#muse development: laura banks

[andipxndy-writes]

Mama’s In Town - Rick & Laura

[[Here’s another one! This is technically a prequel to the thread I recently started with @a-simple-rper, and because we love to timeline jump this is set not long after the triplets are born. Basically, Rick is terrified of his mom. And rightfully so, because she’s a tough woman and she gotta whip him into shape somehow.

Anyway I love watching muses have their asses kicked into gear and here we have Mama Judy doing exactly that.

Enjoy!]]

Mama’s In Town

Sam didn’t usually expect people at the bar. Yeah, the regulars usually turned up, and Jake, Milly and Alex were away and travelling so often that they’d almost lost hope in them ever turning up again at times. But this was the first time they’d expected someone to turn up, and boy were they glad to be expecting them.

Thank God Kat had warned them the day before.

That was why they didn’t look too surprised when the short elderly woman appeared at the door to the bar behind a large group of young guys obviously there for a late afternoon meal or something. Not made by the original chef, of course, but her replacement was good enough.

In fact, Sam looked positively gleeful. “Heya, Mama Judy,” they greeted cheerfully, leaning down into her outstretched arms for her obligatory hug.

“Sammy, dear, how are you?” she asked, squeezing them for a few seconds before pulling away.

“I’m good, Judy.” As they pulled away, they anticipated her next question. “Kat and the twins are good too. Starting pre-k real soon, so we’re trying to get them used to the idea of mot being around us all the time.” They winced. “It’s not really working…”

“Oh, dearie!” She gave their cheek a pat. “Don’t worry. They’ll grow so quickly, you’ll wish they wanted to stick with you every day. You treasure those moments with them now.”

Sam nodded, giving her a smile. “You bet.” They noticed her suitcase. “You need any help with that?”

“Oh, aren’t you such a dearie? Some help would be wonderful!” The elderly woman smiled brightly, before making her way into the bar as they moved aside for her, Sam following her with the suitcase.

The elderly woman walking into the building definitely drew the attentions of some of the regulars, but it was Jake calling out a hello to Judy and waving at her that alerted Rick to the visitor.

And his eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise.

“Ma?” He even sounded surprised, which would have been a first for pretty much anyone in that bar except Jake and Sam. Jake who was pulling his phone out to record what he knew what was about to happen, whilst Isaac (who was sitting beside him) got his own phone out to record just the audio. For backup purposes. (Jake had done a good job of warning him a little in advance.) “What are you doing here, Ma?” Rick asked, putting down a glass that he had been cleaning. He couldn’t remember the last time his mother had even visited that bar.

The woman, however, was not smiling. Somewhere between entering the bar and seeing her son, her smile had disappeared and made way for a frown. “Did I raise you right?” she asked lowly, looking Rick straight in the eye.

The man stayed silent, blinking at her. He knew that look meant trouble, but it had been so long since he’d received it that it felt almost foreign to him.

“Rickard Arron Williams, did I raise you right?” she demanded, glaring at him.

He swallowed. “Yes, Ma.”

“Then why am I gettin’ near regular calls from Laura askin’ for advice and cryin' about how the father of her children is spendin’ more time workin’ than helpin’ her?” She held up a hand to stop him before he could speak, because she just knew her son had some sort of excuse for this. “Now, I didn’t raise me no disrespectful boy; I raised a fine, hardworking young man who wanted a family. And I am not lettin’ my grandchildren slip through the cracks because my son decided fetchin’ drinks was more important than helpin’ to raise a child! And not one, but three! You’re behavin’ like you don’t even want a child right now, when you got three upstairs that you was tellin’ me all proudly about a couple o' months ago!”

