablackthornkingson]

Shadowhunters Short Story #58. Baby Lightwood-Bane #4.

It is a chilly February day in 2016 when Magnus and Alec Lightwood-Bane receive the news that will change their lives forever.

It has been two years since Magnus and Alec adopted their youngest child and first daughter, Anna Catarina. Anna is almost two now and has remained a very happy, content little girl. She idolizes her brothers and is best friends with little Mina, as well as Clary and Jace’s daughter Lucie and Simon and Isabelle’s son and daughter George and Jessie. 

Right now Alec is sitting in a room that he and Magnus made into a type of schoolroom for the boys (and Anna when she’s older) working on some history with Rafe, though Alec takes Rafe to The Institute to train, he works on the academic side of his (and Max’s) education here at home, often with help from Magnus. Max is in the living room finishing up a lesson with Magnus and Anna is in Magnus and Alec’s room, taking her nap. 

“Okay Rafe, can you tell me the story about the first Shadowhunter? What was his name, how did he create Shadowhunters, stuff like that?” Alec asks, pulling the textbook away from Rafe so he can test him on what they just learned. 

“Uh well he was a mundane in the 11th century and he was a crusader, and he was really worried about all the demons coming in through the void, so one day on his way to Constantinople he met a warlock- like papa- and asked him to summon Raziel at Lake Lyn. He did and when Raziel was summoned, Jonathan begged him to mix his blood with his to create a new superhero race of people who could defeat the demons. Raziel saw that Jonathan had good intentions so he agreed and then gave him to The Mortal Instruments- like Uncle Simon’s band’s name!- then Jonathan used the cup to turn his sister Abigail and his best friend David into Shadowhunters. David and Jonathan were inspired by the story of Jonathan and David in the Bible, so they took that story and created a ceremony where they took eachother’s blood and spoke the oath and put the runes on each other and became the first ever parabatia, but their bond was broken later when David became the first Silent Brother- like Uncle Jem use to be a Silent Brother- and that’s really all we know.” Alec smiles proudly at his son, he was sure to pass all his exams in a few years with flying colors, he could do wonderfully at The Academy if he chooses to go there when he’s older.

“Good job buddy, but remember when you’re writing about this in your tests don’t mention anything unrelated like how Uncle Simon’s band is also called The Mortal Instruments and that Uncle Jem use to be a Silent Brother, okay?” Alec gently says. He doesn’t mind Rafe’s brief diversions from the story, but an examiner certainly will. 

“Okay, I just got excited, sorry.” Rafe quietly says, feeling embarrassed that he got distracted like a little kid .He’s almost 10 now, he’s a big boy, not a little kid anymore, like Max who’s still only 8 or Anna who really is only a baby. 

“It’s okay buddy don’t be sorry, you know I don’t mind you adding in little things like that, but an examiner who doesn’t know us and our family won’t understand it’s relevance and importance and could mark you down, okay?” Alec gently says. Rafe nods his understanding. “Alright, I think that’s enough for today, how about you?” 

“Uh-uh.” Rafe agrees. 

“Come on, lets go see if your papa and Max are finished, then I’ll wake Anna up and we can go to the park if you like.” Alec says, closing the textbook in front of him. 

“Uh-uh! Can we have pizza for dinner, please?” Rafe begs, turning his big brown eyes to his dad, knowing Alec can never resist his eldest child’s puppy dog eyes. 

“Well I’ll talk to papa but I certainly think you’ve earned it today, and I’m sure Max has too.” Alec says, ruffling Rafe’s hair as they walk out of the schoolroom. 

“I’ll go ask papa!” Rafe exclaims, darting out to the living room before Alec can say another word.

When Alec steps into the living room he sees that Magnus and Max have finished their lesson, and both boys are asking for pizza for dinner, so Alec quietly slips into his and Magnus’ room and make his way over to the crib by the bed, where Anna is sitting up, rubbing her eyes. He gently scoops her up and snuggles her close, breathing in her scent and pressing a kiss to her cheek. 

“Hi baby.” Alec whispers, as Anna clutches his shirt and buries her face in his chest. “Oh sweetheart are you still tired? Did you have a nice nap?” He softly says, rubbing soothing circles on her back. “Come on, lets go see your brothers and papa, that will wake you up.” He grabs her pacifier from the crib and makes his way back into the living room, which has now been cleared up. The minute Anna sees Magnus she perks up and reaches for him. Magnus smiles broadly at his daughter and takes her into his arms, smoothing her hair down and kissing her forehead. 

“There’s my girl, I missed you.” He softly says. 

“Papa’s girl aren’t you Anna?” Alec says in an amused tone, lightly tickling his daughter’s cheek, causing her to squeal with laughter and squirm away from him. 

“You just love being with papa because you know I’ll dress you in something amazing while your daddy would stick you in the first thing he found, isn’t that right my sweet Anna banana?” Magnus lightly says, holding her above his head which makes her scream and giggle with delight. Magnus loves having a little girl to buy adorable dresses and outfits for, there is such a small selection for fashionable boy clothes, especially when those boys are 10 and 8, but for a 2 year old little girl, the sky’s the limit. 

“I just don’t understand the point of putting her in a designer outfit when she’s only going to end up getting half of her meals all over it and ruin it.” Alec says, as Magnus settles Anna back onto his hip. “Our daughter is the messiest little thing alive, you know that.” 

“Yes but at least she’ll be fashionably messy when I dress her.”  Magnus points out. 

“She’s going to end up like Jace if we’re not careful.” Alec teases. Magnus gives a fake gasp of horror and covers one of Anna’s ears. 

“Don’t you dare say such a thing!  You’re going to confident like papa, right Anna? Not an arrogant fool like Uncle Jace.” Magnus coos. Anna smiles up at him in delight and clumsily claps her hands. 

Half an hour later, the little family are walking toward the local park, Alec pushing Anna in her stroller, Magnus at his side and Max and Rafe running up ahead. As they walk, Magnus’ phone begins to buzz in his pocket. 

“Hello?” He answers a few seconds later.

“Hey, it’s me.” Catarina’s voice comes down the line and a smile breaks out on Magnus’ voice. 

“Oh Cat! Good to hear from you! Listen, Ragnor, Tessa and I are going out next week, do you want to come?” He asks, as Alec walks ahead a little bit so as not to listen in on Magnus’ private conversation. 

“Id love to however I actually called about something in specific.” Catarina tells him. 

“Oh what’s that?” He asks. 

“Well a few weeks ago the hospital asked me if I could work on the maternity ward for a while, cover maternity leave ironically. A couple of weeks ago a young girl was admitted with bleeding, thankfully she and the baby are fine, but I grew close with her and got to talk with her a lot. She’s only 16 and not ready to be a mother yet at all, she’s planning to place her baby for adoption, I showed her yours and Alec’s profile and she took to you straight away, she’s not in hospital anymore but we keep in touch and she’s always asking me things about you and Alec, she really wants to meet you, if you’re interested.” Magnus stops dead in his tracks when Catarina finishes her story. Not long ago he and Alec agreed that they would like to extend their family for the last time. At one point in time Tessa had been an adoption consultant and helped bring together many children and parents, so she helped them create a profile book, which she then took a few copies of to give to any clients she and Jem got who were looking to place their child for adoption, and Catarina took another bunch to do the same. 

“R-really? We only made up the booklet a few months ago.”  Magnus says in a breathy tone, beginning to walk again and running a hand through his hair. 

“I know but it can happen very quickly, I know with Max, Rafe and Anna you all found each other by fate, but with a profile book to show expectant mothers and adoption consultants it can happen much more quickly.” Catarina explains. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

“No! We do! I mean, I’ll have to speak with Alec about it but I’m certain he will want this as much as I do, what’s the mother’s name? Is she mundane, Nephilim,what?” Magnus asks.

“Her name is Molly Bridgestock, she’s a Shadowhunter, from a very high up, proud, old Shadowhunter family. Her parents threatened to kick her out if she didn’t give up the baby, when I heard this I offered for her to stay with me or offered to contact Tessa, see if she and Jem could help, but Molly says she’s doing this adoption on her own terms, she loves her baby but she knows she can’t give them the life they deserve, though I do worry how her parents will react when they find out you’re a Warlock and you and Alec are a gay couple, Molly is completely fine with it, she was awe-struck when she saw Alec’s picture, truth be told I think she has a little crush on your Consul Ligthwood.” Magnus laughs lightly, not surprised that this young girl has a crush on his gorgeous husband, he can’t understand how everyone in the world isn’t in love with Alec. 

“That doesn’t sound like a good home for any child, is Molly safe?” Magnus asks in a concerned tone, more than willing to take in both this young girl and her child, if need be. 

“She says she is but I just don’t know, her parents are very ‘traditional’ if you know what I mean.” Catarina tells him. 

“Yes unfortunately I do. I’ll talk to Alec and get back to you, in the meantime can you give Molly my number and address and let her know our door is always open for her? We would take Molly in and help her raise her baby herself if she wants.” Magnus softly says, wanting to do all he can for a child in need. 

“Of course, talk to you soon.” Catarina says, before hanging up. 

Over the next half hour or so, while Max, Rafe and Anna tire themselves out in the park, Magnus explains the whole situation to Alec. Alec agrees to meet Molly and adopt her baby if that’s what she wants, or to take her in and help her raise the baby, either, whatever she wants. 

Magnus calls Catarina back and arranges a meeting with Molly for a few days from now, at their home. 

Three days later, it is a bright, breezy day, oddly warm for the middle of February. Alec has just gotten back from dropping the kids off with Maryse, while Magnus stayed behind to make sure everything was perfect for Molly’s visit. She is due to arrive any minute now, and he and Alec are doing everything they can to stay calm.

At 2:00 p.m. on the dot, there is a light knock on the door and Magnus and Alec exchange nervous glances, before Magnus goes to answer the door. When he opens the door, he is struck by how young the girl standing in front of him looks. According to Catarina she is sixteen, but she barely looks it, with brown skin, long black hair falling around her shoulders and bright green eyes, she looks like she should be preparing for her first Clave Exam, not preparing to have a baby.He can’t help but think that this could be his daughter or one of his nieces in the near future, and his heart goes out to this young girl, who is doing this alone with no support from her family. He doesn’t understand parents who turn their back on their children, no matter what his kids do he will always, always love them and support them.

“You must be Molly.” Magnus says, smiling warmly at the young girl standing in front of him. 

“As far as I’m aware.” She replies with a grin. ‘Sarcastic, Rafe is going to love her.’ Magnus thinks to himself. 

“Come in and make yourself at home, we’re so glad you wanted to meet us.” Magnus says, guiding her into the living room where Alec is waiting. 

“I’m glad you agreed to meet me, I’ve considered a few other people as parents to this baby, but when Catarina showed me your profile book it just felt right, I mean the idea of my baby being raised by The Consul and The High Warlock of Brooklyn is pretty amazing.” Molly says, her hand resting on her protruding stomach. 

“I’m glad you think so, though our kids often seem to think we are the worst dad and papa in the world because we won’t let them have chocolate for breakfast, I don’t know why we let their aunts and uncles look after them anymore honestly, their grandmother feeds them properly but Alec’s brother and sister seem to only feed them junk.” Magnus says in an amused tone.Though really he can’t complain, the last time he and Alec looked after Mina, Tessa had nearly throttled him when he sent Mina back hyper as hell.

“You’ll have to excuse my husband being a hypocrite Molly, a few weeks ago we were looking after one of our nieces and Magnus gave her basically all the chocolate in the house, her mother almost killed him when she found out.” Alec says in an amused tone, as Molly and Magnus walk into the living room. Molly laughs lightly and says 

“Can’t say I wouldn’t do the same, are your other children here?” Magnus indicates for her to take a seat. 

“No, they’re with my mom, we thought it would be best if this first meeting is just the three of us, but if things work out you can meet them another time.” Alec says. 

“Alright.” Molly says with a smile and a nod. “I don’t have that many questions for you, just one.” She adds. 

“What is it?” Alec asks, grasping Magnus’ hand in his. 

“Would you be okay with the adoption being open? Or at least semi-open? I want to be a part of the baby’s life, I want to be able to visit him and watch him grow up, and be there for him to ask questions when he’s older, and I don’t want the fact that he’s adopted to be a secret from him, I’m not saying I want to be his mother or anything, but I’d like to be like an Aunt to him.” Molly quietly says. She knew from the minute she found out about the baby that she couldn’t fully part with him forever, she knew placing him for adoption was the best for him, but she couldn’t hand him over and never see him again, though that’s exactly what her parents want. They wanted to send her away for the duration of the pregnancy and arrange to have the baby adopted out themselves, a closed adoption. They claimed it was for Molly’s sake and to save her reputation but she knows better, she knows it’s for their sake and that they’re ashamed of her and her baby,

“Yes we are absolutely fine with that, we never personally set out to have closed adoptions with Max, Rafe and Anna, it just worked out that way really, we know nothing about Max’s parents, he was abandoned, Rafe’s parents were killed in the Dark War with Sebastian, and Anna was abandoned too, but we’ve always been open to any form of adoption.” Magnus explains. “My friend Tessa Carstairs use to be an adoption consultant, she can help with the legal side of things.” He adds. Molly smiles and visibly relaxes. 

“Okay great, you can ask me any questions you have now.” She says, glad to have at least one worry off her mind. 

“You said ‘him’ when talking about the baby, do you know you’re having a boy?” Alec asks in a hopeful tone. He’d like to know if he and Magnus are going to have another son or daughter, he’ll be thrilled either way but he would like to know before the baby is born. 

“No I don’t know for sure, I just have a feeling he’s a boy, but if you two want to find out I’m happy to ask Brother Enoch at my next check up.” Molly replies.

“How far long are you?” Magnus asks, trying to calculate by the size of her stomach, even though he knows that’s not very accurate. When Tessa had been 6 months pregnant with Mina, Magnus had thought she was full term and asked if she was far from her due date, Tessa had almost killed him. It’s surprising Magnus is still alive, the amount of times he’s done something to warrant leaving Tessa ready to kill him.

“5 months, I’m due at the beginning of July.” Molly tells them, rubbing her bump. 

“I’m sorry if this is a sensitive issue and you don’t have to answer if you don’t  want to, but is the father in the picture?” Alec gently asks. Molly blushes and shakes her head. 

“No, I-I don’t actually know who the father is, it was a one-night stand, I don’t remember his name, what he looked like or anything, so you don’t have to worry about him.” Molly quietly says in a tone of embarrassment. 

“You don’t have to be embarrassed Molly, these things happen, it doesn’t make you a bad person or anything.” Magnus gently says. 

“I’m sorry I brought it up, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Alec softly says. 

“No it’s okay, you have a right to know.” Molly says, taking a breath to ward off the tears. 

The three of them continue to talk for another hour or so, getting to know each other and their situations. 

“Well.” Molly says an hour later, once they’ve spoken about anything and everything. “I made up my mind before I even met you, I’m choosing you as my baby’s parents.” 

“Thank you, we promise we will give your baby the most amazing life, and you can be as involved as much as you like.” Alec says in a strained tone of joy. 

“I know things aren’t great at home, you could stay with us if you like, you can stay for as long as you want, we have the room and we could take care of you and the baby.” Magnus offers, unable to not offer help to a child in need. 

“That’s very kind of you but I actually recently moved out of my parents house, I’m staying with a friend and their parents are extremely kind and good to me.” Molly says. Magnus relaxes at this, knowing he won’t have to worry about his child and the mother of his child as much. 

“Well I’m glad, but please know that our door is always open, before and after the baby is born.” Magnus gently says. Molly smiles broadly and says

“Thank you, I appreciate that.” That night, for the first time in months, Molly is able to sleep peacefully, knowing her child is going to have the most wonderful life, being raised by two of the kindest, most caring people she has ever met.

Over the next few months, Magnus and Alec tell their friends and family about the baby and start to prepare for their child’s arrival. Shortly after meeting Molly, she invited them to attend her 6 month check up with Brother Enoch, where it was confirmed she was carrying a boy. Max and Rafe are thrilled at the idea of having a little brother, though Anna isn’t too sure about it yet.  

Alec insists on decorating the nursery by hand, not allowing Magnus to use his magic to fix it up. This is the first time they’ll have a new-born, Max was almost 1 when he was adopted, Rafe was 5 and Anna was a few months old. This baby will be days old when they bring him home, and they’ll get to be there for his birth, get to hold him and love him straight away. 

While Tessa was helping Magnus, Alec and Molly with the legal side of the adoption, she offered to deliver the baby, having spent years as a midwife (Alec wondered if there was anything Tessa hadn’t done.) and delivered hundreds of babies, including her own grandchildren. Molly happily accepted and ended up having the majority of the rest of her prenatal check ups from Tessa.

They decide to name Ragnor and Tessa as the baby’s godparents. Ragnor was surprisingly good with children, Mina absolutely adores him and is always asking about her Uncle Ragnor and it never fails to make Tessa, Catarina and Magnus laugh, to see their foreboding, grumpy green friend, wrapped around the finger of a little four year old.

Right now, its the last week in  June, and Molly is due in just two weeks and Magnus and Alec are gathering together just a few last things for their son. They picked out a name a few weeks ago but decided to keep it a secret until the baby is born. 

Currently, Alec is sitting at the kitchen table with Anna in his lap, scribbling on a piece of paper, while he talks with Clary, who is sitting across from him at the table, with her and Jace’s newborn son Stephen, asleep in a sling across her chest. 

“So how’s Lucie adjusting to having Stephen around?” Alec asks, knowing that his little niece was not too happy about having a brother, when Clary was pregnant. 

“Really well actually, she adores him. I was painting the other day and had Stephen on a blanket on the floor beside me, I looked over at him at one stage and found Lucie curled up beside him, telling him stories, it was the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.” Clary says in a fond tone, looking into the living room, where Jace is standing with Lucie on his back, her arms linked around his neck. Lucie is such a daddy’s girl, she has Jace wrapped tightly around her little finger and has done since the day she was born. Jace is a big softie when it comes to his kids, he’s happy to sit and have tea parties all day with Lucie, and he loves to sit at the piano with Stephen and play for him. Often on sleepless nights, Jace will take Stephen downstairs to the music room and play for him until he falls asleep. 

“Hopefully Anna warms up to her brother just as well, Max and Rafe can’t wait to meet him, but Anna isn’t too sure about him.” Alec says, running his hand over his daughter’s blonde curls. 

“I’m sure she will, Maryse was telling me the other day how jealous you were of Izzy when she was born.” Clary says in an amused tone. 

“Oh no, did she get out the baby pictures again?” Alec asks. Maryse loves to tell embarrassing stories about Izzy, Alec and Jace to Clary, Magnus and Simon, and the kids love hearing stories about their parents as little kids. 

“Of course, I never realized how much Jessie looks like Izzy, if you put a baby picture of the two of them side by side you could hardly tell the difference, and Stephen is his dad’s twin.” Clary says. 

“And Lucie is your twin, Jocelyn showed me your baby pictures the other day, when she and Luke were looking after the kids for us for a while.” Alec says with a smile. Little Lucie has ginger red curls like her mother, as well as her pale skin, freckles, green eyes and her bone structure, all she got from Jace it seems, are his eye shape, mouth shape and nose shape.

“Ugh of course she did, Stephen I promise I’m never going to be as embarrassing as your nana okay?” Clary coos, dropping a kiss to her son’s curly blonde head. 

Just then Alec feels a hand on his shoulder, and twists in his seat to see Magnus standing behind him.

“Hey, you okay? You look worried.” Alec gently asks, taking Magnus’ hand from his shoulder and pressing a kiss to it. 