That was when Rick decided to try speaking up again. “But Ma, I—”

“Do you love your family, Rickard? Do you want them around? Because I’m tellin’ you right now, Laura ain’t waitin’ much longer for you to get your act together, so if you don’t do it now you ain’t gonna have a wife or kids – you can wish them a sweet goodbye as she moves out and leaves you for good! If you love them even half as much as you say you do when you call me, then you’ll get your sorry self out from behind that bar and up those stairs. And you’re not gonna do it because you have to, oh no,” she wagged her finger at him threateningly, making him gulp, “you’re gonna do it because you love them all and you want them to be as healthy and as happy as they can be! You think that poor woman is gonna stick around with those kids when her husband does nothin’ to help? She’s gonna take herself right on outta here with those three children and find someone better for her, and you know it! Her own momma has been here for two weeks because of you not helpin’! She did not carry those three little angels for eight months on her own to have to raise them on her own too! I did not raise you like this!” Ignoring how Jake and Isaac seemed to be silently cracking up, and Sam was sniggering behind their hand, she put her hands on her hips and put on her most authoritative voice. “Now you get your sorry behind out from behind that bar and up those stairs to your wife and children right now, Rickard! And you better be in that room before I make my way up or so help me God…”

The speed at which Rick scrambled out from behind the bar was enough to make Jake’s silent laughter become audible, him almost falling off the bar stool, whilst Sam almost collapsed with laughter right there and then.

The elderly woman gave an irritated huff at the man, shaking her head, before shooting both Jake and Sam glares. “And if I hear a single word about either of you two from sweet little Kat or Allie, I will fly all the way down to have words with you too! You hear me?”

They both stopped laughing immediately, looks of fear in their eyes. “Yes, ma'am.”

Judy nodded, before turning and heading straight for the stairs, ignoring the stares she got from various patrons as she passed them. Because, in all honesty, none of them had seen anyone but Laura make Rick act like that, and they’d all thought it was only because she was grouchy and pregnant. Clearly they’d been wrong.

Reaching the top of the stairs, though, Judy was surprised to see that not only was Rick not in the room, but three people were standing between him and the bedroom door.

Allie, Kat and Laura.

With Allie and Kat nearest to the door, holding the triplets between them, whilst Laura stood in front of Rick, arms folded and a cold look on her face.

“If you think you’re gonna help me take care of my children, then we need to talk,” Laura said coldly, bringing that all-too-familiar look of fear to Rick’s eyes.

Again.

[serotoninhq]

the team is thrilled to announce the following mun and muses have been accepted! we’re looking forward to develop this world and it’s future verses with you.

〔 poorna jagannathan, 48, cis woman, she/her ) juhi kapadia was seen listening to ylang ylang by fkj on their way to environmental lawyer. juhi is known to be responsible & tightly wound. ( donna )

〔 michael evans behling, 25, cis man, he/him) joseph ‘pike’ davis was seen listening to bank by earthgang on their way to football scrimmage player. pikeis known to be heroic & naive. [filling one of mina’s older sibling wc] (still donna)

( laura harrier, 29, cis woman, she/her/hers )     AMBER DAVIS was seen listening to THAT MAN by CARO EMERALD on their way to ‘MADE WITH LOVE’ BAKERY. AMBER is known to be DUTIFUL & SECRETIVE.     ( kim / filling part of Mina Davis’ siblings WC )

( pedro pascal, 47, cis man, he/him ) MANUEL LAFERTE was listening to RETURN TO POOH CORNER by KENNY LOGGINS on their way to the HOSPITAL (PEDIATRIC SURGEON). MANU/LOLO is known to be tactful & dismissive.

( emmett preciado, 27, trans man, he/him ) STEFAN BENIGNI was listening to SCHOOL BOY HEART by JIMMY BUFFETT on their way to the OFFICE as a SOFTWARE DEVELOPER. STEF is known to be COMPASSIONATE & DOMINEERING.

( devery jacobs, 26, genderless, none/experimenting ) NIRVANA DESERONTO was listening to I FEEL THE EARTH MOVE by CAROLE KING on their way to be a CORONER. NIRVANA is known to be TOLERANT & UNPREDICTABLE.