“I just got a call from Tessa, she and Jem are with Molly, she asked them to come around because she was bleeding a bit and having pains but she wasn’t sure if it was labor or not and didn’t want to worry us if it was nothing, but Tessa’s checked her over and it is labor. They’re at the Basilias.” Alec’s eyes widen and his heart begins to race, their son is going to be born in the next couple of hours, they’re going to be parents again. 

“You guys go, I’ll call mom to come pick up the kids and Clary and I will stay with them until she gets here.” Jace says, coming up to stand beside Magnus. 

“Really? Are you sure?” Alec ask, trying to keep the panic out of his tone. 

“Positive, now go, you don’t want to miss your son’s birth.” Jace says, taking Anna from Alec and lightly shoving his parabatia toward the door.

Magnus and Alec quickly gather a few clothes and such for the baby and quickly portal to The Basilias,which is now located in New York.

When they arrive, Jem is waiting for them to show them to Molly’s room.

“Is Molly alright, is the baby alright?” Alec asks in a frantic tone filled with worry. Jem smiles understandingly, having been just as anxious and worried when Tessa was in labor with Mina. 

“They’re both fine Alec, Tessa gave Molly a painkilling spell so she’s much more comfortable, there are no problems with the baby either, come on I’ll take you into Molly.” Jem calmly says, gesturing  for Magnus and Alec to follow him.

Jem leads them into a sterile white room with an en suite bathroom, a bed,a few chairs, a tray by the bed and a nightstand. Molly is half lying half sitting in the bed, propped up by a mountain of fluffy white pillows, dressed in a white and blue hospital gown. Tessa is standing beside her, talking quietly to her.

Magnus and Alec stay with Molly throughout the rest of her labor, while Tessa and Jem come in from time to time to check up on her and the baby. 

When it comes time to push, Tessa sits at the bottom of the bed, ready to deliver the baby, Jem stands off to the side so that he can be on hand if anything goes wrong but he’s not so close that he’s crowding Molly, and Magnus and Alec stand on either side of her. Molly grips both Magnus and Alec’s hands in hers, drawing strength and comfort from them being there. She is just so glad she isn’t doing this alone.

Her labor is long and painful and as the time goes on, the painkilling spell begins to wear off and Molly begins to feel almost everything, while growing more and more tired, feeling like it will never be over. 

“Oh God I can’t do this anymore.” Molly weakly says, as the contraction eases and she leans back into the pillows, grimacing in pain. 

“Of course you can, I know how difficult this is for you and how painful it is, but you are so close, I can see the baby’s head, you’re almost there now.” Tessa gently reassures her. 

“You’re doing so well Molly, like Tessa said it will be over soon, then your life can go back to normal, you won’t have to deal with all this pain and morning sickness and all that anymore.” Alec gently says, squeezing her hand encouragingly, trying his best to be helpful. He’d never been present for any birth before, he had no idea how to comfort a laboring mother. He knew he should’ve asked Jace for advice, even though he was more of a wreck during Lucie and Stephen’s births than Clary was. Maybe he should’ve gone to Jem, or Simon.

“I just want it to be over.” Molly weakly says in a teary tone, her breath hitching in her throat as another contraction hits.

“I know darling I know, and it will be soon, and it will be all worth it, I promise you it will, I know this isn’t a typical situation but you will get to be in your baby’s life, you’ll get to hold him and love him as much as you want, while carrying on with your own life, knowing that he’s in good hands.” Magnus calmly says, rubbing soothing circles on Molly’s back. He can’t imagine how bittersweet this moment must be for her, not long from now she’ll get to meet and hold her baby, but she’ll also be placing him with someone else, unless she changes her mind at the last second, which is something Magnus has been worried about for the last 4 months. 

At 4:21 p.m. on the 16th of June 2016, Molly gives birth to a beautiful healthy baby boy, who looks just like her, with tanned skin, a mop of black hair and vibrant green eyes. 

“By The Angel, he’s perfect.” Alec says in a breathy tone, gently stroking his son’s bloody cheek, once Tessa has laid the baby on a blanket on Molly’s chest. 

“Molly you did so well, you are absolutely amazing biscuit.” Magnus softly says, gently squeezing her hand and brushing her hair back from her face. Normally Magnus reserves that nickname for Clary, but he has a feeling he and Molly will grow to be as close as he and Clary, and the nickname suits her.

“Thanks.” Molly says in a breathy tone, still trying to catch her breath, feeling as though she’s just run a marathon. 

"Hello little one, your siblings are going to adore you, and your grandma is going to spoil you rotten.” Magnus quietly says, turning to look at his son. 

“Anna is going to be so mad she’s still the only girl.” Alec says in an amused tone, knowing how much Anna wanted a sister, she thought it was only fair that the baby be a girl, since she already had two brothers.

“Do you want to hold him?” Molly asks, once Tessa has helped her wrap the baby up to keep him warm. 

“You hold him first Alexander.” Magnus says. Alec carefully and expertly gathers the baby into his arms, and is instantly brought back to the first time he held Max, then Rafe and then Anna. Holding his son he feels a sense of peace settle over him, and somehow he knows that his family is complete. 

“Hi baby, I love you.” Alec quietly says, taking the baby’s tiny hand in his and pressing a kiss to it. 

“What are you going to call him?” Molly asks, as Magnus joins Alec and slips an arm around him and their son. 

“You tell her.” Alec encourages his husband, stroking the baby’s hand with his thumb. 

Magnus looks from his baby to Molly and proudly says

“Henry, his name is Henry Jonathan Lightwood-Bane.” 

“Oh, after our Henry?” Tessa quietly asks in a tight tone, as Jem slips an arm around her waist in an attempt to comfort her. Magnus smiles sadly and nods, grieving for his old friend. 

“Yes, Henry was one of the greatest friends I ever had, he was a wonderful man and I can only hope my son grows up to be like him too.”  He quietly says, looking down at little Henry in Alec’s arms. 

“He’d be honored Magnus, and with parents like you and Alec, you can be sure he’ll grow up to a wonderful young man.” Jem kindly says, which makes his wife tear up even more. 

“And you say you don’t have a way with words, James Carstairs.” Jem laughs lightly and presses a kiss to his wife’s temple and whispers to her 

“Well it seems we’re going to have to come up with a different middle name for our son.” Making sure that Magnus and Alec aren’t looking, Tessa rests her hand on her belly and softly says

“Nathaniel, William Nathaniel.” 

Just a few hours later Magnus and Alec head home with Henry, with promises to send Molly lots of pictures and an open invitation for her to come visit whenever she’s ready. 

That night, back in Magnus and Alec’s loft, little Henry lays sleeping soundly in his bassinet by his parents bed, while they try and settle Anna in her new room. Half an hour after being put to bed, little Henry wakes up and starts to fuss when he realizes he’s alone. Just then two figures materialize either side of his bassinet. On his right is a tall thin man, with kind hazel eyes and wild ginger hair, dressed in a white shirt, a red waistcoat and black trousers. On the left of the bassinet, is a small thin woman with flowing brown hair and kind brown eyes, dressed in a flowing teal evening gown, that looks like it’s from the Victorian Era. 

“Shh little one you’re alright, don’t cry sweet boy, you’re safe.” Charlotte Fairchild soothes the baby, reaching out to stroke his cheek. 

“He’s beautiful.” Henry Fairchild quietly says, marveling at the tiny creature in the bassinet, bringing him back to when his boys were little. 

“Oh he really is, I can’t believe it’s been so long since our boys were this little, or our girls for that matter. Oh Henry can you believe they named him after you?” Charlotte asks in an excited tone. She and Henry had been shocked when they learned this little boy’s name from Will, who would often come and go to see Mina and Kit. Henry was and is honored and delighted that his old friend still thinks about him and has named his son after him.

“No I’m still rather shocked, but delighted. I’m so happy for Magnus Lottie, he was so miserable for so long before he met Alec.” Henry softly says, smiling down at the little baby. 

“Me too, Alexander is so like Gideon, and he looks so much like Will, it must hurt Tessa terribly.” Charlotte says in a concerned tone. She’s always looked out for her Tessa, and has always worried about her, even though Jem has always been there to keep her safe and Tessa is more than capable of protecting herself.  

“Our Tessa is stronger than that, she has learned how to cope with her grief, the sight of anything that reminds her of Will no longer drives her into despair and she’s happy now too, now she has Jem, Christopher and Mina.” Henry says. 

“True enough, now we better get this fussy little boy settled, if he’s anything like his name sake he should be dead to the world in no time, isn’t that right sweet boy?” Charlotte coos, smiling as the baby grabs at her hand and stares up at her in awe. Henry smiles warmly at his wife and says 

“Where did you think Matthew got his ability to sleep through anything, from? But you’re right as usual Lottie, you should sing to him, our four always loved when you sang to them.” Henry suggests. 

“Well it’s been years since I’ve sang a lullaby, but I suppose I could try.” Charlotte shyly says. 

In no time at all, Little Henry starts to drift off to the sound of his Aunty Charlotte’s voice, while his Uncle Henry sits beside him and holds his little hand, assuring him that he’s not alone. 

[burgers-and-french-fries]

Sunsets & Whisky Kisses: Chapter Forty Nine.

Jack stayed on the sofa that night for as long as he could but about three hours in, he got restless. He knew he shouldn’t have done what he did but it was too late to go back and change anything.

Grunting in annoyance, he sat up and decided that the best thing to do was to finish his plans for Anna’s new room. He stood up and went to make himself coffee. Once the coffee was ready, he poured the hot liquid into a very large cup and walked into his office where he later fell asleep.

Jack woke up when he felt a little hand slap his thigh a couple of times.

“Dada, mama cry.” Anna said, referring to the fact that Ryleigh had accidentally dropped the ‘R’, that Jack had given her the night she told him that she was pregnant with Anna, and cut herself.

“Why is mama crying?” Jack asked groggily as he rubbed his eyes and sat up.

“Her has owie.” Anna replied with concern.

Jack stood up and stretched.

“Where is she kiddo?” Jack asked as he picked Anna up and walked out of his office.

“I’m in the kitchen.” Ryleigh replied through her sniffles.

“What happened?” Jack questioned when his eyes landed on his wife’s thigh.

“I ran into the dresser and Knocked the initial over that you made me. Somehow it cut my thigh as it fell.” Ryleigh explained, feeling upset that she broke the ‘R’.

“Did it break?” Jack asked as he set Anna down and took the clean cloth from his wife's hand.

“Yeah.” Ryleigh replied as the tears welt up in her eyes again. “I’m so sorry.” She said as she watched Jack clean her wound.

“It’s ok honey. The main thing is that you’re ok.” He replied.

Ryleigh sighed and wiped her tears away.

“Mama still mad.” Anna stated as she looked up at her father.

“I see. What about you, are you still mad at me?” The father asked as he finished cleaning Ryleigh’s thigh.

“Yeah, but mama need you.” Anna answered with a serious nod of her head.

“Right.” Jack said, internally sighing.

“I think I’m good now. Thanks for helping me.” Ryleigh said.

Jack nodded and stepped away, not wanting to make Ryleigh angrier.

“You’re welcome.” Jack replied.

“Dada kiss it better.” Anna instructed as she pointed at him sternly.

“No sweet pea, I’m fine.” Ryleigh responded.

“Dada, kiss it better.” Anna said again, not giving up on it.

“Just do it Jack, she’s not giving up on it.” Ryleigh said with a huff.

“Now dada.” Anna said.

“Don’t be bossy little lady.” Ryleigh replied. Jack looked at Ryleigh and she nodded at him, letting him know that it was ok.

He knelt down and ran his fingers around the injury lightly. The way his fingertips traced her skin sent shivers down her spine. The way his warm breath fanned over her thigh had her mind racing with scenarios that were far too explicit and inappropriate to perform in front of a child.

His eyes traveled her body until he locked eyes with Ryleigh. Both of them could feel the electricity course through their veins. Jack’s eyes darkened slightly, making Ryleigh look away as her heart raced. She knew that if she kept watching him, Anna would be scarred for life.

Everything felt as though it was in slow motion as soon as Jack’s lips touched her. Her skin burned and all she wanted was to have him but she couldn’t for two reasons. Anna was in the room and she was nowhere near ready to forgive her husband yet.

“All better.” Ryleigh said when her husband pulled away.

“Why don’t you go and lay down for a while longer and I’ll watch the girls.” Jack suggested.

Ryleigh thought about it for a few minutes and decided that it wouldn’t hurt.

“Ok. Thanks.” Ryleigh said and walked off toward the stairs.

Anna watched her mother walk away and decided that she wasn’t ready to be alone with her father yet. The toddler ran after her mother but stopped when she dropped her ducky. Anna picked him up and continued her chase.

Jack chuckled to himself as he watched his daughter make a bee-line for her mother. The pitter patter of her feet and the way her little bum moved as she ran really warmed his heart. He was glad that Ryleigh was getting the attention Anna usually gave him, even if it did sting a little.

=

Dakota sat on the sofa watching Joshua play while she fed baby Katherine.

“Babe, it’s your brother.” Chase said as he handed Dakota her phone.

“Thanks.” Dakota said as she answered her phone. “What can I do for you, dog breath?” Dakota teased.

“Haha, very funny. I need your help.” Jack replied as he rolled his eyes.

“Let me guess, you want to know how you can guilt your wife into not being angry with you?” The woman asked.

“And Anna. Both of them are mad at me.” He replied.

“Four words. Spa and toy store.” Dakota said simply.

“Are you suggesting that I bribe my wife and daughter?” Jack asked amusement.

“Not at all. I’m just suggesting that you show them how much you love them.” She said with mock innocence.

“So bribe them then?” He smirked.

Dakota laughed.

“Yes, but don’t let on that I told you.” Dakota warned playfully.

The siblings talked for a few more minutes before Jack went to get himself some breakfast.

=

Grace moved around the kitchen making herself some breakfast before she actually got sick. You see, nausea had set in full force once she had announced her pregnancy to everyone. Not only did she experience nausea but she also had mild cramps. The cramps were something she experienced in her pregnancy with Ryleigh but obviously because it had been so many years, the woman had forgotten just how annoying all the pregnancy symptoms were.

“What has you up so early?” George asked as he sauntered toward his girlfriend sleepily.

“The baby.” She replied simply.

George nodded and made himself and Grace some tea, despite her telling him that he didn’t have to. Grace made the rest of her food and when it was all ready, she and George sat at the table to eat.  

George really wasn’t the type to have breakfast but on the days he did eat it, he usually had toast. Grace on the other hand, had made eggs, bacon, sausage and of course pancakes. Not forgetting that all important bowl of fruit on the side. Oh yeah, pregnancy symptoms and cravings had really kicked in.

“You sure you can eat all of that food?” George asked, earning himself a glare from the full mouthed woman beside him.

George chuckled and continued to eat his food before having to get ready and go to work.

=

“Come on kiddo. Let mama sleep.” Jack said as he picked Anna up in his arm that wasn’t holding an alert Parker.

“I sleep too.” Anna whined as she wriggled in her father’s grasp, hoping that he’d let her go.

“No, you let mama sleep. You, me and Parker are going out so that mama can sleep and not be disturbed.” Jack explained.

The father reached the main floor and placed Anna down.

“Go get your shoes please, sweet pea.” The father said.

Anna did as she was asked and Jack walked over to the kitchen counter to write a note for Ryleigh and leave her one of his cards so that she could treat herself to whatever she wanted. He had also booked her an appointment so that she could get her nails done.

Jack knew that bribing his girls wasn’t the right thing to do but if it meant that they would forgive him, then he would continue to bribe them for as long as he wanted.

“Otay dada.” Anna said, running toward him with her sandals.

“Good girl. Let’s go to the car and I’ll put your shoes on once I put Parker in her car seat.” Jack explained.

Anna eyed him suspiciously.

“I’m taking you and sissy out so that mama can sleep.” He said but Anna still looked at him. “I’ll take you to the toy store.” He offered and Anna jumped up and down excitedly.

“Yay.” She cheered, making her father chuckle. Even Parker cracked a small smile, which made Jack chuckle even more. He really did love his girls. They meant the world to him.

“Ok little ones, let’s go to the car.” Jack said.

Anna ran to the front door and waited for her father to open the door so that she could run outside.

=

Once they got to the toy store, Jack got the stroller out and set it up before getting Parker and Anna out.

“Is ducky all comfy?” Jack asked as he watched Anna place her baby in the very bottom compartment of the stroller.

“Yes dada.” Anna replied.

Jack nodded and picked her up and got her all buckled into her seat before heading inside.

As soon as the father stepped foot into the toy warehouse, Anna started kicking her feet with excitement.

Not wanting Parker to wake up from her nap she’d decided to take in the car, Jack unbuckled Anna and took her out. He made it abundantly clear to the toddler that she had to stay beside him and hold his hand.

Anna agreed and together they walked the isles until Jack opened his mouth.

“What toy do you want? Only one though.” He said, not realizing that his daughter would soon run off.

“All of dem.” Anna replied a-matter-of-factly.

Jack chuckled and shook his head as they continued to walk around.

It didn’t take Anna long to spot something, remove her hand from Jack’s and run off toward the toy she saw.

Jack had to practically run to keep up with her.

Eventually he got to her and saw that she was holding a ducky. The exact one that was in the bottom compartment of the stroller.

“I have two?” Anna questioned, trying to see if her father would let her get two toys instead of one.

“No honey.” Jack said.

“I have two?” Anna tried again.

“No.” Jack said firmly.

“Peas?” Anna asked, giving her father her best puppy eyes.

“Anna, I said only one. You need to listen please.” Jack warned but Anna ignored him and pulled a ducky from the shelf.

The tot walked over to the stroller and attempted to place the new ducy beside her sister. She wanted her sister to have one as Anna knew what a good friend her ducky was.

“Sissy.” Anna said softly as she looked up at her father with a slight sadness in her eyes due to the fact that her father wasn’t letting her pick a toy for her baby Parker.

“That’s why you wanted two toys?” Jack asked, feeling an overwhelming amount of pride for his daughter’s sweet heart.

Anna nodded and rocked back and forth on her feet cutely.

“Her have ducky?” Anna asked with genuine hope in her voice. “Peas?” Anna questioned when her father’s silence grew.

“Sure.” He answered with a bright smile.

Jack moved the new ducky toy closer to Parker and the baby, who was now awake, smiled at her father.

“Otay, my turn.” Anna said as she trudged off to where she had seen the wooden toys when the trio had walked in.

The father walked closely behind his daughter so that he could still see her but also in case she tried to run off again.

Once she reached the toys she was looking for, Anna walked toward the cars. There was one slight problem though, the cars were higher off the ground and Anna was only 2ft and 5.13” tall.

The little girl turned around and looked up at her father. Jack smiled and picked the tot up so that she had a better view.

“Tata dada.” Anna said.

“You’re welcome, sweet pea.” Jack said as he pushed the stroller closer to the shelf.

“Want dem peas.” Anna said as her little index finger pointed to a cool looking car set.

 “You sure you want the cars?” Jack asked, making sure that Anna truly wanted them.

“Yeah peas.” Anna said with an enthusiastic nod.

“Alrighty, kiddo. Let’s put them next to your ducky and go and pay for them.” Jack said as he took the box off the shelf and put it in the stroller.

The father took the items to the checkout and paid for what Anna had chosen.

=

Meanwhile, Ryleigh had gone downstairs and saw the note and the credit card Jack had left for her. She had a sneaking suspicion that this was Jack’s way of guilting her into talking to him again and even if it was, she’d never turn down a chance to use her husband’s card and treat herself.

The woman had decided that she would just throw on whatever was comfortable and tie her hair up and however she looked, people were just going to have to deal with it.

After she was all ready, Ryleigh got into her truck and headed to where she knew Jack had booked her nail appointment.

The entire drive there, Ryleigh thought of what else she could buy for herself. She went back and forth between something for herself or something that both her and Jack could enjoy. In the end, she decided to go with something that both her and Jack could enjoy.

Just as she parked at the nail place, Jack called her.

“May I help you Mason?” Ryleigh said with boldness.

“Wow, forget I called then.” Jack replied, knowing that she was somewhat teasing.

“What do you want Jackson?” Ryleigh asked.

At that, Jack knew he was still in trouble.

“I just called to say that we’re going to McDonalds. Do you want anything?” He inquired.

Ryleigh smiled to herself.

“Double quarter pounder with bacon and cheese. Large fries and to drink I want an large sprite and then maybe a large strawberry triple thick milkshake.” Ryleigh replied, making sure to give her request some thought as she spoke.

“You really hate me don’t you?” Jack asked, inwardly groaning at what she had asked him to get for her.

“It’s only $14.37.” Ryleigh said with a shrug.

“You’re lucky I love you.” He teased.

“Yeah, I love you too.” Ryleigh said.

“Want anything else or are you ok with that?” Jack questioned.

“I think that should be good. Enjoy your food. Please give the girls a kiss for me.” The woman replied.

“Will do babe.” He said before hanging up the phone.

Ryleigh smiled and put her phone in her bag before getting out of her vehicle and walking into the building she was parked in front of.

=

“What do you want Annie?” Jack asked as he sat in the drive through of McDonalds.

“Aprise.” Anna said with certainty.

Jack chuckled and nodded.

“Happy meal?” He asked, looking at the little girl through the rear view mirror.

“Peas dada.” She replied and went back to looking out the window.

“What do you think Parker should have?” He asked, wanting to see what his oldest would say.

“Too whittle.” Anna said, not even bothering to look in her father’s direction.

“I see. I suppose Ducky is too small for a treat as well.” Jack shrugged.

He pulled forward a little bit and waited for the person in front of him to order their food.

Anna snapped her eyes to her father and smiled.

“Cookie peas.” Anna said excitedly.

“How about we get three cookies. One for mama, one for me and one for you and ducky to share.” Jack suggested.

Anna nodded and smiled.

“Tata dada.” The tot said with a wide toothy grin.

“You’re welcome kiddo.” He answered, pulling up to the speaker so that he could order everything.

When he was sure that he had asked for everything, he glanced down at the price and saw that the total came to $24.15.  

Normally Jack and Ryleigh would try to keep their food from McDonalds under $20 but Jack figured that because of what he’d done, he’d go above and treat his girls.

“Should we go home quickly to put mama’s food in the fridge and then go to the park to eat our lunch or should we have a picnic in the backyard?” Jack asked Anna.

“Home.” Anna replied.

“Okie dokie.” Jack said as he put the signal on to turn in the direction of their house.

=

It had been about an hour since George had left for work and Grace was getting ready for her first ultrasound. She was super excited to see the baby and hopefully hear the heartbeat.

The woman had promised her boyfriend that she would pick him up and they would go to the appointment together.

“Ok. Keys, bag, wallet, water, snack, medical documents.” Grace said as she went through everything that she knew she needed for today.

Once she was sure she had everything, Grace rushed to the car with excitement.

Before long, Grace pulled up to the burger place and hurried inside.

“What has you all happy?” George joked.

“We get to see our baby today.” Grace beamed, making George chuckle.

“You ready to go then?” The man questioned.

Grace nodded.

“Definitely.” She answered cheerfully.

George walked back into the kitchen to wash up and remove his apron.

The couple then went to the doctor’s office where the appointment was being held.

“How are you feeling about all of this?” Grace wondered out loud.

“I’d be lying if I told you that I wasn’t nervous.” George responded with a nervous smile.

“This baby is going to love you. You’re going to be an amazing dad.” Grace said truthfully as she held George’s hand in hers.

=

“Alright kiddo, you all done?” Jack asked Anna as she flopped back on the trampoline.

When they got home and Jack put Ryleigh’s food in the fridge, Anna asked if they could  sit on the trampoline and eat their food while Parker took her nap upstairs. Jack agreed and that’s where they were now. Full and relaxed.

“All done.” Anna confirmed as she threw her ducky in the air and giggled when he landed on her face.

“Shall we go in and you can watch a cartoon while dada fixes mama’s letter?” Jack asked and Anna nodded and rolled onto her side so that she could sit up.

Once she was sat up, Anna moved over to her father and she threw her arms around him and gave him a hug.

“Love dada.” She mumbled.

Jack kissed the top of her head and held her close to him.

“Dada loves you too, sweet pea.” He replied.

Unbeknownst to them, Ryleigh had returned real quick to grab something she had promised Dakota she would drop off for Katie.

Ryleigh saw the sweet moment and smiled to herself. It was still so nice to see that Anna loved her dada so much and that her dada loved her just as much.

The woman walked back toward the front door before she was seen. She didn’t want to disturb the fun morning/after Jack and Anna were having.

=

Back at the doctor’s office, Grace and George were watching their baby squirm around on the screen in front of them.

George felt all his worries fade away as soon as he saw the baby. He knew that there were going to be challenges but he also knew that if he needed any help, Ryleigh, Jack, Chase and Dakota would gladly share their knowledge with him. He had full confidence that everything would be ok.

“Would you like to hear the heartbeat?” The ultrasound technician asked.

George and Grace looked at each other with bright smiles before Grace turned toward the other woman.

“Yes please.” Grace said. The tech smiled and turned the sound up so that the expectant parents could hear the steady rhythm of their baby’s strong and healthy heartbeat.

The sound was better than anything George had ever heard. To him it was the confirmation that he needed to know that he was doing the right thing.

George had always known that he wanted to marry Grace but he had heard that she had gotten married and had a child, George knew that his chances of marrying Grace were over.

When he and Grace had gotten back into contact, those feelings of wanting to marry her returned. He knew he had found the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Sure they were both older and kids would probably be out of the question, but that didn’t matter to him.

However, when Grace told him that she was pregnant, George knew that this had happened for a reason.

This baby was already loved beyond all comprehension and he couldn’t wait to see what traits the little one inherited from him and which ones they got from their mother. The mother that George was so in love with and knew 100% he was going to marry.

“Alright. I’ll get the pictures printed off for you and you can pick them up at the front desk.” The tech explained, making George jump.

“Thank you.” Grace replied.

The woman nodded, stood up and left the room.

“You ok? You kind of spaced out on me.” Grace stated softly, letting her hand caress George’s cheek gently.

“We’re going to be ok.” He whispered before kissing her sweetly.

=

Back at the Mason household, Anna had gone down for her nap and Jack took that time to fix the ‘R’ that had broken earlier in the day.

It took him a little over half an hour to fix it but when he was done, you barely see where certain pieces had broken off. Jack was pleased with how it turned out.

“Jackson, I’m home.” Ryleigh called when she walked through the door.

Jack heard her and placed the letter back in its original spot before hurrying down the stairs to see her.

“Slow down, you’ll fall if you’re not careful.” Ryleigh warned.

Jack nodded and sighed, catching his breath.

“Why are you in such a hurry?” The woman asked.

“Maybe because I’m happy to see you.” He said casually.

“Right, well. I’m going upstairs to change.” Ryleigh said somewhat coldly.

“No kiss or hug?” Jack asked. He knew Ryleigh had to still be upset at him but so much that she would refuse to greet him the way she normally would.

“No. Nice try though.” She said as she ascended the stairs tiredly.

Jack nodded sadly to himself and walked into the kitchen to get her food out of the fridge. He wanted to make sure it was ready for her to dig into.

“I could have done that myself you know.” Ryleigh said as she walked into the kitchen.

“I just thought I’d have it out and ready so that you could simply enjoy it. Sorry for being helpful.” Jack snapped.

“You, helpful? If you wanted to be helpful in the first place, you should have told me that you went to see George and told me that you knew my mother was pregnant. Setting out food isn’t going to right your wrong. Neither is fixing the letter up there.” Ryleigh snapped back.

Jack looked at her with defeat.

“You’re right. I should have told you but I knew how you’d react if I did. I thought I was doing the right thing by respecting your mother’s wishes for no one to know until she told George. And by the way, it was Anna who wanted to go and see George, not me.” He snarked, throwing the dish towel he was holding to the ground.

He walked out to the backyard and sat down on the porch swing.

“We aren't finished.” Ryleigh said as she stepped out of the house.

“Yes, we are.” Jack said as he turned back to look at the view in front of him.

“Did you fix that letter because you were trying to bribe me into talking to you again?” Ryleigh asked after a few minutes of silence.

Even though Jack knew that it was a bribe, he could see in his wife’s eyes that she still wanted to pick a fight. He decided not to fuel the fire and went for answer B.

“No. I knew how much that letter meant to you, so I fixed it.” He responded.

Ryleigh sighed and shook her head.

“Maybe I overreacted a little.” She said as she sat next to him on the swing.

Her food was long forgotten by this point.

“A little? Ryleigh, you pretty much chewed the guy to pieces and spat him out. Not to mention how you made your mother feel. You made us all feel like shit.” Jack said, standing up from the swing.

“Where are you going?” Ryleigh asked.

“To be alone.” He said. Ryleigh sat in her spot and thought about what he had said.

Deep down, she knew Jack was right. She had let her own feelings and emotions get the better of her and essentially created a big mess.

She honestly didn’t think about the consequences for her actions until now.

Ryleigh stood up and went inside.

She walked over to where she had left her food and split everything in half. Some for her and some for her husband as a peace offering.

Ryleigh had even made her husband a fresh cup of coffee before heading toward his office where she knew he’d be.

To her annoyance, the door to the office was closed which meant that she would have to awkwardly knock with her foot.

“Go away Ryleigh.” Jack called from the other side of the door.

“Please open the door.” She whined.

Jack groaned and threw his pencil to the desk.

Ryleigh heard him and swallowed nervously.

“What part of ‘alone’ do you not understand?” Jack grumbled, ignoring the fact that Ryleigh was standing there with food.

“Look, I’m sorry ok. It’s just hard knowing that mom is moving on so quickly.” The woman said quietly whilst averting her eyes from Jack’s intense glare.

“Ryleigh, you’re not the only one finding it hard. How you acted was ridiculous and incredibly childish.” He lectured, making Ryleigh look at her feet in shame.

When Ryleigh didn’t say anything, mainly because she knew if she looked at him or opened her mouth to speak, she’d start crying.

“If that’s all, leave me be.” Jack said rigidly as he went to close the door.

“Can you stop getting mad at me. I get it ok. How I acted was stupid but are you really going to keep making me feel guilty?” Ryleigh asked with full defeat in her voice.

Jack could tell that she was on the verge of tears and sighed, softening his features just a little bit.

“You know that food is for you right?” Jack asked and Ryleigh nodded.

“I wanted to share it with you as sort of a peace offering. At least  I had hoped I could share it with you.” She replied with a slight shrug.

“If I say yes to the food, will you promise me that the next time something happens, you won’t fly off the handle. That you will actually act like an adult?” Jack bartered.

“I’ll try but what will you do if I forget and fly off the handle again?” Ryeligh asked, genuinely curious.

“Just don’t shut me out. We can talk about it when we’re in private or whatever.” Jack replied.

“Okay.” She said.

“Right. You want to see what I’ve been working on for Anna’s room?” Jack questioned, hoping it would make Ryleigh smile.

“I’d love that. Thank you.” Ryleigh said as she breathed a sigh of relief.

Jack took the coffee mug from her and walked into his office with her following behind. Ryleigh shut the door and sat the food on his desk.

“Can I kiss you?” Ryleigh asked as she stood in the middle of the room.

Jack chuckled and walked over to where his wife was.

“You never have to ask to kiss me you know. I will always welcome any and all forms of affection from you.” He whispered as he leaned in to kiss her softly.

Ryleigh looped her arms around Jack’s neck and enjoyed the feel of his lips against hers. She had actually missed sleeping next to him the night before. She missed turning over, knowing that he was there. She missed their goodnight kiss. She missed him. He was her home and he always would be, no matter how many fights they had.

“I love you so much and I’m sorry for everything.” Ryleigh said after she broke the kiss.

“I love you too. Always.” Jack replied, resting his forehead against Ryleigh’s.

He closed his eyes and just enjoyed holding her in his arms.

Slowly, Jack began to sway back and forth to a silent melody in his head. Ryleigh let him lead and chuckled when he started humming.

They could have kept dancing if it weren’t for the knock on the front door.

“Pretend we aren’t here.” Ryleigh said quietly.

“Whoever it is, they won’t go away.” Jack replied as he pulled away.

Ryleigh grumbled and followed her husband to the entryway.

Jack pulled open the door to reveal Grace.

“Hi mom, what can we help you with?” Ryleigh said with a new found cheeriness.

Grace smiled widely.

“I hope it’s ok that we just dropped by. We wanted to show you something.” Grace replied.

“It’s fine. The girls are napping and Jack and I were talking.” Ryleigh explained as she let her mother in.

“Thank you honey.” Grace said.

“Would you like some tea or something?” Jack asked.

“Tea sounds great, thanks Jack.” Grace replied as she and Ryleigh sat at the table.

“So, what did you want to show me?” Ryleigh asked, not thinking anything of it.

Grace smiled and pulled out a picture of the ultrasound, handing it to her daughter.

“Seriously?” Ryleigh said incredulously.

“Pretty neat eh?” Grace asked, not realizing that Ryleigh was upset.

“Neat? How could you?” Ryleigh scoffed, handing the picture back to her mother.

Ryleigh knew that she had promised Jack that she wouldn’t flip out again but if anything, the fact that her mother hadn’t even told her about the ultrasound, let alone ask her if she wanted to go, hurt her in more ways than one.

“I thought you’d be happy and excited to see the baby.” Grace said as tears grew in her eyes.

Jack walked over to the women and saw the looks on their faces.

“What now.” Jack whined, having had more than enough with all the drama.

“What now? Really?” Ryleigh said as she stood up and went upstairs.

Grace laid her head on the table and Jack rubbed her back.

“She’ll come around.” He said, hoping that it would ease the hurt that Grace was feeling.

“I don’t think she will.” Grace mumbled.

“She promised me that she wouldn’t flip out again.” Jack admitted and Grace smiled sadly.

“Maybe it’s best if we just left.” She said.

“We?” Jack asked.

“George is on the phone in the car.” Grace replied simply.

“I see.” Jack said before stomping could be heard.

“Mama is mean.” Anna shouted from the top of the steps. “Her woke me up.” She shouted again.

Jack groaned and went upstairs to get Anna.

The father picked her up and took her downstairs to keep her grandmother company while he got her water ready.

“Hi Mi.” Anna greeted when she realized her grandmother was beside her.

“Hi sweet girl.” Grace asked as she tucked Anna’s hair behind her ear.

Anna giggled and shrugged her shoulders.

“Here you go my darling.” Jack said as he placed Anna’s cup in front of her.

“Tata dada.” Anna replied as she lifted the cup to her mouth and leaned back to chug a bunch of water.

“Slow down Anna.” Jack said when the little girl leaned forward and started sputtering.

“I otay.” Anna said as she caught her breath.

Ryleigh walked downstairs with Parker in her arms.

“Got anything you want to say to your mother?” Jack asked as he looked at his wife.

“Yes, I do actually.” Ryleigh replied as she turned to face her husband.

He raised his brow at her as if to say ‘well, tell her already.’

“I know I didn’t exactly show any enthusiasm when you announced that you were pregnant but you could have at least told me you had an appointment today. I mean, when I was pregnant with the girls, I made sure to keep you included and even brought you along to them but when it comes to this baby, I don’t even get told? That hurts.” Ryleigh explained as calmly as she could.

Grace looked at her daughter. She honestly hadn’t even thought to ask Ryleigh if she wanted to tag along, so for this, Grace couldn’t really say anything.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. I was too excited to even realize that I should have at least told you.” Grace said and Ryleigh nodded.

“Thank you. It may not have seemed like it but I would have actually liked to go, this is my sibling after all.” The younger woman admitted, shocking her mother and her husband.

“I see baby peas?” Anna asked as she looked at her grandmother.

“I have a whole bunch of them.” Grace said as she pulled them out, not caring that she had pulled other documents out as well.

She picked up a couple more pictures and placed them in front of her granddaughter.

Anna giggled as she pointed to the blob in the picture.

“Wittle.” Anna stated.

“The baby is small right now but it will get bigger.” Grace explained and smiled brightly once more.

“Is that my birth certificate?” Ryleigh asked, never really having seen the document thoroughly.

“It sure is but I should put it back into my bag before it gets lost.” Grace answered a little too quickly for Ryleigh’s liking.

Ryligh grabbed it before her mother could and looked at it, wondering what her mother didn’t want her to see.

Soon enough, Ryleigh found the reason. Her biological last name was missing.

“Why is my last name missing?” Ryleigh asked.

Jack stood up and took the document from his wife so that he could look as well. Even though he knew David wasn’t Ryleigh’s real father, he didn’t think Ryleigh’s last name would be missing.

“I can explain.” Grace said nervously.

“I’d start if I were you.” Ryleigh warned, causing Jack to close his eyes and prepare for the screaming match that was about to happen.

“It’s blank because I didn’t know if I should add a last name or not.” The woman admitted.

Ryleigh saw red.

“Why not?” Ryleigh asked, eerily calm.

“Because I-” Grace started before Ryleigh handed Parker off to her father.

Jack knew right then that he should take the girls outside but as he moved, Ryleigh turned to look at him.

“Take them upstairs and then get your ass back down here.” Ryleigh said and Jack knew not to argue but in this situation he had to.

“Ryleigh, I’m not leaving them on their own.” He said calmly.

“Fine.” She said.

She took  a deep breath to try and release some of the rage she felt.

“Start explaining.” Ryleigh said, now looking at her mother.

“David wasn’t your real father.” Grace said softly and Ryleigh’s heart broke. It was like losing him all over again.

“I met your real father at a bar one night.  David, Anna, Gabriel and myself had decided to go out for drinks and your father was sitting alone at the bar and the other three dared me to get his phone number. One thing led to another and you were here nine months later.” Grace explained as she watched Ryleigh’s face fall.

The woman could see the unshed tears in her daughter’s eyes and knew she should have told her years ago.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Ryleigh asked with a brokenness to her voice that Jack and Grace hadn’t heard since David had died.

“I didn’t tell you because David and I agreed that he would raise you as his. We wanted to protect you.” Grace said as her own tears fell.

“Protect me from what?” Ryleigh questioned.

“Your father was in the military at the time and I just didn’t want you to know about him and then lose him.” Grace answered.

Ryleigh nodded and scoffed.

“You are something else, you know that? How can you expect me to feel normal now. I feel like my life has been a lie.” Ryleigh sobbed.

Jack carefully laid a hand on his wife’s shoulder. When she didn’t push him away, he knew that she wasn’t mad but just severely disappointed.

“Who is my father?” Ryleigh asked and before Grace could answer, George walked through the door.

Jack had texted George and let him know that the door was open for him when his phone call was finished.

“What’s happened here?” George asked when he saw both Ryleigh and Grace crying.

“Mama mad an Mi sad.” Anna answered softly.

“I see.” George responded.

That’s when it clicked for Ryleigh. The only person that she knew of that had been in the military was George and she remembered back to the dinner when something was said about George and her mother having known each other beforehand.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” Ryleigh shouted, making everyone jump.

Grace knew that Ryleigh had just figured it out.

“What?” Jack inquired.