[illicreatxm]

☺️❤️ (for the munday meme!)

it’s munday! [accepting!] | @hermosa-pesadilla

[long-ass post so read under the cut]

☺ If you have a faceclaim for your muse, why did you choose them? Are you satisfied with your fc, or would you rather find a different one?

A lot of my fcs were generally picked either from watchingtv programmes or using fc hunters, actually, to find the perfect face.

Allie’s original fc, Ariel Winter, was probably one of the only ones where I watched the programme and the muse literally connected with the character on screen. Alex Dunphy from Modern Family is literally Allie, from the brains to the sarcasm and the awkwardness/lack of self-confidence in her appearance due to “prettier” people around her. The only problem was, she wasn’t ethnically correct (and neither was Mandy Moore, tbh), and only recently have I had the guts to change her to Jessica Parker Kennedy, who is more ethnically correct and kind of fits the more bubbly side of Allie when she’s playing Nora West-Allen in The Flash. And I think I’m preferring Jessica, even if she doesn’t wear glasses that much.

Obed’s fc is another one where I connected the muse with the character on screen. My goodness, never have I laughed so much seeing Zeke in the High School Musical series, and his combined love for cooking and slight obliviousness/enthusiasm for his best friends makes me think of Obed so much. He is such a dork. The only problem is, I don’t know of any movies where Chris Warren Jr. wears glasses, and canonically Obed wears reading glasses when he becomes a teacher (his eyesight was always crappy, but he finally does something about it when he becomes a real adult).

Jake’s was more of a fc hunt, I think, but as soon as I associated him with Dylan Everett I fell in love? He just works so well for Jake. And so does Tom Cruise!! Though I associate Jake more with the Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire than any other film, maybe in A Few Good Men but not much else. Jodie was literally me loving Liliana Mumy from Cheaper By The Dozen and Jodie 100% being that child with the big mouth and punchy fists; her adult fc was definitely a hunt, but I approve of the finding a lot considering it wasoriginally Emma Stone.

Alex’s and Aleshia’s were both from childhood – I never watched Hannah Montana, but as soon as I saw Cody in a fc hunt I knew that would be Alex. He’s very hard to find films for, though, because other than Hoot and Hannah Montana he’s not in a huge lot of other films. Aleshia’s fc I fell in love with from kids movies I watched like Jump In!! Also, there are parts of her that really make me think of Aleshia, but there are also parts of her that don’t quite match up. Like, Keke Palmer seems like such a joker and really loud, and whilst Aleshia can be that loud she’s less of a joker and more of a klutz. But I still love my sweet, clumsy child.

Rachel’s fc was one that I never originally imagined would fit her, but she was very accurate with her expressions and the fact that she looks so happy in a lot of the things she does? Madison Pettis has a lovely smile and from what I’ve watched her characters are happy people so she really fit Rachel. Sarah’s fc is a really rare one, and I originally found her when I was looking for that girl from The Starving Games? (Idek why I watched that…) She fits Sarah so much facially, but she isn’t in much popular stuff, so she’s a difficult one to make icons for, really. I haven’t even really seen much of what she’s in, but she fits Sarah well so I’m keeping her (despite being tempted many times to change). Rosie’s fc was another hunt, though this was mainly through looking for someone who looked like Dylan Everett. In all honesty, when I imagine Rosie, I don’t really imagine Ciara Bravo as the fc, but her facial expressions work ridiculously well for the kind of person Rosie is.

George, Kat and Laura are literally fc hunt finds. I never had any tv or movie characters that really related to them in mind when I was searching. Same for James, and also for Mandy. Though, Mandy’s was recently changed for ethnic accuracy, like Allie’s, and the Banks’ all had their changed because I wasn’t really that happy with the fcs I had for them. Though Alex Pettyfer had the build I had in mind for George, and is a lot more like how I’d imagine George to be, I just didn’t feel happy using him. (Dylan is enough of a dork anyway.)

♥ When it comes to shipping, what factors are absolutely necessary for a ship to develop? 