“Please tell me he knows?” Ryleigh asked her mother, completely ignoring her husband.

Grace shook her head and looked at her hands.

“What is she kidding about?” Jack asked again, hoping to get an answer this time.

“George is Ryleigh’s father.” Grace admitted.

George stepped back from Grace and Ryleigh scoffed. Hearing her mother say it out loud hurt.

“Why didn’t you fucking tell me I had a child?” George shouted.

Ryleigh looked at her husband and he nodded. He took Anna and Parker outside to play while the other three worked their issues out.

“How could I have told you if I didn’t know where you were going? By the time that I found out I was pregnant, you were gone and I was on my own with a child I wasn’t ready for.” Grace finally yelled.

Ryleigh felt as though her heart was being ripped out and pulverized. First she loses a man she thinks is her father, finds out that he isn’t and then finds out that her mother didn’t want her at first. It was all too much.

“Don’t blame me, I offered to give you an address where you could send mail but you turned that down.” George spat.

“He’s right mom. You robbed us of knowing each other. You robbed me of having A father to walk me down the aisle at my wedding, you robbed me of having a father there when my daughters were born. You robbed us all by doing what you did and truthfully, I don’t think I’ll ever forgive you for this.” Ryleigh said through her tears.

“I’m sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing.” Grace said as she placed her head in her hands and sobbed.

“I’ll never have those moments back.” Ryleigh said with complete heartbreak.

“Ok, that’s enough. I get that you are all hurting but you’re scaring the girls with all your screaming so please, either go somewhere else or drop it.” Jack yelled as he walked back into the house.

“He’s right. Let’s go Grace, we’ll talk at home.” George said and Grace nodded.

He helped his girlfriend compile all that she had pulled out and Ryleigh went upstairs.

She was far too hurt to talk or see anyone else.

=

Later that night when the girls were in bed, Jack held Ryleigh in his arms as she cried for hours on end.

Tag List: @sarahegerton96 @softeggsy @dogmom2014 @jobanan23 @holdmeclosertinytaron @aberystwythboy @stronglyobsessed @superthiccthighssavelives @hauntedflamingo @rocknrollmadden

[buckyscrystalqueen]

Star Crossed Rivalry: Part 9

Pairings: Opie x Reader (SOA/TWD MC AU Crossover ) Negan daughter!Reader

Warnings: Swearing, Fluff, little bit of Angst

Word Count: 6,888

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I feel naked without a gun right now.” You said as you pulled on a black ‘just married’ bikini.

“You and me both.” Opie agreed as he tied the strings of his similar statement bottoms. “Are you sure about going?”

“I’m sure.” You said with a nod as you tied the string behind your back before quickly going over to grab your semi-slow crawler from disappearing into the bathroom again. “I can’t live in fear, Ope. I’d never get out of bed if I did.”

“I just wanted to check.” He said as you turned your protesting son around and stood in the door frame so he wouldn’t try to play in the toilet like he had tried to do that morning while you were in the shower. “Hunter.” He gasped playfully when your son tried to get past your legs. “What are you doing, monkey?” He grunted and rocked back and forth on his hands and knees in front of you. “You wanna go see Pop?” You smirked as your little man stopped rocking and sat down in his spot, torn between going to see his Pop and wanting to play in the toilet. “Yea, you wanna go see Pop, you gotta come over here and get your shirt on.” Neither of you minded waiting for your son to make up his mind, as you stood your ground in the bathroom doorway and Opie simply sat down on the ground with the little shark patterned shirt that matched the bathing suit bottoms you had put on his over his swim diaper after breakfast.

“God he is so my son.” You laughed as Hunter finally decided to scoot over to his dad on his butt. 

“You said it, not me.” Ope laughed as you grabbed your beach cover up dress for that day from the closet. You stuck your tongue out at him as your dad knocked on the door to come and collect you to get off the boat on time for your tour. 

“Who’s that?” You asked your son as you pulled your dress into place. “That Pop?” Your son babbled in response, and turned around to slowly make his way toward the door… and the unguarded bathroom. “Watch him.” You said to Frankie and Negan with a smile as you pushed the door all the way open and stepped into the bathroom again.

“I still can’t fucking believe he’s crawling.” Negan said as he crouched down and held out his hands but your son completely ignored him and tried to get into the bathroom again.

“We’re apparently obsessed with the toilet today.” You said as you picked up your son and put him on your hip, much to his disliking. “Good times.”

“You were obsessed with the fucking dog door.” Negan laughed as he took Hunter from you and tossed him a couple inches in the air. “We always knew if we couldn't find (Y/N), to check out the back door first. Wouldn’t fucking wander far, she’s just crawl in and out for fucking hours.”

“Thanks for that.” You said as you grabbed the baby carrier from the desk and put it in your diaper slash towel bag for the day. “You guys ready to go?”

“Just waiting on you.” Your dad said as he propped Hunter on his hip. “Stroller?”

“Not today.” Ope said as he put your and his cigarettes and a lighter in his pocket and grabbed the carseat. “We’re keeping shit close to the vest.” Negan nodded in understanding as he glanced back over his shoulder at Frankie, who had been unusually quiet.

“We’re gunna stick together the whole time.” He said with a nod, more to Frankie than to you. “And then Frankie and I are coming right back on the boat. We’re just gunna see the fish with Hunter.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” You agreed with a nod as you smiled at your friend. “You ready?” She nodded her head and gave you a weak smile as you pulled your room key from the light and stepped out into the hall behind your dad. You couldn’t help but notice the way Frankie instantly clung to his hand as the four of you walked down the hall. You didn’t say much of anything as you took the elevators down to the third deck, across the ship, and down the stairs to the second level where you could disembark the ship. But as you walked down the docks toward the island, you reached out for Opie’s free hand, and took a half step closer to him yourself.

“Don’t let go.” You whispered as you looked up at him.

“Never.” He said with a tight lipped smile. “I’ll never let you go again.” You nodded your head and bumped your shoulder against his arm. 

“This one.” Negan said as he nodded his head toward the sign of the tour group you were taking.

“Here, I’ll take Hunter.” Ope said as he passed you the carseat so your dad could give the guide the printed out confirmation page. As Negan talked to the guide, you pulled your cigarettes from your husband’s pocket and reached out for Frankie’s arm, making sure to snap a couple times before you touched her arm.

“Wanna smoke?” You asked her as you showed her the pack. She nodded her head, and looked around for a moment. You walked over to a planter that was a few feet away, put the carseat down beside you, and sat down with a sigh. “It’s scary, right?” You asked her as you passed her a cigarette and looked up at your husband, who had already turned to keep an eye on you.

“Couldn’t sleep.” She said with a shake of her head as she lit her cigarette and passed you back the lighter. “Just kept seeing it.”

“I know it’s hard.” You said with a nod as you leaned forward on your thighs and looked over at her. “But you have to let it go. You just have to. If you live in that fear, you’ll stop living. You made it. You got out…”

“You got me out…” She whispered as she looked over at you.

“OK. So I got you out.” You said with a nod. “But you know who taught me how? Negan. And you know what else? He can teach you, too. Ask him. He’ll happily zip tie your ankles to your wrists and sit on his porch to watch until you get yourself out.” You shrugged and shook your head. “But you’re a Savior. Don’t ever fucking forget that. You’re a mother fucking Savior. And Saviors, we fucking fight. Tooth and nail, bloody, til death, fight. No matter what. So yea, be scared. I am. But keep in mind who you are.” She nodded her head as she put her cigarette out at the same time the guys came over. 

“Time to go.” Ope said as he tried to wrangle his son in since Hunter wanted to crawl over his dad's shoulder for whatever reason.

“Can you really not sit still for a minute?” You laughed as you stood up and pushed up on your tiptoes to take Hunter. You blew a raspberry on his cheek and propped him up on your stomach as Opie grabbed the carseat before you both followed the tour group to the small bus.

“Let him go first, sweetie.” A woman said as she pulled her young daughter back, and pointed at Opie and your carseat. “He’s gotta make sure that’s buckled in so his little guy doesn’t get hurt.” You smiled at the woman as the little girl, who looked to be about three or four, looked up at your son.

“Is it a boy?” She asked, innocently. Your smile grew as you nodded your head and crouched down beside her.

“His name is Hunter.” You said as you looked over at her. “What’s your name?” A blush raced to her cheeks as she reached out to shake Hunter’s little fist as if they were both adults.

“Isabelle.”

“Wow.” You gasped. “That’s a beautiful name. Are you excited to see the cool fish today?” She nodded her head as Opie called out your name since the tour guide seemed a little impatient. “I’ll see you in there, OK?” She nodded her head as you stood up and got on the bus, put Hunter in his carseat, and scooted right up against his seat so Opie could sit beside you. 

“Did he just find his first girlfriend?” Ope teased as he put his arm around your shoulders and pulled you into his side.

“Her name is Isabelle, and yes, I think so.” Once everyone was on board, the bus took off for the five minute drive to the dock. You spent the ride bopping Hunter’s nose, and falling impossibly more in love with his little laugh that you could never get enough of. When you pulled up to the dock, you pulled Hunter from his seat, leaving it behind in the secure vehicle, and followed the rest of your small group to the boat.

“Hunter’s Mommy?” Isabelle asked as you walked down the docks. “You forgot his chair.” The girls mother hissed her name and you giggled.

“It’s OK.” You said with a nod to both the mother and Isabelle. “On this boat, he doesn’t need a special seat. He can sit right on my lap.” She said ‘oh’ to herself as her mother pulled her back over to her side. 

“I’m so sorry.” She said as you moved up with the rest of the group to board. “She’s just so curious…”

“Oh, don’t even worry about it.” You giggled. “You can ask my father, I used to ask way more personal questions than that at that age.”

“It’s true.” Negan said with a nod. “She was the most embarrassing child in the world. Couldn’t take her anywhere.”

“Sounds familiar.” The mother laughed as Opie stepped on to the semi-submarine, and turned to take Hunter for you. Your dad helped you, then Frankie on board before stepping on himself and the four of you headed down the spiral steps and all the way to the back in an attempt to keep the noise level of your son away from the guide so that the other passengers had a chance to hear.

“Hunter, look.” You said as you sat down on the second to last in front of Opie, and pointed out the window. “Look at the fishies.”

“Take him, babe.” Ope said as he passed his son to you. “I’ll take the pictures. You’re better at the mom voice.” You giggled as you nodded your head.

“I would really hope so.” You said as you scooted toward the glass and looked at your son. “Hunter, see the fishies?” Your son’s eyes went wide as he tried to figure out exactly what was going on and he stood perfectly still for the first time in his life on your thigh. Your smile threatened to break your cheeks as Frankie scooted forward to take a couple pictures at the same time Opie did while a pair of fish swam by the window. After a few moments of shock, Hunter screeched loudly, and leaned forward in your arms to bang his hands on the glass.

“This was the best effin idea ever.” Negan said as he recorded a video of your babbling son as he talked his little heart out to the fish outside. You nodded in agreement and held Hunter tight, falling even more in love with him once again.

——

“Your son is adorable.” The woman that had sat across from Negan on the tour said as she got off the boat. Opie said thank you yet again as you tried to let Hunter get as much out of seeing the fish as possible. You were grateful to the company that they were almost over accommodating to your son, trying everything to make his experience worth the money you had to pay for his ticket. The company had a habit of stopping to feed the fish to get more coming to the windows, but once they realized he was the youngest child on board and they had actually won his attention, they always made sure to start and stop at Hunter’s window and Isabelle’s window since she made her parents sit across from you as well. 

“(Y/N), we gotta go.” Your dad said as he stood with Frankie at the front of the boat.

“I know.” You sighed as you forced yourself to stand up. “Say bye-bye, Hunter.” You cringed instantly as Hunter let out an ear piercing scream and started to scream cry in protest. “I know, but it’s time to go.” You told him as you held on to Negan’s jacket so you wouldn’t fall over, and followed him up the stairs with Opie behind you so you didn’t fall back. Your now very angry son kicked and screamed in protest. 

“Well at least he saved it for the end.” Frankie said as she helped you onto the dock. You shrugged as Opie took your son from you so he could take the abuse over you.

“Alright, enough.” He said as he wrapped his large hand around Hunter’s legs and held them to his body. “You need a nap, bud.” You nodded in agreement as you got on the bus and turned back to Ope because he was too tall to get on the bus with Hunter in his arms.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” You apologized to the tour group as you tried to wrangle your son into his carseat.

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.” An older woman a few rows behind you, said. “We know the nap time struggle.” You gave her a weak, tight lipped smile and nodded your head as you finally got Hunter buckled in and gave him the pacifier you didn’t like to use that you had thankfully tied on to the handle of his carseat for moments like this. He fussed and fought until the bus started moving and instantly passed out thanks to the gentle vibrations from the engine.

“Right on time.” Negan chuckled from the row behind you as he leaned on the seat, and looked into the car seat.

“I think he loved it.” You said as you rubbed your hand slowly over Hunter’s stomach to keep him asleep. Your dad nodded in agreement as he reached out and straightened Hunter’s sock.

“I thought he’d lose interest after the first twenty minutes.” He said honestly as he brushed his thumb across his grandson’s leg.

“So did I.” Opie agreed. “Which is why I brought my phone, and a few toys in the diaper bag.”

“Well I’m glad he loved it.” You said with a smile as the bus pulled back up to the main port. “Did you tip them?” Negan nodded as he reached down beside you and unbuckled the seatbelt holding the carseat down.

“Hundred bucks.” He muttered with a nod. “Worth it.” You nodded in agreement and picked up the handle of the carseat to get out of the bus.

“Beach or boat?” Opie asked as he traded you the diaper bag for Hunter’s carseat.

“Boat.” You choose as you pointed to the cruise ship. “I kinda wanna take a nap myself before dinner.”

“Do you wanna walk down the beach for a bit?” Frankie asked Negan as she squeezed his hand. “We have an hour.” You looked over at the pair of them as your dad smiled down at her.

“Sounds fucking perfect.” He said with a nod as he put his arm around her shoulder. “See you at dinner.” You nodded your head and waved to them as you headed down the dock.

“What did you say to change her mind about being out in public?” Ope asked as he tried to pull your passes and the ID pass for Hunter from his back pocket. 

“Here, let me.” You said as you pulled him to a stop so he wouldn’t have to do it one handed. “I just reminded her that she’s a Savior. And that Negan could protect her and teach her to fight back.” He nodded his head as he took his and Hunter’s passes from you.

“Such a smart woman, mama.”

“That’s why you married me.” You said in a sing song voice as you got in line with everyone else. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You hated that the rest of your honeymoon flew by as fast as it did. Before you knew it, you were having to disembark in Port Canaveral to drive the ten hours back home, with four whole bags of duty free alcohol, cigarettes, and Disney art and merchandise you fell in love with and two large bags of new toys for Hunter in hand. You weren’t at all expecting to walk out to the parking lot to find Maggie, her VP Jesus, and her Sergeant at Arms, Sasha, waiting for you.

“Fuck are you doing here?” Negan asked as he tossed his duffle in the truck bed and opened the back door to put his bag of liquor down on the floorboard.

“Gotta problem.” Maggie said as she pulled off her sunglasses. “Simon’s trying to stage a coup. Figured he could get to, and over run the Hilltop first before you got back, but DJ’s been holding him off as long as physically possible.”

“God fucking damn it.” Your father groaned as he leaned against the bed of your truck. “Fuck is he now?”

“Headed South from grabbing some ‘back up’ from West Virginia.” Jesus said as he adjusted his fingerless gloves. “We leave now, we can beat him to the Hilltop.” With a slow nod of his head, he started packing the rest of the bags a little faster than Opie was.

“Making a detour?” You asked as you waved hello to the three Saviors behind your truck.

“Gotta skin a fucking rat.” He growled as he folded up your stroller, and put it in the truck bed. “Get in, ladies.”

——

“Splash, splash.” You breathed as you sat beside the bathtub in Maggie’s room in the giant old plantation turned Saviors clubhouse an hour outside of Atlanta. “Splashy, splashy.” Hunter laughed as you held him upright in the small layer of water in the tub with one hand and used one of his new Captain Mickey bath toys to walk across the water playfully. 

“What do you think’s gunna happen?” Frankie asked as she stood at the sink behind you, reapplying her make up for dinner that night. 

“With what?” You asked as you handed your son his toy so you could wash his hair and body for his bed time.

“With Simon.” She said simply as she applied her bright red lipstick behind you. “Think they’re gunna kill him?”

“Probably.” You sighed as you grabbed a plastic cup you had borrowed from the kitchen and got water from the faucet to rinse Hunter’s hair. “I tend not to think about it.”

“How can you not?” She responded as she moved on to her eyes. “I mean, it is murder after all.”

“Frankie!” You snapped as you turned to look at her. “Drop it, OK? Just fucking drop it. I know what they’re capable of, I know what they are doing, and frankly, I don’t give a shit. Because if I though about it, it would drive me a little crazy. So I don’t ask questions, I don’t wonder. I just live my life and…” A trio of gun shots in the front yard drowned out your words and you startled in your spot. Your heart started pounding in your chest when you heard another two shots over a few shouts.

“Opie.” You gasped as you turned off the water and snatched your naked, soap covered son from the bathtub. “Ope!”

“Wait, where are you going?” Frankie hissed as you stormed into the main bedroom and pulled Maggie’s bedside table open.

“Shut it.” You growled as you grabbed her spare side arm. “Stay there.” She nodded her head behind you as someone came up the stairs. Hunter screeched in your arms as you cocked your gun, prepared for the worst but hoping for the best. 

“Babe?” Opie called out as he opened the door. “Did you get… whoa! Whoa! Stand down!” You sighed loudly and lowered your gun as Opie came into the room to take it from your hands. “The fuck are you doing?”

“God damn it, Ope.” You sighed as you adjusted your son on your hip. “Scare the shit outta me like that.”

“Well, I’m sorry.” He chuckled as he followed you back in the bathroom to finish giving your son a bath.

“What happened? Where’s Negan?” Frankie asked as she stood by the sink, brandishing an eyelash curler as her weapon of choice. 

“What are you gunna do, Frankie? Curl them to death?” You asked as you took the curler from her and set it down on the bathroom counter.

“Negan’s fine.” Ope said as he sat down on the toilet and cleared the chamber of his gun. “Can’t say the same for Simon.”

“Serves him right.” You said as you put Hunter back in his bath, much to his excitement. “Fucking dumbass. Where are we going for dinner?”

“You two baffle me.” Frankie said with a shake of her head. “Someone just died.”

“What?” You gasped playfully as you looked over your shoulder at her as you rinsed of your son. “Someone died?”

“I didn’t see anyone die.” Opie said as he tossed the toy your son had dropped when you pulled him out of the tub toward your knees. Frankie rolled her eyes dramatically.

“Now you’re just mocking me.” She said as she stuck her tongue out at you.

“Then quit worrying so much.” You said simply as you looked the other way for Hunter’s towel. “Ope…” He looked at you, then followed your eyes to the hooded towel as you pulled the drain stopper to let out the water. “You ready for bed, little man? You had no naps, and a long day. It’s early bed time for you so Mommy and Daddy can have one last honeymoon date night.” Your son babbled in your arms as you carried him out to the bed and laid him down to get him dressed and ready for bed. “I don’t know how he’s still happy…”

“He’s just a naturally happy baby.” Opie said as he grabbed a hand towel and the toys from the tub to dry them and put them away. You both looked over as Negan walked in with Maggie right behind him.

“Problem fucking solved.” He sighed.

“Go tell Frankie that. She was gunna kill Opie with her eyelash curler.” You said as you pulled the diaper bag closer and grabbed a clean diaper and a pair of cloud footie pajamas. He muttered ‘fuck’ under his breath and you had a moment of clarity that this must happen a lot over at his house. 

“So what time does he eat supper?” Maggie asked as she sat down on her bed and helped put  Hunter’s arm in his jammies. 

“Usually, dinner is around 7:30.” You said as you zipped up the front. “Bottle around 9:15. Bed between ten and ten thirty. I like my sleep.” You said with a small smile at your friend. “But he didn’t nap in the car at all so my guess is he’ll be down much earlier tonight. Try dinner around 7, bottle at 8:30 ish then bed sometime after that.” You picked your son up with a smile and gave him a kiss on the forehead. “You don’t have to do this…”

“No, it’s fine.” She said with a laugh as she took Hunter from you. “I haven’t gotten to babysit yet and Hershel will love helping. He’s big on helping me with things right now.”

“That’ll end.” Opie said with a nod as he handed you a dress you had brought but hadn’t worn on the cruise. “All kids go through that phase.”

“Oh, I know.” She chuckled as she kissed her ‘nephew’ and held him upright on her thighs. “But I’ll take it while it lasts.” You nodded your head as Frankie and Negan came out of the bathroom with her makeup bag in his hands to go to the room they were staying in that night.

“See you assholes in the morning.” Your dad said on his way past. You waved him off as you walked over to your plug in freezer.

“I don’t have a warmer.” You said to Maggie as you bent down to open the top. “But I’m sure you know how to warm a bottle well as I do. He’s been partial to the turkey and gravy and the carrots but he will fight you on the squash tooth and nail. He’s a pain in the ass. But we’re going to work on more solid foods when we get home.”

“I think we’ll manage just fine.” She said in her southern twang before she blew a raspberry on his cheek.

“He’s crawling now.” Opie added.

“Oh, right!” You said with a nod as you grabbed your dress and headed into the bathroom to throw it on. “He’s on the move.”

“About time, little man!” She cheered as she got up to put him on the floor so she could witness it. “I say it’s time for some crawling races, tonight. See who wins, Aunt Maggie or Hunter.”

“Hunter.” You and Opie both said as you walked out of the bathroom to grab your heels. 

“He’s a fast little son of a bitch.” You said as you intercepted your son before he could get into the cooler. “And he gets into everything.”

“Well we’re gunna have a great time.” She said with a smile as she started to follow your son around. “You two have fun. Enjoy the last night of your honeymoon.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Happy Mother’s day.” Opie said softly as he walked in to your bedroom a couple weeks later with a large serving plate in one hand and Hunter on his hip in the other. You pried your eyes open with a smile, and blinked against the bright sunlight pouring into your bedroom.

“Well thank you.” You said as you pushed yourself up in bed. “Hi, my main man.” Your heart melted as your son cooed ‘mama’ and leaned forward with his arms stretched for you.

“I made waffles with strawberries.” Ope said with a nod as he passed you your son. “And bacon.”

“You’re such a good daddy.” You said as you sat your son down on your crossed legs. “Thank you, baby.”

“Figured I had to make your first mothers day special.” He said as he sat down beside you. “But I didn’t bring syrup. I though that’s just be asking for fucking trouble with this one.”

“I don’t need syrup, Ope.” You laughed as you grabbed a strawberry off the plate and held it in your palm for your son. “This is perfect just the way it is.” He nodded his head and scooted up the bed beside you to join you for breakfast. The two of you ate as best and as fast as you could so that your bed didn’t become your place mat thanks to Hunter’s inability to sit still for longer than a couple minutes. You tried to offer the seven month old his own breakfast oatmeal puffs but he was much more interested on trying to smack the waffles off your and Opie’s forks. You did manage to finish most of your meals and you just gave up all together when Creature jumped up on the bed for his scraps. 

“I tried.” Opie chuckled as he gave the dog a piece of waffle and set the plate on his bedside table to keep it out of the way. “But we have monsters instead of a child and a dog.”

“We really do.” You laughed as you held Hunter’s hands so he could go back to trying to walk around the bed. “Wanna have another one?”

“Not anytime soon.” Opie chuckled as he pulled something from his pocket as your son slammed his body weight down on your crossed legs with a squeal. 

“Got you this.” He said as handed you a small box. “From Hunter, of course.”

“Oh, of course.” You said as you held the box out in front of you and your son. “What’s this, huh? Did you get mommy a present?” Your son babbled back as he tried to yank the present out of your hands. “Well, you can’t do that, goofball.” You laughed as you pulled the gift out of his reach as Opie took a couple pictures. When you opened the necklace box, your bottom lipped pouted out as you picked up the silver, heart necklace with a single opal on the edge. “Opie.”

“It’s his birthstone.” He said as he put down his phone and took the necklace from your fingers. “Subtle enough to wear every day so it’s not tacky.”

“Opie it’s beautiful.” You breathed as you moved your hair out so he could put the necklace on. You touched the heart gently with your fingertips as he sat back with a smile. “Thank you.”

“Happy Mother’s Day, baby.” You smiled and gave him a chaste kiss before reaching out to pick up your little boy.

“And thank you, little man, for making me a mama.”

“Mama!” Hunter repeated as he let you walk him across the bedspread. 

“Yea, mama. Can you say dada yet? Say dada?”

“Yea, that’s not happening.” Opie chuckled as he gave Creature another piece of waffle and got up to go clean up breakfast. “He’s gunna wait and say dada in his own time, when I’m not there to hear it because he hates me.”

“Oh, don’t say that.” You laughed as you got up to get dressed for the day so you could bring Hunter down to your mom’s spot for a picnic lunch with her. “He loves you.”

“He hates me!” He called out on his way down the stairs. “He loves you!”

“That’s because I gave him life!”

——

“Tie or no tie?” You asked Hunter as you sat on the couch, looking at the onesie and pants outfit your son was currently getting dirty by crawling around on your wood floors after your dog. “I’m thinking tie.”

“No tie.” Opie called out as he came down stairs while tying his hair in a bun at the top of his head for your first Mother’s Day lunch before you headed out of town for a weekend getaway. “It’s just gunna end up getting thrown…”

“But it’s so cute.” You sighed as you leaned back in your chair and looked over at him. You smiled and sat up a little bit. “Well look at you. Handsome as ever.” 

“Well you picked it out.” He chuckled as he leaned down and gave you a kiss on the forehead. “And I pale in comparison to you, hun.” You smiled up at him as he took a step back and picked up Hunter when he grabbed and pulled Creature’s stump tail, causing him to scream.

“Hey, you gotta be nice to the puppy.” You scolded as you stood up to get Creature. “Nice hands.” Since he knew by the look on your face and the tone of your voice you were mad at him, Hunter started to tear up. You walked up to your husband with your dog and looked between him and your son. “Nice hands, Hunter. Nice hands.” You said sweetly as you put Creature with just your fingertips.

“Gentle.” Opie said in the same tone as he used Hunter’s hand to pet Creature’s head. “Gentle.”

“Soft hands.” You said with a nod as your front door opened.

“What the fuck are you two doing, now?” Negan asked as he walked in with two small boxes and an envelope in his hands.

“Teaching Hunter how to be gentle with our dog.” You said as you glanced over at your dad. “Hi.”

“Happy Mother’s Day, sweetheart.” He said as he kissed your cheek. “I just wanted to catch you before you guys left for lunch with your gift.”

“Aww, Daddy.” You said with a smile as you set your dog on the chair. “Hey, Frankie.” She smiled at you and nodded as you took the first envelope and the bigger of the two boxes from him and sat down on the couch. You already started to tear up at just the sight of your mom’s hand writing as Opie grabbed the tie you had been debating to put on his son for you.

My amazing, strong, gorgeous, first time Mommy!

Oh, honey. Happy Mother’s Day! Oh, you have no idea how excited I am to write this letter! I promise, this one won’t be as hard to read as the one on your wedding day. This one… will be full of motherly advice.

First of all- love. Love your son or daughter every single moment of every single day, no matter how much they drive you crazy. You used to tear my house apart every minute of every day, just because you could, more specifically, when I was cleaning. Damnit, little girl, I could almost guarantee that when I brought the mop out to clean the living room, I’d finish and immediately have to clean the crayon marks off the hallway walls. You were such a little shit, (Y/N)… and I hope to God that your child is equally as much of a brat. But just like I did you, you love them anyways.

Second- patience. Ooo, Lord, did I need my patience with you. I don’t know if you ever knew this but when you were young, about two or three, you went through a whole month where you refused to get out of the car. I’d pull into the driveway and I’d have to scramble to get to you before you could get out of your car seat to climb into the back seat of the van. You then proceeded to hide under the back seat for HOURS, unless your father or I climbed in to get you. Such a pain in the ass, child. So when your child pulls some random stunt like that, be patient… no matter how much you wanna kill them. Because you will want to, I promise you.

Third- wisdom. I’m not talking book smarts here. I’m talking life knowledge. I want you to promise me that my grand child will grow up in nature. That he or she will learn to ride a bike on the same dirt road that you did across the street from your dad’s house. Promise that they will learn to swim in our spot, just like you did. Promise me that they will learn the importance of family, and humility. Promise that they will know each and lesson I taught you- like eating boogers is gross, and that it is absolutely vital that all snow must have an angel made in it. That it’s OK to jump in a pile of leaves in your backyard, and getting dirty is mandatory. Babies can’t live under a microscope- you know that as well as I do.

Lastly- I want to tell you to savor every single millisecond you have with him or her, because they go by… so fast. And it is never enough. Even if God hadn’t had other plans for me, I wouldn’t have spent enough time with you. I don’t know how old your little one is, but look how fast it’s gone by already! So make sure you spend the extra minute tucking them in to give them a few extra kisses. Read them an extra story, no matter how annoyed you are. Listen to ‘The Fox and the Hound’ for the millionth time in one day with a smile on your face, because before you know it, it’ll be over.

You are going to be an amazing mother, baby girl. I know you are still probably a little scared you’re going to mess up. And here’s a little secret, you always will be. It doesn’t go away. But you and your husband are going to be the most amazing parents in the whole world. And I know that because you have so many people in your life to help you out… and one very special guardian angel watching over you to make sure you don’t mess them up too bad.

I love you, (Y/N). With all my heart. Make sure you give your little one an extra kiss from grandma every night. And keep him away from the damn dog door.

Happy Mother’s Day,

All my love,

Mom

“It’s from your mom and I.” Negan said when you looked up as he handed you the first box. You nodded your head as you peeled off the wrapping paper and pulled off the top of the box.

“Oh, Daddy…” You whispered as you pulled your mother’s first Mother’s Day bracelet, followed by the exact same bracelet with your families names and important dates on it.

“She made me promise that I didn’t give you this one until today.” He said with a nod as he scooted to the edge of the chair to help you put them on. “You know your mother.”

“I know.” You breathed with a nod as you spun the two new bands that you intended on wearing every day with the sapphire one you got on your wedding day. “Thank you.” He nodded his head as you turned a bit to show Opie your gifts from your dad.

“We’ve got one more.” Frankie said softly as she leaned forward with the other box in her hand.  “It’s just something silly.”

“Silly is fun.” You said with a smile as you took the second box with a glance over at Hunter, who had gone back to crawling on the floor. “Child, you’re…” You started before your mother’s words echoed in your head. “Just stay away from the dog door.”

“What?” Opie chucked as you pulled off the box top to the second gift.

“It’s in Mom’s letter.” You said as you looked down at the keychain in the box. Your brow furrowed as you stared blankly at the words ‘World’s Best Big Sister’. You blinked a few times and looked up at your dad’s giant grin as your whole world flipped upside down. “You’re pregnant?” You asked with as much forced enthusiasm as you could muster through your hurt.

“Nine weeks!” Frankie said excitedly. “We’re both mother’s today!” You cheered forcefully as you got up to give her a hug but shot your husband a look of disbelief.

“Congratulations you guys!” Opie said with equal enthusiasm as he got up to shake his father-in-law’s hand. “That’s so great!”

“You ready to finally be a big sister?” Negan asked as you looked over at him to hug him, too. You bit your tongue and nodded as you hugged him tight to give you a second to collect yourself.

“Think you can keep up with another one of me?” You asked as you pulled back, telling yourself on repeat that you were not going to cry for them ruining a moment from your mother.

“Oh, I think I’ll be just fine. I kept up with you, didn’t I?” He teased, not even taking a half second to mention how he had kept up with your son.

“Sorry babe, we gotta get goin’ for lunch. Kinda on a time crunch today.”

“Oh, go. Go!” Frankie said with a smile. “We just wanted to wish you a Happy Mother’s Day before you headed out. We’ll keep an eye on the house as always.”

“Well thank you both.” You said as you bent down to grab Hunter off the ground. “And congratulations!” You all said quick good-byes as Opie bent down to scoop up Creature to bring him with you as well since you were leaving straight for lunch but you didn’t say another word until Opie had pulled your previously packed truck out of the driveway. “Did they really just drop a fucking baby bomb on my first Mother’s Day?” You asked as you looked over at your husband.

“Baby, she’s excited.” Opie sighed. “It wasn’t done harmfully. She didn’t do it to take your thunder away. She’s just excited. Do you not remember how excited you were last year on Mother’s Day when you were pregnant?”

“Opie…” You growled as you sank back into your chair.

“No.” He said with a shake of his head as he reached over for your hand. “Let it go. You don’t like it because she’s not your mom. That’s all this is.” Your eyes narrowed as you looked over at him.

“I hate you.”

“I know you do, hun.” He said with a smile as he pulled your hand over to kiss your fingers. “That’s why you married me.”

[clownsgobeepbeep]

Shark Week

@grotesquegabby I find Lennie being a grandpa so adorable, so I wrote this fic about some possible future with his grandson X3 

That wonderful time of the year finally came through.

Shark Week.

Ah yes, and visiting the aquarium was a great way to start off the week. 

“I am so excited! This week is gonna be so great!” Cordelia exclaimed as she, her brother, and her father walked down the path leading to the front entrance to the aquarium. “Mom really outdid herself this year.”

“Well that’s because of the little fact we learned some time ago.”Lennie smiled, pushing on a small stroller that was meant for dolls but instead contained a baby due to its reliable sturdiness and such. It was perfect for Lennie’s height unlike normal strollers, and it even looked normal, but smaller.

“The little guy here loves sharks so much.”Lennie added as he now looked over at Basil who was strapped in the stroller, even wearing little shades so the sun wouldn’t hurt his eyes. 

Basil turned to look at Lennie who smiled at him, especially with the shark patterned overalls he wore. The baby looked around the area, pointing at what was a banner with sharks.

“We’ll see those soon enough.”

Once the family was allowed inside, Lennie turned to his kids.

“You two go on and have some fun. Me and Basil are gonna give your mom a quick visit.”

“Where do we meet up?” Davey asked before his sister tugged on his arm, excitedly jumping around.

“Davey! Let’s go to the seal show! It’s about to start!”

“I’ll meet you there then.” Lennie chuckled before Cordelia booked it, not even waiting for Davey who gave a small groan and walked after her. Meanwhile, Lennie walked the opposite way and away from the crowd where there was a room labeled ‘Employees Only’, but he was of course allowed to roam wherever he wished.

_____________

“How are the numbers for guest satisfaction at the moment?”

“Quite high, the surveys we received prove that guests are greatly enjoying the aquarium even more than usual, and the same goes for your park and pier.”

“Fin-tastic, as my husband says.” Jelly giggled to herself as she looked outside the large glass of her office that worked as a window, looking over the aquarium filled with guests. “And how are all the children? They’re not scared of the sharks, correct?”

“Of course not. They have in fact even asked to pet said sharks, but we have not allowed that to happen on those not in the touch tanks of course.”

“Splendid. I think that’s all I’ll need for now.” Jelly waved a hand behind her at her employee. “I’ll call you if I need you.”

“Yes Mrs. D’Vitt. There is one more thing however.”

“What?”

“You have some visitors.”

Jelly turned around as the office’s door opened, feeling a large and surprised smile come across her features at who she now saw.

“Oh, Lennie! You brought Basil!” she excitedly ran around her desk and towards her husband who now stood next to the stroller, smiling as Jelly kissed his lips before going over to Basil. “Hello my little great white shark! Our outfits are matching today!”

Jelly took Basil out of the stroller before he clung onto her, putting his head on her shoulder as they hugged.

“I am so happy you two could come by.”

“Actually, Davey and Cordelia are here too.”

“Where?”

“They said they were going to the seal show.” Lennie chuckled as he followed Jelly to the glass she originally stood in front of, both looking at where they spotted their kids in the front row of the show. It was obvious because of Cordelia’s bouncing around.

“And are you taking Basil to see the sharks?” Jelly asked as Basil now pulled himself away.

“Of course, but I’m saving the best for last.”

“Are you excited to see all the sharks Basil?” Jelly giggled as Basil nodded his head, and she reached up to grab his pacifier to carefully pull it out. “Let Mama Jelly see those big shark teeth!”

Basil opened his mouth as he showed his teeth which no doubt looked like a shark’s, and he even grit them as if to bite the air.

“Oh! So ferocious!” Jelly exclaimed before reaching over to her desk where a glass bowl was, then holding up a gummy shark that Basil took, biting into it rather happily, even if his face didn’t show it. “Alright, time to go back with grandpa.”

Lennie smiled as he took Basil who held onto him while still chewing on his gummy.

“Once you’re done with everything, or just whenever you want, head on over to the Shark Reef and get whatever souvenirs you want. And get the best shark plush for Basil.” Jelly gently pinched the baby’s cheek. “You can’t miss it, you’ll walk into a giant shark mouth.”

“Got it, any food recommendations?”

“Right by the Shark Reef, just call me over so I can give Basil some food that he’ll like.”

“Okay. I’ll sea you around Jelly-Bean.”

“Yeah yeah, see you around Sharky.” Jelly playfully rolled her eyes, then waving at Basil who gave her a tiny wave. “And you too Basil.~”

_____________

“How was the show?” Lennie asked as he got to the seal area where guests were already walking away, except for Davey and Cordelia who approached him.

“It was so great dad! I got to pet Silver!”

“That’s because you made him come over to you.”Davey stared at his sister who shrugged and flipped her hair.

“Animals just love me a lot.” she scoffed before looking at Basil and crouching down to be closer. “How are you doing Basil?”

The baby looked up at her as he bit into a shark shaped cookie Lennie had gotten from the shop mentioned by Jelly, then offering it to Cordelia who giggled.

“Why, thank you Basil!” she grinned, then pretending to take a bite out of the cookie which Basil then continued eating.

 “Where are we off to next dad?”

“Why don’t we stay here and look at the seals through the glass? I think Basil should see every animal here.” Lennie suggested before his kids nodded, then following behind him as they headed to the large tank containing said animals. Once there, they stood in front of the glass where there were seals swimming and playing around, eventually noticing the family. Cordelia ran to one side as the seal followed her, and then to another, repeating herself a few times before Davey calmed her down and the seal took notice of Basil. It swam over to be in front of him, Basil placing a hand on the glass as Lennie had already taken him out of his stroller.

“This is a harbor seal, or called phoca vitulina by scientists.”Lennie told Basil who attentively watched the seal who spun in place to entertain him. “They’re kind of related to dogs and bears, isn’t that funny? And their big eyes help them see in the dark.”

Basil brought his hands away from Lennie, bringing them in front to clap the back of his hands a few times.

“Your mom’s been teaching you how to sign for animals, huh?” Lennie chuckled before Basil looked back at the seal, making the motion again as the seal flipped around, making Basil bounce in Lennie’s arms quite happily.