A N G S T. Alongside the chemistry, I really, really need muses to battle through more difficult times and have conflict for ships to develop, even if it’s just through headcanoning. That, and headcanoning, of course, because communication when shipping is absolutely key for me. But mainly angst. Realistic angst. Like, I can do fluff any day, really, because it can be easy to come up with fluffy, cutesy stuff that a ship could do, but things that cause our muses to clash or something realistic that they have to struggle together to get through? Something that they should really talk about but have been avoiding because they’re afraid of conflict? Big problems that make them want to break down and cry whilst the other holds them up? G I V E   M E.

For example: Kat and Sam (who belongs to @a-simple-rper) generally have a really cutesy, happy relationship. Like, they screw each other a lot, but they’re really happy? But their defining moment in my head will always be how Sam knocked her up, and through that it revealed that they actually really do love each other, and are working through their struggles with regards to finance whilst having the support of their family in the back just cheering them on and ready to catch them when they fall. Jake and Gabbie (who belongs to @astrologicallyperfect) are another cutesy couple, but they got a ton of angst going for them mainly because of their hugely conflicting personalities as teens that they learn to work through. Jake is basically a huge, entitled child and Gabbie is a sweet bean, and whilst they are adorable together their conflict is so beautiful to work through. Like, they are actually a couple who just want to be together and they are working through their problems and baggage both individually and together to make sure they are healthy for each other. (99% of the time it’s Jake’s fault anyway and you guys have no idea how much I love seeing people beat his ass down by pointing out how shitty he can be.)

Of course, that is all for romantic shipping. For friendship shipping, there still needs to be that chemistry, but a lot of my muses tend to slide towards the sibling relationship end of the spectrum than just casual friends. Really. The big friendships on this blog that come to my head are Allie and Sochi (@mochafortissimo), Alex and Lailani (@astrologicallyperfect), Alex and Milly (@a-simple-rper) and Jake and Sam (@a-simple-rper). I know for a fact that there are more friendships on this blog, but these sibling-like relationships are the ones my muses cling to the most. A lot of the time, my muses just need someone they can not only hug and laugh with, but someone who is willing to take the banter. Because all of them have sharp tongues. :/

[starspangledbanner27]

Fandom: Saving Mr. Banks

Description: Don DaGradi’s musings about P.L. Travers.  Oneshot; may eventually include more chapters featuring different characters’ perspectives.

Characters: Don DaGradi, P. L. Travers, Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, Walt Disney

Rating: K+

Genre: Drama

Language: English

Read on Fanfiction.net, AO3, Wattpad, Quotev, or below.

Many thanks to Laura and Dr. Riley for beta-reading this story, and to my mom for her constant encouragement and support.

A/N: This story was inspired by Ink Mage’s fanfic entitled “Saving Mr. Sherman” on FFN, so if you enjoy this, I would recommend that you check out “Saving Mr. Sherman” as well.  And, as always, please leave reviews! :)

Disclaimer: I don’t own Saving Mr. Banks, Mary Poppins, or any of the characters from those two movies.

Chapter 1: Don

A heavy, brooding silence hung over the dimly lit rehearsal room in the Animation building at Walt Disney Studios, where three men were working late into the night.  Don DaGradi, the animator-turned-screenwriter, slouched despondently in a rolling chair with his feet propped up on the end of the long table in the center of the room.  He’d spent the last twenty minutes staring with unseeing eyes at the sketchpad in his lap while his mind stewed over the conundrum that was Mrs. P. L. Travers.  

He should have seen it coming.  He’d been working at Disney Studios long enough to know that most authors jumped at the chance to have their stories make it to the big screen, as Mrs. Travers herself had put it, “in glorious Technicolor, for all the world to see.”  But she, the author of the Mary Poppins books, was less than thrilled about the opportunity, and had made sure to let them all know it.  Don pursed his lips in frustration.  He should have known.  A woman who, after denying Walt the film rights for twenty years straight, had finally accepted his offer only on the condition that she be given the authority of script approval—he should have known she’d be nothing but trouble.  But, despite everything, he had still held out hope that she’d at least turn out to be tolerably friendly and cooperative.  