“Let’s go over to the beluga whales next!” Cordelia exclaimed before once again running off, Davey sighing as he took the strolled and walked besides Lennie who still carried Basil as the seal attempted to follow them. When the seal could no longer follow, Basil waved at it as the seal practically waved with its tail.

They soon reached what was the darkened area belonging to the beluga whales, all swimming and even joking around with guests, especially scaring children(and adults) by opening their mouths in surprise.

Cordelia was pressed against the glass as a beluga swam by, then turning to her unexpectedly which made her jump back with a laugh.

“It got me!”

“Let’s see what Basil thinks about the belugas.”Davey chuckled as he took the baby while Lennie hesitated.

“Davey, I don’t want him getting scared.”

“Don’t worry dad, he’ll be fine.”Davey insisted as he held Basil up in front of the glass, everybody watching as a beluga whale swam by. When it was at a close range, it turned to Basil with an open mouth in an attempt to scare him, but Basil didn’t flinch one bit. Instead, he flashed his teeth at the beluga who immediately swam away in fear. The other belugas noticed this, swimming far from the glass as well before Davey brought Basil back down.

“Maybe we should go check out the sea otters instead?”

_____________

“Now these I think you’ll like Basil. They’re one of your grandma’s favorite creatures.” Lennie presented a tank to Basil after they had already gone through a series of other animals, even witnessing as Cordelia tried to take an octopus with her. She and Davey had decided to take a break and go eat something, leaving Lennie and Basil alone.

“Jellyfish, kind of like your Mama Jelly’s Squishies.”

Basil’s eyes looked over the floating creatures, all going with the gentle and soft flow of the water they were in. He lifted a hand and made a pulling-like motion, signing ‘jellyfish’.

“Exactly. There are so many types of jellyfish, your Mama Jelly’s favorites being the moon jellyfish. These guys right here.” Lennie pointed to one. “They’re all invertebrates and these ones specifically are so harmless despite being able to sting. They’re fun to watch under lights because they’re clear. If they were to eat brine shrimp, they’d turn orange!”

Basil pointed to his hair as if to ask like his, despite the locks currently being black like his father’s human self.

“Yeah, just like your hair. But they look lavender or pink when they eat crustaceans, always looking a different color depending on the setting. Like here they’re blue. And speaking of colorful, look at this one.” Lennie presented to Basil as a new tank was shown, revealing  a red jellyfish. “That’s the bloodybelly comb jelly.”

Basil soon perked up at the sound of the word ‘bloody’, making Lennie give a laugh.

“They just look a little like blood, but they have a nice little glow effect, this being because of the cilia they have which diffracts light. Because of this, they propel through the water, it almost reminds me of a beating heart.” Lennie told Basil who held up a hand, a glow emitting from his palm which was pretty surprising. “Whoa, that’s...pretty nice.”

Basil nodded before Lennie walked on over to another tank.

“This one reminds me of your mom, it’s called Flower Hat Jelly.” Lennie turned to Basil who shut his eyes for a few seconds, then opening them, but quite drowsily. “Aw, are you starting to get tired?”

Basil gave another nod before rubbing one of his eyes, then laying his head on Lennie’s shoulder while hugging him.

“Well, I guess we should go home now, huh?” he pat Basil’s back as he headed away from the tanks and into a place with a lot more light. “Guess you won’t see the sharks then.”

Immediately, Basil lifted his head and was now wide awake as he looked around, realizing that the floor was moving through a large, clear, glass tunnel. His eyes widened at the sight of a large figure swimming over them.

“That’s a pretty funny head. Goes great with nails.” Lennie laughed to himself as Basil started to excitedly bounce in his arms again, pointing to the hammerhead shark. “That’s the scalloped hammerhead shark, relative of the oceanic whitetip, tiger and bull shark.”

“Oooh dad! Give me Basil!” exclaimed Cordelia as she now ran towards Lennie, Davey eventually coming along while they watched the large shark in awe. Lennie handed the baby over to his aunt, and she held him high with his face up, Basil reaching towards the glass, making it seem like he was touching the shark’s belly. Basil was simply amazed.

“Come on guys, onto the next room. Basil’s gonna lose it over this one.”Lennie motioned as the baby was lowered down and held against Cordelia’s chest who he accidentally dug his claws into due to this new excitement he felt.

“Look over there Basil, the kelp forest.” Davey pointed at an insanely huge tank containing kelp and a plethora of fishes swimming around. “There’s some sharks in there too. Lots of them.”

Basil’s eyes followed what shimmered brightly under the sun’s rays, it was like hundreds of silver lining rapidly moving to one side and then the other quite gracefully. But soon, his eyes landed on a face, staring into the open as he saw set on the ground near the glass.

“That’s a horn shark, they like to stay in caves or just be in the shadows in general. They prefer to crawl because they don’t swim too good.” Lennie shared out to Basil who got on all fours, then crawling over to what was considered closer to the shark’s location, then pressing his face against the glass.

“Basil be careful.” Davey laughed before pulling the baby away, lifting his chin so he could look up before his different colored eyes widened. “Look at that shark, it’s a leopard shark.”

Basil clapped his hands at the sight of the shark who swam right by him, Davey helping him onto his feet as he now had his hands on the glass. He gently tapped the glass with his hands as he looked at Lennie who was sitting down, but he scooted over towards him.

“They’re pretty nice.”Lennie nodded as he looked at the sharks as well, but he soon looked up at the ceiling when somebody spoke over the speakers. He smiled once they were done talking, Basil noticing this, but he didn’t understand why, especially because he didn’t understand what was even said.

“Come on, I’ll show you something even better.” Lennie picked Basil up as he wiggled his legs around, then holding onto Lennie while Cordelia and Davey walked behind him. “No other aquarium or sea center has this because they don’t know how to properly take care of one. But your grandma, she’s a very smart woman, and of course has a few tricks up her sleeve.”

Basil blinked at Lennie, then turning to his uncle and aunt in confusion. He looked up ahead where very many others rushed to go, before Lennie approached an employee who allowed the family to be seated in the front row. The baby was placed on a seat between Lennie and Davey who looked at him excitedly, the sunlight going through the water to create a blue atmosphere.

Once again, a voice spoke over a speaker while Basil looked around at excited and extremely nervous expressions, then turning back to the glass near him and his family. Lennie reached over to grab Basil’s hand, smiling down at him before he as well looked at the glass. Soon enough, Basil could not believe his eyes.

A.Great. White. Shark.

The giant fish swam across the glass as Basil reached his little hands out to it, practically in love at the sight. He didn’t hear as the speaker boomed with somebody’s voice again, only focusing on the shark who swam away and then back, this time heading straight for the glass. People were no doubt terrified at this sight, but Basil watched in wonderment as the shark looked straight at him.

_____________

Davey carried Basil as everybody now exited the seating area to view the great white shark, and he noticed how bounced like he had never seen before.

“Somebody clearly liked that.”Lennie commented before grabbing one of Basil’s sneakers in attempt to calm him down, the baby then looking down at him. “How about we go touch some sharks now?”

Basil froze at the sound of that, trying to wiggle himself out of Davey’s arms immediately after.

“Okay, okay, relax. Give him to me.” Lennie laughed before Davey handed him the baby who was still so excited. They finally reached the area where all the touch tanks were, and Lennie approached the shortest one before he let Basil take a look.

Meanwhile, Cordelia was already reaching into a much larger tank and taking out the sea stars and urchins while Davey told her to put them back.

“Look at these right here. They’re not gonna bite you, so you can touch them.” Lennie whispered to Basil who finally relaxed, slowly reaching a hand out to one of the sharks that swam close by. He felt a shiver as his fingers and then hand were submerged in the cold water, then feeling his eyes widen when his fingers grazed against the shark’s fin.

“That’s it, just like that.”Lennie chuckled while rolling up Basil’s sleeve, allowing him to reach further into the water to now touch the shark’s back. Basil let out an out of character sound which made Lennie give a surprised laugh, so glad at how joyful his grandson was. He was so precious.

“Look, another one’s coming!” Lennie exclaimed as Basil got ready to touch the next shark, or at least that was what Lennie thought.

“How’s he holding up dad-” Davey started before his and Cordelia’s eyes widened in complete shock, seeing as there was now a shark out of the tank and in Basil’s arms.

“Basil!” Lennie gasped before Cordelia gave a squeal, Davey then laughing loudly once his bewilderment was gone. “Basil noooo.”

Lennie chuckled to himself upon realizing that Basil had managed to pull out the shark out of the water, hugging it close to his chest while it attempted to wiggle away. As Davey continued laughing, Lennie shook his head before carefully taking the shark from Basil, then returning it to the water where it instantly swam away.

Basil gave a whine as the shark was now taken away from him and he was brought away from the tank, his aunt and uncle still laughing and wiping tears away from their eyes.

“Guys, come on. It’s over.” Lennie quietly laughed to himself as Basil now had his typical stoic expression. “Let’s go to the shop. There’s something I need to get.”

__________

When arriving to “Shark Reef”, Davey and Cordelia parted ways with themselves and Lennie to look at the several souvenirs provided. Meanwhile, Davey headed over to a large wall with a giant surfboard design. Basil turned to look at it, surprised at all th sharks he saw.

“Choose whichever one you want.” Lennie told him, Basil looking over every plush toy, then pointing to one. His grandpa chuckled to himself, grabbing the plush toy which was of course a great white shark. He handed it over to Basil who immediately hugged it tightly for a while. Once “finished”, he turned to look over at Lennie before hugging him tightly as well. 

Lennie smiled to himself before hugging the little baby back, hearing the pop of a pacifier going out of Basil’s mouth, and then something else.

“Grandpa.”

[fireintheforest]

Modern!Saufinril AU

6:34 am: Oh it’s six-thirty, it’s so early. Goes back to sleep.

8:25 am: Oh i- EIGHT TWENTY-FIVE WHAT THE-

8:40 am: Gets ready in a hurry, runs to his job pray there’s still a job

9:15 am: Arrives at the store apologizing profusely for getting late. Boss sends him to scrub the shop floors. Is quietly thankful that his boss’s handsome husband isn’t in the store today. 

10:08 am: Finishes scrubbing the floor. Attends a customer that comes to ask about the sales. He explains there’s no sales.

10:09 am: Customer then asks for an item that went out of stock, he explains it’s out of stock but next month it’ll be back on the store.

10:19 am: Customer finally finishes his tirade on this shit shop.

11 am: Was attending another customer when the boss said that. Oh my Mara.

11:15 am: Was restocking shelves when he sees some ordeal on the door. Checks to see what it is and what do you mean, we’re not letting them put a flyer here?

11:18 am: The campaign was a success and they let the flyer hang there. But now he has to stay late this weekend for inventory. Wellp.

12 md: Off to break. Lunch is a vegan wrap while checking his phone (message from mother gets deleted, message from Casil gets deleted, message from- oh look, there’s a Steam sale on that one game. Cool. Message from Casil gets deleted-)

1:30 pm: Has to restock and order the shelves, wish people could put the things back to where they picked them.

1: 46 pm: A kid spilled her milk, mom apologizes somewhat and goes to pay for her item. He goes to get the mop.

2:06 pm: Has to explain (and deal with) a woman not understanding that this store does not use coupons. They’re also expired.

2:13 pm: Customer ends coupon tirade before leaving.

2:30 pm: He’d advocate in favor of the woman being able to bring the baby stroller, but to be honest he’s tired and he agrees that it’d bring mud. He’s not cleaning the floor again.

3:57 pm: No sir, we don’t- phone rings insistently. Checks quickly and it’s Casil. He ignores it. Why won’t the gods send him away already.

4:30 pm: Boss kicks everyone out, time to close the shop.

5:20 pm: Arrives home, puts Arpen on a leash to take him for a walk at a nearby park.

5: 27 pm: Arpen left a little gift on the side of the sidewalk, and he forgot the bags. He uses dried leaves to hide it and walks the dog as fast as possible away from the crime scene. All while ignoring Casil’s second call.

6:50 pm: Is back home with Arpen. Sits down to study for the exam of next week while Arpen plays with a toy.

7:13 pm:…this apartment is too quiet, where is Arpen.

7:14 pm: Finds Arpen deep in fight with the toilet paper. Scolds him, takes him out of the bathroom, starts to clean up the papers. Closes bathroom door (and bedroom, for that matter) to go back to studying.

7:20 pm: Takes a break to check Instagram.

9:06 pm: Realizes he’s in the YouTube rabbit hole when he has one video about Toys-R-Us conspiracy theories, one of a special effects makeup tutorial and one of pickle-eating ASMR. Closes videos and goes back to studying.

10:34 pm: Realizes he’s back in the rabbit hole, this time watching a video about 7 different ways to cook eggplant and another of 4 ways to make cheesecake bars. He was supposed to watch a conference. Goes back to studying.

11:15 pm: Gives up, he progressed as much as he could. Turns off the computer and makes himself tea and something to eat.

11: 30 pm: Remembers the 4 ways to make cheesecake…and he has Oreos…

Midnight: Made cheesecake bars. Too many, actually. Crap. Grabs one and settles with Arpen to watch The Good Place on Netflix.

1 am: Goes to sleep

3:15 am: Wakes up, reads to get himself back to sleep.

3:50 am: Falls asleep again.

_________

For Lillandril’s verson, go here

Rialas’s day is this one

[imaginetonyandbucky]

The Long Way Round - Part IV of IV

[Part I] | [Part II] | [Part III]

TJ chatters happily during the cab ride to Gabe’s place, wiggling excitedly in his booster seat, his face pressed against the window to watch the unfamiliar neighbourhoods zip by. Bucky’s glad for it; he’s tense and quietly furious, and focusing on TJ’s myriad of curious questions is the perfect distraction.

That only works until he’s standing on Gabe’s front steps, though, TJ now quietly settled on his hip. He’s oddly nervous, reluctant to go in and confront his friends, to get the confirmation of their meddling he’s fairly sure is waiting for him. To buy himself a few more seconds, Bucky fumbles his phone out of his pocket—successfully, without dropping it or TJ in the process—and texts Tony where they are, in case Tony gets back before Bucky’s done here, and doesn’t see the post-it Bucky left on the fridge.

He still hesitates after putting his phone away, shifting his weight from foot to foot, and chewing his bottom lip. It’s stupid, because he knows he will go in eventually, but he can’t help it.

“Bucky,” TJ says, watching Bucky intently when Bucky glances down at him. He studies Bucky for a moment, then pats his cheek, and leans his head against Bucky’s shoulder with a quiet, content sigh.

And that—TJ’s trust in him, the warm weight of TJ, his kid, in his arms—is what snaps Bucky out of his reluctance. He lingeringly kisses the top of TJ’s head, breathing him in, and then he knocks and pushes open the door.

(Watch out for the break, mobile readers!)

Alma is the first one to spot them, coming out of the kitchen just as Bucky pulls the door shut again. “Oh, Bucky!” she exclaims, smiling brightly. “We thought you weren’t coming tonight?” She turns her smile on TJ, and seems completely unbothered when he hides his face away in Bucky’s neck. “And who’s this handsome little man?”

Bucky’s saved from answering by Peggy poking her head out of the dining room. She looks from Bucky to TJ, then settles her gaze firmly on Bucky, and raises her eyebrows, clearly having put it together. Bucky gives a quick nod anyway, and shrugs as best as he can with TJ in his arm, making a sheepish face at her.

Peggy huffs, but steps out into the hall, turning to Alma. “Your husband said something about tiramisu and got everyone all excited. Do you want me to—”

“Oh, nonsense,” Alma tisks, already turning back towards the kitchen. “I’ll get it, you’re a guest. And some plates for Bucky and his little man.”

“Thank you,” Bucky breathes, once Alma is out of earshot.

“What’s wrong?” Peggy asks, warm but straight to the point. She looks at TJ again, then shakes her head, laughing softly under her breath. “This is not what I expected when you told me something came up with Tony.”

“Yeah, well.” Bucky shifts TJ a little, watches him watch Peggy with his fingers jammed into his mouth. “Hey, buddy,” he says softly, waiting until TJ looks up at him before he goes on. “Do you think you can go hang out with Peggy for a little while? I told you about her, remember?”

TJ nods slowly. “Like daddy?”

“That’s right, baby. She’s an omega like your daddy.”

TJ twists to grin at Peggy. “You punch mean people.”

“Oh, for the love of,” Peggy sighs, levelling Bucky with an extremely judgmental look. “That’s the story you told him about me?”

“Not me,” Bucky shakes his head, chuckling, “Tony did. ‘Cause every little boy needs a badass omega who takes no crap to look up to, right?”

“Right!” TJ echoes, and goes easily when Bucky transfers him over to Peggy.

Peggy shoots Bucky one last searching look, but, like the saint she is, doesn’t press. Instead, she bounces TJ to make him giggle, and takes him into the kitchen. “How about we find you some biscuits, ducky?”

Okay, well. Bucky probably deserves having to deal with an overtired kid on a sugar high later for springing all this on her. Fair enough.

After one last, deep breath to steel himself, Bucky walks into the dining room. He’s greeted by a chorus of happily surprised heys and wide smiles, but Bucky holds up a hand, and sharply shakes his head. And now everyone is looking worried or concerned, and that just makes Bucky angrier.

Before anyone can start asking questions or say anything else, Bucky grits out, “What’d you say to Tony?”

“Buck?” Steve is frowning, confused. “What’s going on, what are you talking about? We haven’t seen Tony—”

“Not you,” Bucky interrupts. He waves a hand at the rest of the Howlies clustered around the table. “You, what’d you say to him? The night before we shipped out? What the fuck did you say to him? No,” he adds when the doorbell rings, and Gabe goes to get up, “sit down, someone else will get it. We’re not done here.”

And there is the evidence Bucky was looking for; everyone is beginning to look uncomfortable, and exchange awkward glances. It’s Dum Dum who speaks up eventually, cautiously, “You met him so soon after Brock—”

“That’s not what I’m askin’,” Bucky snaps, and moves over to the table so he can set the ring down on it. “I’m askin’ what kinda bullshit you said to Tony that made him change his mind about proposin’ to me.”

“Shit,” Monty breathes out. Jacques mutters something in French, Gabe drops his face into his hands, and Morita is grimacing down into his wine.

“We didn’t know he was going to—” Dum Dum starts, but quickly holds up his hands and changes course when Bucky glares at him. “We made some assumptions that were, in hindsight, probably not entirely accurate.”

Monty continues, “It looked suspicious, to us, the two of you meeting through his father. And when you started dating so quickly, well. It didn’t seem right, and we might’ve implied that he wasn’t what you wanted, or needed.”

“We were all worried,” Steve says. “They meant well, Bucky.”

“Oh, well, that makes it completely okay, then,” Bucky growls, glowering at them all. “Should I say thank you? Thank you for screwin’ up the happiest relationship I ever had. Thank you for treatin’ me like a fuckin’ child and goin’ behind my back instead of just fuckin’ talking to me. Thank you—”

“Bucky,” Steve tries, but Bucky’s gaining momentum now.

“We were happy. I was so, so fuckin’ happy with him. I loved him,” he says, voice breaking. Then he laughs harshly, clenching his trembling hand into a fist. “I still love him so fuckin’ much. He’s the best fuckin’ thing that’s ever happened to me, and you decided to mess that up for me before you’d even talked to him once. How fuckin’ dare you—”

He cuts himself off when the connecting door to the kitchen opens, and TJ toddles out, one ladyfinger biscuit in each hand, and thankfully looking entirely oblivious to what’s going on. Bucky catches Peggy’s eyes over the top of his head, and she looks mad enough that he knows she heard at least some of Bucky’s yelling. Good. She’ll set their asshole friends straight much more efficiently than Bucky ever could.