It had taken her all of five minutes to crush his optimism.

“Good morning, Pamela!” he had greeted her as she stepped out of the car that first day.

“It is so discomfiting to hear a perfect stranger use my first name,” she’d returned with a coldness that belied the smile on her face. “Mrs. Travers, please.”

And things had only gone downhill from there.

Every time they came up with a new idea to show her—a new song, a new sequence, a new concept drawing—she immediately shot it down.

“No, no, no!”

“Goodness me, no!”

“It’s all a big mistake; it’s all wrong!”

Eventually, this routine had become as predictable as it was painful, like throwing one’s body against a stone wall in the pathetically vain hope of knocking it down on the hundred-and-first attempt.  Obviously, it hadn’t worked.  None of their attempts had; on the contrary, everything they did only seemed to make her more upset.  A few times—earlier that very day, in fact—she had even left the room in anger. And, try as they might, none of them could ever figure out what it was that had ticked her off, or why, or what they could do to fix it.  All they knew was that she seemed to hate the entire project.

After witnessing the ruthless way she picked apart his script—and it was his script, no matter what she said—Don had quickly concluded that this peevish author could give any Disney villain a run for their money.  “Whatever she says, don’t let it get to you,” Walt had encouraged him after the first day of fire and brimstone. “Remember, you don’t work for her; you work for me.”  But that assurance was small consolation when Don still had the woman’s venom to contend with on a daily basis.  His mind was exhausted; his nerves were shot; his head had been aching for the past three days . . . yet still he had to push through it and keep swallowing her barbs, because it was the only way this project would ever have any hope of completion.  

The last week had been a lot of walking on eggshells for him.  As the scriptwriter, he was more or less the head of this whole collaboration period, which made him responsible for keeping things running as smoothly as possible—a difficult task when he himself struggled to conceal his exasperation. But he had to press on, to keep doing and saying whatever it took to placate that woman—no matter the cost, no matter how distasteful—because, as they had discovered the other day, she still had the upper hand in the form of the unsigned rights agreement.  And now that they knew about it, she took perverse joy in holding it over their heads as a reminder that if any of them displayed even the slightest hint of “impertinence,” she wouldn’t hesitate to flounce back across the pond and throw all their hard work to waste.  

He remembered what it had felt like to watch that whole showdown between her and Walt.  Up until then, he’d been at a loss as to why Walt was letting her walk all over them.  It was completely contrary to everything he knew of the man—Walt, who always got what he wanted, who always had the last word.  That day when Walt had confronted Mrs. Travers about her demand that the color red not appear in the film, it had been clear that the man was at the end of his rope; and Don had fully expected to see him finally put the petulant author in her place.  But then she had pulled out those papers, and the two of them had stared each other down for several long moments . . . and then, much to Don’s surprise, Walt had drawn a deep breath and turned to his team in exasperated defeat.  

“All right . . . no red in the picture.”  

With that, he had stormed out of the rehearsal room; and Mrs. Travers had sat there, smugly fanning herself with the papers as she watched him go.  Bob Sherman had been the one to finally break the stunned silence.

“He doesn’t have the rights.”

“Quite,” she’d replied with a self-satisfied nod; and Don, from where he stood next to the window, had heaved a sigh and shaken his head hopelessly.  It was discouraging enough that Walt couldn’t simply win her over as he did everyone else with his trademark Disney charm. But now that they knew the truth, that Mrs. Travers had his hands tied . . . well, what was the point in even trying?

Suddenly he thought of the drawing he’d made the other day—a rough depiction of Mrs. Travers sitting primly in one of the rolling chairs in the rehearsal room, snapping “No!  No!  No!”—and he smirked wryly.  He might have to grin and bear it while in her presence, but at least no one could stop him from venting his frustration on paper.  In fact, after the “Spoonful of Sugar” incident—when she had bashed the lyrics to the nursery song and tossed a copy of the script out the window before stalking out of the room, as usual—Don had shown his snarky sketch to Dick and Bob Sherman, and the three of them had shared a hearty laugh.  He remembered thinking that in the face of all she had put them through, it hardly made sense to laugh—but then he’d realized that the moment they ceased to find humor in the absurdity of the whole situation would be the moment they might as well give up.

As he glanced up at Dick and Bob where they sat on opposite sides of the table, looking just as dispirited as he felt, Don couldn’t help wondering if they hadn’t finally reached that moment. There was certainly no laughter in this room now; only a heavy tension that hung palpably in the air—as if Mrs. Travers, though absent in body, were present in spirit, just waiting for something to find fault with.  

Don’s heart went out to the two songwriters, for he knew that Mrs. Travers’s constant criticism had taken just as severe a toll on them as it had on him, if not more so.  Dick, whose lively cheerfulness she had rebuffed at every turn until it was all but squelched; and Bob, whose outspoken annoyance at her ornery demands had led her to single him out several times as the object of her fits of temper—neither of them should have had to endure the treatment she dished out.  Don hadn’t been personally acquainted with the Sherman brothers for very long; but through working on this project, he had developed a sort of fraternal bond with them.  Not only did they live up to their reputation as legendary creative geniuses, but they were also good men and great friends.  And having to stand by and watch Mrs. Travers unleash her wrath upon them day after day . . . it was just too much.

Of all the insensitive remarks she had made to any of them, the singularly unforgivable one—to him and Dick, anyway—was what she’d said about Bob’s leg.  It was only the second day of negotiations; and after a long morning of her quibbling about petty details, the older Sherman brother had unwisely dared to voice his annoyance.  What had happened next was all too predictable: he and Mrs. Travers had gone head to head; and this time, in his frustration, he had pushed her too far. She’d sent him out of the room like a disobedient child . . . and as he limped out the door and down the hall, she’d asked, “What is wrong with his leg?”

“He got shot,” Dick had replied; and for a brief moment, Don had thought she might actually show some sympathy.  But instead, she uttered a little scoff.  

“Well, that’s hardly surprising.”

Don’s mouth had fallen open in shock; and he hadn’t needed to look at Dick to sense the fury radiating off him.  But all Mrs. Travers had to say was, “Can I expect any more drama from anyone else?”  The heartless witch.  How she had ever managed to write a children’s book series was beyond him.

He should have come to hate her by now.  In the face of such unyielding hostility, it seemed like the only natural response.  And yet he still couldn’t bring himself to—because, much as he hated to admit it, a part of him (albeit a very small part) sympathized with her. He was, after all, a writer . . . maybe not on the same level as she was; but still, he understood the protectiveness a writer felt for his—or her—stories.  And for a woman as set in her ways as Mrs. Travers clearly was, it couldn’t be easy to cope with all the modifications that necessarily took place between the page and the screen.  Don understood this; and he’d have been more than willing to work with her to make sure she was satisfied, if only she had given him the chance.  If only she had given any of them the chance.

But she hadn’t.  And now, there they all sat, at a loss as to how they could ever hope to pull this off.  The current state of things was disheartening, to say the least; in fact, they probably would have given up long ago if Walt weren’t so particularly invested in this project.  The company had put out many films over the years, but this one . . . this one was special. For it was the fulfillment of a promise that Walt, all those years before, had made to his little daughters: that someday, somehow, he would make their beloved Mary Poppins fly off the pages of her books.  And he was clearly determined to keep that promise, at whatever cost to his and his team’s sanity.  

Don sighed.  As fathers, he and the Shermans understood the necessity of keeping promises to one’s kids; but still, it seemed almost cruelly unreasonable of Walt to keep them working on a project that was so obviously futile.  After all, Walt himself had already battled the author and lost; what made him think their luck with her would be any better?