“Papa, long cookies, look,” TJ enthuses once he reaches Bucky, holding up his arms to be picked up. He holds one slightly soggy biscuit against Bucky’s lips, and nods in satisfaction when Bucky takes a bite. “Tasty.”

It takes Bucky a moment to get himself under control enough to answer, “Yeah, baby. Very tasty.” He clears his throat, kisses TJ’s forehead, and murmurs, “I love you, sweetheart.”

Everyone in the room—Bucky included, although for a very different reason—seems to be in varying states of shock and disbelief. Steve’s especially pale, though, looking at something over Bucky’s shoulder, so Bucky turns to see what—

“Tony,” Bucky says, then stops talking, having absolutely no idea what else to say.

Tony’s expression as he watches the Howlies and Steve is unreadable. When he walks into the room and picks the ring up from the table, Bucky’s heart sinks, but then Tony turns to him, and smiles, watery but huge. He licks his lips, and ducks his head, blushing a little, but his voice is clear when he holds the ring out, and says, “I haven’t changed my mind.”

“Tony,” Bucky says, again, and this time he doesn’t have to say anything else because Tony gets up on his toes, and kisses him.

TJ gives a squawk of protest at being squished between them, though it turns into giggles when Bucky peppers one of his cheeks with kisses, and Tony blows a raspberry on the other. Then Bucky catches Tony’s mouth again, talking right against his lips. “Let’s get outta here.”

Tony nods, and sets TJ on his own hip, then holds his free hand out to Bucky. “Let’s go home.”

“Bucky,” Dum Dum calls, hurrying after them, the rest of the Howlies and Steve hot on his heels. “I’m sorry.” He looks at Tony, as serious as Bucky’s ever seen him. “We’re all sorry.”

“I don’t give a shit,” Bucky says, tugging Tony along to the door. “Not right now.”

“Bad word,” TJ crows gleefully.

Tony laughs, happy and so, so beautiful. And Bucky, well. He just has to kiss him again.

2020

TJ is darting from Howlie to Howlie with his water gun, cackling like mad as he shoots water at them. He squeals in delight when Steve upends a bowl of water over his head, shaking himself like a dog, and proceeds to rub his wet head against Steve’s face when Steve picks him up.

In Bucky’s arms, Gus makes a small noise, looking grumpy and smacking his lips. Bucky brushes a kiss over the top of his head, and starts swaying gently. “You hungry, buddy? Do we need to go find your daddy?”

After a quick glance to make sure Addie’s still sleeping peacefully in her stroller in the shade, Bucky starts making his way across the yard. TJ’s managed to talk Steve into wrestling with him, and the Howlies are cheering and egging them on, making Bucky kind of glad that TJ is staying over with Peggy and Steve tonight, and he won’t have to put him to sleep.

He gives them a wide berth, rounds the corner of the house, and stops in his tracks when he finally spots Tony, a small, undoubtedly sappy smile spreading over his face. Tony’s lying in one of the lawn chairs, face slack in sleep, and one hand absently cradling the barely there bump of his stomach. Bucky takes a moment to just watch, to drink him in, before perching on the edge of the chair, and stroking a hand through Tony’s hair.

“Bucky,” Tony mumbles, still more asleep than awake, leaning into the touch. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” Bucky whispers back, and moves his hand to rub at Tony’s stomach, cupping the bump. “Love you all so much.”

A/N: And that’s a wrap, folks! Thanks for liking, reblogging, and commenting on this story, you’re all awesome!

(And for those of you who are curious: the twins are called Augustus Grant and Maria Adelaide.)

[mveloc]

To Create

Author’s Note: I originally posted this three years ago on AO3, but seeing as how we got a tiny glimpse of Cophine and a baby, I figured I’d repost it here for those interested ;)

“So... boy or girl?”

From the second they’d walked in the door, Alison had been all over them, taking their bags and coats and hanging them in the closet. She damn near dragged the dreadlocked woman over to the couch in the living room as the blonde followed closely behind, trying her hardest to contain her laughter. Her smirk was met by a death glare from behind cat-eyed frames.

“We’re not really sure,” Cosima replies, trying to hide her discomfort as Alison buzzes around her, fluffing pillows and pulling the footrest closer so that short legs can reach it.

“We decided that we want to wait,” Delphine chimes in, taking a seat next to Cosima on the couch.

“Oh, that’s so exciting! I don’t know if I’d have the restraint. I’d want to know right away, so I could start decorating the nursery,” Alison replies. “How about you? Have you started buying things for the baby?”

“Well, Delphine makes me take these fuc--” she pauses, staring over at Oscar, Gemma and Kira playing in the other room and catching herself. “Friggin vitamins. And she made me swear off In-N-Out, which I’m pretty sure is, like, a human rights violation or something.”

Alison laughs.

“No, no. I meant, like, for the nursery. Do you have a crib? A stroller? A diaper bag? A carseat? Unisex clothing?” she pries.

Cosima opens her mouth to reply, but she quickly realizes that she has no response, so she closes it again. She flashes Delphine a panicked look and the French woman smiles at her sympathetically.

“What? We need all that stuff now?” she whispers. “The thing isn’t even coming for, like, another three months. We’ve got time, right?”

“Yes, but these things creep up on you!” Alison interjects, slipping herself between the couple. “It might seem like a lot of time now, but a lot can happen in three months, Cosima. You of all people should know that. Before you know it, you’ll be in the delivery room freaking out because you don’t even have a place for the baby to sleep!”

“Oi! Stop scaring her, will you?”

Sarah finally emerges from the kitchen, a glass of wine in hand and Felix in tow.

“I’m just making sure she understands the reality of having a child,” Alison bites back. “I want her to be prepared. Motherhood isn’t easy.”

“Well, if my sister can do it, I’m pretty sure those two’ll be fine,” Felix says offhandedly. “They’ve got PhDs, Sarah’s got a criminal record. They’re already off to a better start.”

Sarah slugs him in the arm, causing the slender young man to recoil and his wine to rush out overtop the rim of the glass, a few droplets threatening to spill onto the floor. The housewife’s eyes immediately widen at the act.

“Ah, ah, ah!” Alison scolds. “No wine on the carpet! I just had it cleaned! Into the kitchen, both of you!”

As she chases the destructive duo out of the room, Cosima lets out a muted sigh of relief and Delphine’s hand finds her own, grasping it gently. She brushes her fingers overtop her knuckles, stroking softly.

“Don’t worry, mon amour,” she says, reassuring her lover. “We’ll be fine. The baby will be fine. Everything will be fine.”

“Yeah,” Cosima smiles, nodding in response. “It will, won’t it?”

Delphine leans in, pressing her lips to Cosima’s and bringing her hand to the shorter girl’s face, cupping it. The kiss is chaste in nature and the brunette is tempted to taint it with tongue, only she remembers their present company and when they break apart, she becomes painfully aware of a set of eyes on them.

“H-Hey, Kira,” Cosima says, leaning back on the couch.

Kira flashes her a toothy grin, then launches herself forward and wraps her arms around the clone’s neck, nearly knocking the wind out of her. The sudden movement surprises Delphine, but after she watches the young girl settle in Cosima’s arms, her demeanor shifts until she’s starry-eyed and smiling; the first time she ever saw Cosima with Kira, enthusiastically reading the astute child a worn down copy of “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” she knew that one day, Cosima would be carrying her child. Sure enough, that day had come.

Kira reaches forward, pressing the palm of her hand to Cosima’s swollen stomach, tilting her head in fascination like a dog hearing a sound for the very first time.

“Cool, huh?” Cosima asks. “Pretty soon, you’re gonna have a new cousin.”

“What are you going to name her?”

Her question catches both women off guard. They exchange skeptical glances, then stare back down to the child in Cosima’s arms.

“We don’t know if it’s a girl yet, kiddo,” Cosima tries to explain.

“It’s a girl,” Kira replies, matter-of-factly.

The spectacled clone has never once told Sarah that her daughter often freaked her out. Kira is adorable, but her acute awareness for the world around her is far beyond the level of any typical child-- of any typical adult, really. It is as unnerving as it is fascinating.

“Let’s go see what your mom is up to,” Cosima suggests, looking over to Delphine.

The French woman nods. Kira smiles and jumps off her aunt, rushing into the kitchen. Delphine extends a hand to Cosima and helps her to her feet. They make their way into the kitchen to find Sarah and Felix leaning against the counter, bickering with one another, casually sipping on their wine. Alison is tending to the stove, where Helena is also hovering, dipping her fingers into pots and picking at food whenever she has a chance.

“Would you stop that?” Alison asks, swatting at Helena’s hand. “You’re not gonna have any room for dinner!”

“Don’t think you gotta worry about that ever happening, yeah?” Sarah utters with a smirk.

The frazzled blonde responds with a sly grin, her tongue quickly darting in and out in a reptilian-like manner, mocking the soccer mom. Alison rolls her eyes, eventually giving up with the Ukrainian altogether, allowing her to steal tiny tastes. Kira runs to her aunt and Helena lifts her off the ground, holding her over the stove, allowing her niece to assist her with the preliminary taste test.

The sound of the front door slamming shut catches the attention of everyone in the room. Alison calls for her husband, but Cosima, Sarah and Felix all smirk when they hear the sound of heavy boots clunking on tile, knowing it can only mean one person.

“Oh. Hello, Tony,” Alison says with a tight-lipped smile, her eyes focusing on her male counterpart’s dirty boots on her pristine floor.

“Heyo,” he replies with his characteristic, cocky grin. “Where’s the grub? I’m starving over here.”

“Did you bring more wine?” Alison asks, staring at the brown LCBO bag.

“Wine? Why the hell would I bring wine?”

He reaches into the paper bag, tossing a bottle of whiskey in Felix’s direction and a beer at Sarah. They both managed to catch the gifts without dropping them and the siblings immediately light up.

“I’ve got beer and whiskey. Let’s get this party started.”

“Ah. You’re just my type of man, Tony,” Sarah replies with a grin, popping open the tab on the tall can and bringing it to her lips.

“I’m everyone’s type of man,” he says with a wink. “Don’t you forget it.”

Tony places the bag on the countertop and then finally turns to take notice of Cosima and Delphine, combing his eyes over Cosima’s figure before smiling widely.

“Shit. Baby mamma’s a good look for you, Cos.”

Cosima chuckles, opening her arms to invite Tony into a hug. He isn’t around as much as the rest of the members of Clone Club, but every now and then, he makes a point to drop in and say hello, just to see how everyone’s doing and to let them know he’s still alive. When she’d first met Tony, they’d immediately hit it off, bonding over beer and a bong. Of her extended clone family, Tony was probably the one she had the most in common with and so it was easy for the two of them to be. The only real point of contention between the two was Tony’s constant flirting with her girlfriend. Even now, as he embraced Cosima tightly, his eyes were raking over Delphine’s body with a wicked glint.

“Delphine. Looking breathtaking, as always.”

“Dude. You haven’t even stopped hugging me yet and you’re already flirting with my girlfriend,” Cosima mutters into his shoulder.

Delphine simply laughs, a light blush beginning to rise in her cheeks as she chews on her lower lip. Tony carries himself with all the same swagger and confidence as Cosima and despite a raggedy mess of hair and beard, he even shares her face.

“It’s very good to see you again, Tony,” she replies.

Tony finally pulls away from Cosima and steps closer towards the blonde as the dreadlocked clone watches with arms crossed over her chest. He finds Delphine’s hand, bringing the back of it to his lips.

“Oh, no. You’re the sight for sore eyes in this room, that’s for damn sure.”

Felix and Sarah start laughing hysterically while Cosima shakes her head in amazement. She knows she should feel jealous and maybe even agitated with her counterpart, but she can’t help but be blown away by his forwardness, especially with her standing not two feet away from him. She finds it almost admirable.

“You know, I’m standing right here.”

“Yeah, you’re kinda hard to miss these days,” he retorts, offering her a wink and another cocky smile.

It isn’t long before Donnie arrives, returning from the bakery with desert on his wife’s order. It’s been a couple of years since the initial shock of his wife’s true nature, but he’s still very much getting used to the idea of clones. It was somehow easier when it was only Alison and Sarah, but then it became Alison and Sarah and Cosima, and now there are five identical faces sitting at his dining room table and every now and then he has to remind himself to breathe, that he isn’t living in some sort of conspiracy film. Luckily enough, Oscar and Gemma have adjusted well to the news of new aunts and uncles; they light up whenever they see Aunt Sarah teasing Alison and giggle whenever Aunt Helena makes one of her many contorted faces at them; they coo when Uncle Tony lets them touch his beard or when Aunt Cosima brings a new book of experiments to try. There is a strange sense of normalcy amongst all of the bizarreness.

They all settle into dinner with relative ease, swapping stories as readily as food across the table. Tony details what he’s been up to for the four months since he last visited, mostly stirring up trouble across the east coast. Alison gushes about the renovations to the house while Donnie smiles and nods along. Helena is quiet, her eyes shifting from speaker to speaker, observing carefully as she shovels food into her mouth. Everyone asks Cosima about the baby and each time she manages to divert the conversation to the research her and Delphine are doing at DYAD, much to the dismay of the table. Since Delphine has taken over directorship of the DYAD, they’ve been able to steer their research in an entirely new direction. It’s the reason why, despite all of the crimes DYAD has perpetrated upon her and her sisters, Cosima has decided to stay on board.

“Enough science talk, you freak,” Sarah snaps.

“Yeah. I’m not drunk enough for that crap yet,” Tony mutters.

“You seriously don’t have any names picked out for the baby yet?” Alison presses.

“We haven’t decided on anything yet,” Cosima finally relents.

“I always liked Lionel for a boy,” Alison suggests.

“And I always liked the prospect of my child being able to make it past the third grade without being beaten to death.”

The entire table begins to snicker aside from the soccer mom, who glares at the dreadlocked clone.

“Auntie Cosima’s having a girl,” Kira pipes up, tugging on Sarah’s sleeve.

“You think so, monkey?” Sarah asks, resting a hand atop her daughters head and stroking tenderly.

The child nods enthusiastically and Cosima smiles. She glances to her side to find the blonde smiling back at her.

“You will be a good mother.”

Everyone diverts their attention to the Ukrainian who has set down her fork long enough to speak. Her eyes are wide and swimming, flickering in their unpredictability, but there’s an underlying kindness and innocence.

“You are very smart. And very kind. Your baby is lucky.”

Cosima flashes her best megawatt smile.

“Thank you, Helena.”

“One day, I will also have babies.”

She’d come very close before, but she’d forfeited her embryos to save the dreadlocked scientist, an act the mother-to-be will never forget. Her own pregnancy had ended in heartbreak when she lost her child early on while in the military’s hands.

“I know,” Cosima replies. “And when you do, your babies will have lots of cousins to play with.”

The blonde’s grin is small, hardly noticeable, yet the entire room takes note.

+ + + + + + + + + +

The house is alive and vibrant, the sound of laughter and conversation echoing off the walls, tickling her eardrums. She closes her eyes for a second and tries to take it all in, all the sounds of life happening around her, inside of her. At times it seems too much, like when Alison is pestering her about names and nurseries, like when her body is betraying her, but other times -- times like this very moment, with Tony and Felix and their boisterous laughter, with Sarah and Helena making faces at each other through mouthfuls of pie, with the squealing delight of a bottled tornado called forth by a golden goddess, solely for the amusement of her cherub-like audience -- it seems like enough to keep going; like the flower petals and honey bees, like the stars in the galaxy and every molecule of her shared DNA, it all falls into place and carries on.

She slips downstairs into the basement, to the very place where she met Sarah for the first time, where Clone Club truly began. She smiles, reminiscing. Sure, the circumstances behind that meeting were far from perfect, but she thinks back on that night with such fondness now.

If feels like a lifetime ago.

Perhaps it was.

She was a different person then, back before she knew Sarah, before she knew Delphine, before she’d gotten sick.

She slides open the back door and steps out onto the lawn. It’s uncharacteristically warm for this time of year, the cool autumn weather a welcome relief against her skin, raising tiny pimples of flesh. She takes a seat on a patio chair and tilts her head towards the sky, trying her best to make out the faint sparkle of stars through the thick smog of pollution. She sits like that, in silent reverence, for several minutes before she hears the door slide once again and feels the presence of another person. Tilting her head, she spies Sarah maneuvering her way through the door, closing it quietly behind her.

“Hey,” she says cheerily, greeting her sister with a smile.

Sarah returns her smile with an identical one, then takes a seat in the chair next to Cosima.

“How’re you feeling?” the punk asks.

“I’m fine. Just came out here for a little air,” Cosima shrugs.

“I hear you. Donnie and Alison are bickering, Felix and Tony are right smashed, Helena’s laid claim to the bloody desert table and your girlfriend is giving the kids an impromptu science lesson. Getting a little cramped in there, yeah?” she laughs.

“About to get a whole lot more cramped, too,” the scientist mumbles.

She says it more for her own ears, but her British counterpart is able to pick it up. She grows more serious, her eyes dragging over the tattooed clone, finally settling on her stomach with a sense of awe.

“Shit. It’s hard to believe you’re having a baby, Cos.”

Cosima smiles.

“I know. Just a couple of years ago, my uterus was trying to kill me. Now there’s a human baking in there. Who would’ve thought?”

They both chuckle, Sarah reaching over to find her sister’s hand. Identical fingers dance with one another, testing and exploring, and several minutes of easy, unadulterated silence pass between them before she finally speaks again.

“You know, I didn’t even know you wanted kids.”

Cosima laughs again.

“I didn’t. Not really,” she replies. “I mean, I like kids and everything, but I never thought they were for me.”

“Why’d you change your mind?” Sarah pries.

“I guess after everything that’s happened, I kinda reevaluated certain aspects of my life,” she tries to explain. “But Delphine always wanted kids. She said she wanted to wait until she was settled in her career before it happened, though. We figured now was as good a time as any.”

Sarah nods.

“I get all that, but... but why you, I mean?” Sarah clarifies. “Couldn’t Delphine... or... you know... adoption and stuff?”

She pauses for a moment to consider Sarah’s question. It’s one Delphine asked her, as well, those many months ago. It’s one she asked herself before she worked up the resolve to follow through. When she had tried to explain it to her lover, Delphine had nodded and accepted her answer, although she doubts the blonde actually understands her reasoning. Sarah, on the other hand, possess an innate clarity that only she and a handful of others do.

“Why you?”

Why, when every molecule of their DNA is entangled with mishap and failure and heartbreak and disaster? Why, with all of the risks involved? Even with Duncan’s gene therapy rendering her fertile, there is an abundance of them. Why subject herself to it all?

“I wanted it to be me.”

She grips Sarah’s hand a little tighter, her demeanor losing its usual lightness, her smile giving way to seriousness. Her eyes narrow as she stares off straight ahead into nothing, reading the air, and Sarah takes note, watching her dreadlocked sister with a head cocked in intrigue.

“Maybe it’s selfish, but for the very first time, I finally had a say in all of this,” she says, gesturing to her body. “It’s my family. Something I chose. No... something I made. No one can take that away.”

No one can slap a patent on that.

“You know, that’s the first thing you’ve ever said that makes perfect sense to me.”

“I know,” Cosima replies with a gentle squeeze of her hand.

Even in their outdoor sanctuary, they can still hear the commotion stirring inside and no one seems to take note of their absence, or if they do, no one bothers to come looking for them. Music starts to play and while neither of them can distinguish the song, the sound of Felix and Tony’s voices are all too distinct.

“Looks like we’re missing quite the party in there, yeah?” Sarah jests.