Just then, Don heard the door to the rehearsal room swing open.  Knowing that there was only one person who’d be coming to see them at this hour, he took his feet off the table and sat up a little straighter as Walt strode over, hands on his hips.  “Guys, we gotta fix this,” he stated.

“Easier said than done,” Don muttered.

“How?!” Bob demanded.  “How can we fix it when she hates everything we do?  What is there to fix, anyway?  She’s the problem!”

Walt heaved a sigh.  “Well . . . I don’t know.  I’m taking her to Disneyland tomorrow; if nothing else, that’ll at least give you guys a day to come up with something.”

“You’re taking her to Disneyland?” Dick repeated incredulously.  “How on earth did you get her to agree to that?  She hates that sort of thing.”

Walt smirked.  “Well, I don’t have to get her to agree to it; I’m the one who pays her driver.”

“So, what, you’re just going to kidnap her?” Don asked sardonically.  “That’s sure to go over well.”

“Hey, you never know,” Walt replied.  “They say Disneyland is the happiest place on earth; maybe a few hours there will soften her up a little.  I might even get her to try out one of the rides.”

Don gave a wry chuckle.  “Now there’s something I’d like to see.”

“Mrs. Travers on a Disneyland ride?”  Bob snorted.  “All due respect, Walt, I doubt even you can pull that off.”

Walt’s eyes twinkled mischievously.  “Really?  Care to bet?”

Bob’s eyebrows rose in disbelief; but when he saw Walt was serious, he laughed.  “All right.” He reached into his pocket, drew out a bill, and waved it in the air.  “Ten bucks says you can’t get that woman on a ride.”

Grinning, Walt looked over at the other two men. “Any more takers?”

Dick shrugged.  “Well, I hate to take your money, Walt, but since you offered . . .” He pulled two five-dollar bills from his pocket and held them up.  “I’m in.”

Walt then turned to Don, who regarded him skeptically. “Walt, how come you’re suddenly so confident about this?” he asked.  “What do you know that we don’t?”

Walt drew a deep breath and looked downward, thinking. “I’m not sure yet,” he answered after several moments.  “But what you guys told me about how she reacted to the bank song, how it seemed like she was close to tears . . . that got me thinking.  Maybe this isn’t just about her being ornery.  Maybe there’s something else going on, something we’ve been missing.”

“And you think you can find out what it is?” Dick asked.

“I don’t know,” Walt admitted.  “But if I can, then I think that’ll be our best shot at getting through to her.”

The three men nodded slowly in assent.  Then Don spoke again.  “So, what do you want us to do now?”

“For now?  Go home.”  Walt waved his hand in a gesture of dismissal.  “Get some sleep.  Goodness knows you’ve earned it.”

“And then what?” Bob pressed.

“Well . . .”  Walt sighed again and ran his fingers thoughtfully over his moustache.  “When you boys came to me earlier, you said Mrs. Travers seemed to be upset specifically about Mr. Banks.”

“Right,” Dick and Bob agreed.  Don nodded silently, thinking back to what had happened earlier that day.  

In retrospect, he realized, they should have noticed that something about her was off from the minute she arrived in the rehearsal room that morning.  Rather than lighting into them immediately with some biting remark as usual, she had walked in without saying a word, only giving a brief nod to acknowledge their greetings.  Then, after setting her purse down on the table, she had meandered over to the window—the very same window she had tossed the script out a few days ago—and stared out, silent and subdued, until Don approached her to ask if they might play her the Sherman brothers’ new song: “Fidelity Fiduciary Bank.”

Upon receiving her go-ahead, he had proceeded to act out a short segment of the scene leading up to the song—the dialogue between Dawes, Sr., and Michael Banks.  Mrs. Travers had given it a rare nod of approval; and Don, encouraged, had then turned his full attention to Dick and Bob’s performance.  When, a few minutes into the song, he glanced over at Mrs. Travers to catch her reaction, he had found her apparently distracted, with her gaze fixed not on them, but across the room.  Don had thought nothing of it in the moment, his attention absorbed in helping act out the song.  The men poured all their energy into it, Dick pounding out the tune emphatically while Bob pumped his fist and Don tapped his pencil in time with the beat, until at last they reached the end, and all three belted out the last line together with dramatic flair.  It was afterwards, as they were remarking excitedly on how well the song fit with the rest of the scene, that the storm had hit.  