“I’m sure they can do without their geek monkey and their fearless leader for a little while.”

A reserved smile spreads across Sarah’s face.

“Fearless leader, eh?”

“Well, ringleader’s more accurate. I was trying to make you sound noble. Chalk it up to the hormones or whatever,” Cosima retorts.

“Bitch.”

They laugh in unison, Sarah leaning over to rest her head on Cosima’s shoulder. While Sarah has maintained her wild spirit, she’s settled down considerably since she first became a member of Clone Club. The dreadlocked clone suspects that her relationship with Cal as well as her custody of Kira has something to do with it. Her sister has grown in so many ways, but then they all have. As she continues to contemplate their development over the last few years, both women perk up when they hear the sound of a car pull up outside. Not expecting visitors, Cosima gives Sarah a confused look but the punk seems far less bemused.

“That’s probably for me,” she says.

She’s back on her feet, heading over toward the gate. When it swings open and Cal appears, Cosima smiles and watches as he bends down to greet Sarah with a gentle peck. The two exchange a few words the pregnant clone is unable to decipher and Cal finally peers over in her direction.

“Hey, Cosima,” he says with a crooked grin, throwing a half-wave her way

“Hiya, Cal,” she replies, returning his wave with one of her own.

The two of them walk back over to where Cosima is sitting, stopping a few feet in front of her. He gives her a once-over, his eyes wide with surprise. He chuckles to himself as he takes in her new state.

“Wow. You’re looking... very, uh, pregnant.”

“Meh. What can you do?” she shrugs.

“Do you mind if I steal her away for a little bit?” he asks, motioning towards Sarah.

“Not at all. She’s pretty dull company as it is,” she answers, waving her hand dismissively.

“Oi. Watch it, lesbi-friends, or I’ll beat that baby right out of you,” Sarah says with a smirk, a bite with no venom.

“I’m not sure how I would feel about that.”

The heavily accented voice intervenes and they all turn their heads to acknowledge the blonde who’s stealthily slipping out the door into the yard. Cosima meets Delphine’s grin with one of her own while Cal and Sarah nod in her direction. As the taller woman slips into the chair previously occupied by Sarah, the punk and her lumberjack quietly make their exit, disappearing beyond the gate and giving the two women their privacy.

“What are you doing out here without your jacket?” Delphine inquires.

“It’s not that cold.”

“Even so.”

She hands the scarlet coat to Cosima who drapes it over her shoulders. She isn’t cold, but she doesn’t want to argue with the persistently protective blonde. Delphine studies her lover’s face intently as Cosima continues to stare off towards the sky without saying a single word.

“Is everything okay, mon amour?” she pries.

Cosima nods.

“Yeah. I’ve just been thinking a lot lately.”

“About what?”

“Oh. Just like... life, death. You know.”

“How very specific of you,” Delphine teases with a laugh.

“Sorry. It’s kinda hard to explain, but it makes sense in my head.”

Delphine simply nods and accepts the brunette’s answer. They’ve been together long enough for her to understand how her lover’s mind works; she accepts the fact the Cosima’s brain functions on a level that she, nor anyone else, will ever be truly privy to. It’s completely natural to ponder the whys and hows of the universe, but for Cosima, every single breath she takes comes with a new perspective, new and unfounded possibilities.

“It’s getting late,” Delphine whispers. “Perhaps we should head out soon.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.”

+ + + + + + + + + + +

She’s all too eager to remove her shoes the second she steps in the door, releasing a long sigh of relief as soon as her feet are free from their confines. She tosses her coat over the back of the couch, ignoring her lover’s quiet sigh of irritation at the act; being pregnant means her messiness goes (for the most part) unchallenged. Delphine quickly scoops it up, hanging it in its rightful place on the coat rack as Cosima disappears into the bedroom, shedding articles of clothing on her way. Despite being only six months along, she feels like she’s been carrying the baby for years, growing a little more uncomfortable every day; her feet are constantly swollen, her back and knees are constantly aching, and her clothes never seem to fit quite right anymore.

“Perhaps if you wore more... appropriate clothes, you wouldn’t feel so uncomfortable all the time, ma cherie,” Delphine says, leaning against the doorframe and watching as the brunette digs through her drawer for a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

“What? Like maternity wear?” she asks, turning to arch a brow in the blonde’s direction.

Delphine shrugs.

“Yeah. No way am I rocking mom duds. You can just put me out to pasture if you ever catch me in a moo moo,” Cosima replies with a suppressed laugh, finally finding what she’s looking for. “Just because I have my own gravitational pull now doesn’t mean I can’t still look good.”

She pulls the sweatpants up her legs, then tugs the oversized Berkley t-shirt down over her head, reveling in the smallest semblance of comfort that she’s been able to find. She was always on the small side, never having to worry about her weight. Even now, swollen with a child, she’s still probably smaller than most pregnant women but it’s an added weight that she simply isn’t able to get used to. Instead of going out and buying more “appropriate clothing,” as Delphine suggested, she took to wearing skirts and looser fitting tops and sweaters, of which she had plenty in her wardrobe, determined to cling to her style.

She feels a pair of arms wrap around her waist and she smiles as the European pulls her back into her chest.

“You always look good, ma cherie,” Delphine says, planting a gentle kiss to the side of the clone’s head.

“You’re just saying that because you have to,” she retorts.

“I say it because it’s true. You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

Maybe it’s the excess of hormones, but she feels herself beginning to melt. She turns into Delphine, attempting to wrap her arms around her neck, although it’s a little harder than usual with her swollen stomach between them. Delphine chuckles lightly at the awkward attempt, her hands gently cupping the bulge, stroking and caressing. She slowly drops to her knees, pressing the side of her face to Cosima’s stomach.

“Bonsoir, mon petite chou,” she coos. “J'ai hâte de te rencontre.”

Cosima beams, resting her hand atop the French woman’s head, threading her fingers through golden locks while lightly scratching at her scalp. They’re both doctors and yet, something about the miracle of life seems to have thrown them both through a loop.

“Just so you know, you’re totally having the next one.”

Delphine’s smile widens. She rises to her feet once again, cupping the brunette’s face in her hands. She softly presses her lips to Cosima’s in a whisper of affection, stroking her cheekbones with the pads of her thumbs.

“Is that so?” she challenges.

“Mmhm,” Cosima replies, pressing her forehead to the blonde’s. “Given that we don’t kill this one, of course.”

“Cosima!”

Her scolding is met by a light swat to the arm and she giggles as Delphine tries her best to muster a glare, only it comes out far less threatening than the European intends.

“I’m just saying! Have you ever actually seen me with a baby?”

“I’ve seen enough,” Delphine mutters, sauntering away.

She mirrors Cosima’s previous actions, peeling her clothing away while the brunette admires the newly revealed expanse of skin. She digs through the drawer until she finds her own sleep clothes and slips them on.

“Besides. I’ve had enough of doctors tampering with my reproductive organs,” Cosima adds, walking over towards the bed and pulling the covers down so that the two are free to slip inside. “Once this kid comes out, the only one coming near my lady bits again is you.”

“So eloquent.”

“Don’t you know it. Turn of phrase-- yet another genetic gift I have to offer our child.”

Delphine tries her best to stifle her laughter at the American’s wit, but Cosima can see the corners of her mouth upturned in a smile and a grin of her own forms. She leans back against the headboard as she watches Delphine pick up the clothes she had discarded earlier and throw them in the laundry basket, trying her best to maintain some semblance of cleanliness. Once the blonde is satisfied with the state of their bedroom, she follows suit and joins Cosima under the covers.

“I wanna see you get big and fat and pregnant. Then we can see if it’s so funny when you’re the one waddling around like a constipated penguin,” she muses, tucking her head beneath Delphine’s chin and burying her face in her neck.

She inhales deeply, the European’s familiar scent easing away all the tension in her body and the uncertainty surrounding her own mothering capabilities. She knows that as long as they’re together like this, they’ll somehow manage to figure it out. Even if they both prove to be completely inept parents, even if their daughter is as clever and mischievous as the brunette, there’s no doubt in her mind that their child will be loved.

She thinks this is enough.

“You will have to bring me Eskimo Pies every night,” Delphine retorts, wrapping an arm around her lover and pulling her even tighter against her body.

“I can totally do that,” Cosima mumbles against her skin. “Although I can’t promise any of them will actually make it as far as your mouth.”

They both giggle, Delphine’s fingers dancing along the brunette’s back, tracing soothing patterns. A few moments of silence pass, their breathing syncs up as their bodies melt into each other; their typical bedtime ritual. As sleep tugs at her brain, the sound of Delphine’s gentle whisper pulls her back.

“Okay.”

“Hm?” she mumbles.

“I’ll do it.”

As soon as the words leave her mouth, another massive smile finds its place amongst her face. She presses a kiss against the French woman’s jugular, garnering an airy sigh.

“Delphine Cormier, are you saying you want to have my baby?” she teases.

“Well, you’re carrying mine, mon amour. I suppose it’s only fair,” the doctor concedes.

Cosima releases a long yawn before nuzzling her face in Delphine’s neck once again.

“True. Very true.”

Delphine shifts, turning the two onto their sides so she is spooning the brunette. Her hands reach around to Cosima’s roundness and settle there, as they’ve done nearly every night for the last six months. She’s grown used to falling asleep with gentle kicks against the palm of her hand.

“We’ve got time. We’ll talk about this later,” she whispers into Cosima’s ear.

Cosima nods and settles into the warmth engulfing her.

“Yeah. I’ll ask you again in three months, when there’s a screaming bundle of joy tearing out of my vagina. Then we’ll see how committed you really are.”

“Must you?” the blonde expels.

Cosima’s lips rise

“You know me. Just trying to keep it real.”

And she does know.

Laying there with Cosima, alive and healthy and vibrant, all smiles and jokes and overwhelming presence, she is reminded of how real this is. Laying there with their child softly rapping, she realizes that despite life nearly fading away not so long ago, here it is again, only this time on the other end of the spectrum; here is life, falling into their hands and not slipping through their fingers.

It’s both human and divine.

[marauders-groupie]

Prompt! Little ghost trying to find his ghost dog on halloween!

The humans wouldn’t understand it, he’s sure.

He’s seen how they love: carelessly, with very little regard for what gets broken. Unless it costs a lot of money. Then, and only then, they care.

And he sees it again, walking down the street of a suburb he likes to haunt on Halloween. Every Halloween. He’s been told that he shouldn’t - Halloween is a strange place in time, the veil is a little thinner than usual. He could get seen. 

(They say seen as though humans don’t already want to believe in ghosts. They have Ouija boards and have come up with three thousand different invocations, none of which ever work.) 

(Honestly, if he lets them see him - he would be doing them a favor.)

He always does. There’s a strange feeling around this place, like the playground older kids like to gather in with beer they stole from their parents’ fridges, sneaking sips and relishing in the delight of doing something forbidden. He misses that. That’s what he could have had.

It’s not that death is bad. He’s met a lot of his relatives, ancestors, all those he hasn’t met during his eleven years amongst the living. He sees a lot of himself in his great-great-uncle, they’ve got the same nose and the same jovial cynicism. 

(Death teaches you words like jovial cynicism.)

He also has a dog, Billy. He’s not a pedigree dog or anything, just your common alley dog with mismatched ears and a tail that suggests there was probably a German Shephard somewhere in his genealogy but the evidence is inconclusive. 

They always haunted this suburb together. Billy would snatch sweets kids got from trick or treating, wearing ridiculous sheets as a costume and mimicking them. They even put sheets on their dogs, something Billy would chuckle about in his doggy manner. Well, he’s not sure if dogs chuckle, but then again he wasn’t sure ghosts existed and now he is one.

Life is weird.

Death is even weirder.

“Billy!” 

His voice carries across the street but not like the merry children’s. It carries beneath, below, through and above. Never in the same pitch. 

A teenager in the playground flinches and he stops. For a second, he thinks he’ll be seen and then everyone can tell him ‘we told you so, you should’ve listened to us, we’ve been ghosts longer, we know how this works,’ and he really doesn’t want that. 

It’s nothing in the end. When humans do think they’ve seen ghosts, they do their best to make themselves forget it. They’ll tell stories of something they might have seen once probably but just out of the corner of my eye, then again I do not have 20/20 vision haha am I right, Mike my man?  He doesn’t really hope for much from these people.

“Billy!”

He’s breezing past a family with two kids in strollers now. One dad is dressed as Captain America and the other dad is Bucky Barnes. The kids are Thor and Loki, respectively. 

(Of course he knows Marvel. Everyone always talks about Marvel.)

The Bucky dad laughs at something and Captain America smiles fondly.

He’s missed out on that, too. Eleven years is nothing, you can’t fall in love by the time you are eleven. You don’t get to have someone look at you the way these two men look at each other. 

Death isn’t bad, it’s just kind of pointless. Why would you fall in love, anyway? 

“Billy!”

By the time he calls out for the fiftieth time, he’s tired. For him, it’s hollow, a need to go back home, and not the home at the end of the cul-de-sac in this suburb. The other home. The home with no table lamps or posters on the wall.

(He loved Spiderman when he was alive. Made his dad buy him every comic that came out.)

He lucked out, he’s sure. Life is never easy. Death, at least, comes with nothing but rules. Follow them and you’ll be set for life.

Well.

“Billy, come on, this isn’t funny anymore!”

And then he feels it.

At first, it’s like a nudge, a little push. Something breaking right in his ribcage. He grabs at his shirt but his fingers go through his chest.

Again, and the lights go dim. Again. 

When he turns around, there’s a girl pulling at his sleeve.

She doesn’t seem to mind that he’s a ghost; her fingers stay attached to what would be cotton. 

“Excuse me, mister, is this dog yours?”

When he looks down, Billy is curled beneath her feet, his head resting on his paws. 

The girl’s got blue eyes and neon pink pigtails. 

“I just found him here so I thought I’d keep him company, but it’s so late now and my parents will be worried, so.”

She sticks her hands behind her back and he wants to laugh. 

Fuck it, he’s going to laugh.

The girl blinks. 

“Are you okay?”

“No, not really.”

Her brow furrows but she just says a little, “Oh.” Like there is nothing spectacular about it.

“You can see me?”

“Why wouldn’t I see you?” The question is ridiculous to her and she skips straight to the point, “The dog? Is it yours, then?”

“Sure, he’s mine. His name is Billy.”

She reaches down to pet him and smiles. Humans, he’s noticed, mostly smile at dogs - never their owners. No one wants the bother. 

“And what’s your name?”

“Shouldn’t you be home?”

“I’m already late. Name?”

He doesn’t know. He’s forgotten. Names are not important when you’re dead. Everyone can see your soul anyway.

Maybe that’s why he’s only got Billy. 

“Let’s say Jack.”

“Nice to meet you, Jack. I’m Anna.”

A moment passes in silence, his head still whirling that she can see him. No one does. No one does and they told him that if he was seen, bad things would happen.

But the girl just grins and asks, “So, what’s it like being a ghost?” 

He sputters, “You - “

“My grandmother’s a ghost, too. She says it’s boring but I don’t know. Maybe it’s different for everyone?”

“Wait, what?”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to tell anyone,” she shoots back, rolling her eyes like he should’ve known that already. “They’d think I’m nuts anyway. I was just wondering.”

“It’s - it’s something,” he offers but finds that he cannot describe it. It’s not a physical place, there are no colors but there are many. There’s no one but there is everyone. “Let’s hope you don’t find out soon.”

The girl grins again, the smile putting creases in her cheeks. “I have about fifty more years.”

“Is it normal for humans to be able to see ghosts and predict their own death now or is this new?”

There’s a gleam in her eye now and he thinks that maybe he’s imagining it, maybe there’s nothing there, maybe he was so bored he came up with a small human girl to help him pass the time. 

She pets Billy again and this time, her voice is louder, her eyes are older. 

“Everything is always new, Jack. You really shouldn’t stick to what you know. After all, you came here not expecting to be seen. And look at us now.”

“Who are you?”

Anna laughs like a thousand crystal bells. It makes his heart hurt. 

“Happy Halloween, Jack. It was really nice to meet you.” She ducks and gives Billy a hug. Her hands don’t pass through the mist. “Bye, Billy.”

She leaves him completely stunned, skipping away down the road where there is people and life and light. When the glow of the lamps hits her right, she looks like her head is on fire.

He wants to cry or laugh or break something, at least. She leaves and leaves and he can’t stop her but she freezes in her steps just as she’s about to take a right turn towards a lawn decorated with twenty types of different skeletons.

“Oh, and Jack?” 

She shouts but no one in the street turns. 

“You should really give the living a chance!” 

*

He returns every Halloween. 

Anna does, too. 

Every time, she helps Billy get lost and then he finds them together. One year, it’s in the playground and she’s grown taller, hair brown now, braces on her teeth.

Another, they’re in a shrub somewhere, and she’s put reindeer antlers on Billy’s head. He laughs with her and ignores that she’s taller than him. 

Fifth year, he asks her what it’s like to be alive and she hides her hands. 

“It’s not easy. But it’s better than being dead.”

Tenth year and she’s smiling at him from the porch, got home late last night and doesn’t feel like dressing up. He keeps her company, ignores how Billy seems to favor her more these days.

Twentieth year and she’s got children now, two sons who give her sloppy kisses as they go out to trick and treat. A husband she loves. 

“He seems nice.”

Anna smiles at him. “He really is.”

Thirty years pass and not a lot has changed. She’s got wrinkles, he doesn’t, but Billy still likes her best. 

Fifty years and she smiles at him two days before Halloween. 

“Told you so, didn’t I?”

Her soul is orange but when she takes a look at his, muddy grey, she doesn’t move away. Instead, she links her arm through his and grins just like she always did. 

“Want to introduce me to everyone?”

One hundred and fifty, and they stop counting. 

Every Halloween, they haunt the same suburb and Billy gets between their feet, makes them nearly trip over themselves. Anna still likes walking, but he’ll get annoyed and start gliding. 

Her children are there too and it strikes him the first time he sees her second son, orange soul - just like Anna’s. How similar they are. How alive they are, even in death. 

With every passing year, he feels something in him melt. He doesn’t know if there’s a light he’ll follow one day, but he thinks he has one in his chest now. They watch humans don costumes and makeup and he laughs, more than ever. 

He’s never laughed before. 

“So, is your name really Jack?” she asks one day, kicking pebbles on a lake somewhere. He doesn’t know where they are, thinks it must be her thing. This is the place she wants to haunt. He doesn’t mind, as long as he’s with her.

“I forgot my name. Jack sounded right.”

She nods, but looks away. “How come, though? How do you forget your name?”

“There was no one to remind me. Look at my soul, Anna. Who’d want to remind me?”

He’s never understood how it works but he supposed that it must have had something to do with who he was before. He wasn’t particularly good, always wanted a little more, always wanted to stand shoulder to shoulder with his peers and win. 

This felt like a fitting punishment.

But Anna looks up sharply and raises her eyebrows. “Yeah, you should really look at yourself now, Jack.”

So he does, because he’s always done what Anna told him to and he’s never regretted it. 

She is his favorite, out of humans, out of ghosts. Anna was always his in a way that he was hers and it wasn’t a matter of belonging - after all, it was too late for belonging now anyway - but a matter of fitting together.

When he looks down, he sees the Halloweens - she, him and Billy. He sees the people in the streets, always laughing. He sees the kids picking themselves up after falling down, without fail. He sees Anna’s son hugging her when he got here. He sees how she couldn’t cry but she could laugh so that’s what she did.

Most of all, he sees.

He sees all of that reflected in him and when he looks back up, Anna is smiling.

“Who would have guessed? We match.”