“Why did you have to make him so cruel?!” she’d exclaimed, whirling around to face them.  “He was not a monster!”

The men, taken aback by this outburst, had stared at her in bewilderment.  Don had been the first to regain his power of speech.  

“Who are we talking about?  I’m confused.”

Ignoring his question, she’d asked, “You all have children, yes?”  Once they had all replied in the affirmative, she’d continued: “Well, and do those children make letters for you—do they write letters, do they make you drawings?  And would you tear up those gifts in front of them?”

They had remained silent, unsure how to respond.

“It’s a dreadful thing to do!  I don’t understand!  Why must Father tear up the advertisement his children have made for him, and throw it in the fireplace?  Why won’t he mend their kite?  Why have you made him so unspeakably awful?!”

Throughout her impassioned speech, Don and the Shermans had barely reacted except to blink in astonishment.  Her yelling at them was nothing new, but this . . . this they had never seen coming.  It wasn’t just another temper tantrum; no, this time there was real emotion behind it.  Her mask of cold severity had, for once, been stripped away, revealing tears of distress in her eyes; and the men, who had almost ceased to believe she was even capable of feeling anything besides irritation and self-importance, were flabbergasted, with no idea what to say or do.

“If you claim to make them live, why can’t he—they—live well?  I can’t bear it.  Please don’t.  Please don’t.”  

Those were the last words she’d uttered before leaving the room in a fluster—or at least, the last words she had directed at them.  As she was walking out, Don had thought he heard her mutter something else—something about having “let him down again” . . . whoever “him” was.  Don had called after her; but if she heard him, she ignored him, and neither he nor the other two men had made any attempt to follow her.

She hadn’t returned to the rehearsal room for the rest of the day, and they had later heard a rumor that she’d been seen sitting out on the lawn with her driver, making a peculiar little setup with twigs and leaves, or digging holes in the ground and pouring the contents of a paper cup into them, or some strange thing like that.  After everything else Don had seen of her, he was hardly surprised.  Meanwhile, shortly after she walked out, he and the others had gone to Walt’s office to tell him about the incident.  Walt had listened with folded arms and a furrowed brow that revealed him to be as perplexed as they were; and once they’d finished recounting everything, he took a deep breath.  

“All right,” he’d said quietly.  “You boys get back to work; I’ll see what I can do.”

So they had.  And now, here they sat, waiting expectantly to hear Walt’s next words. After a brief pause, he spoke again. “So, if it’s Mr. Banks that’s bothering her, then I think that’d be a good place to start.”

Suddenly, in a flash of insight, Don recalled what Mrs. Travers had said right after throwing the script out the window the other day.

“You think Mary Poppins has come to save the children, Mr. Disney?”  

Walt had merely given her a blank stare; and she had then stalked out of the room in disgust, leaving them all to speculate about what she meant.  It wasn’t until now that Don finally figured it out.

“It’s not the children she comes to save,” he murmured to himself as the realization dawned.

“What’s that?” Walt asked.

Don met his gaze, a wave of excitement bubbling up within him.  “That’s it!” he exclaimed.  “That’s what she meant; that’s what we’ve been missing!  Mary Poppins—she’s not there to save the children.  She’s there to save Mr. Banks!”

He looked over at the Sherman brothers, who nodded slowly.  “That’s why she was so upset earlier,” Bob mused aloud.  

Don grimaced.  “I guess we did make him pretty harsh.”

“Well, that is how he came across in the books,” Dick reminded him.

“Maybe, but—and, believe me, I never thought I’d say this—I think Mrs. Travers has a point.  Mr. Banks might be harsh, but he isn’t cruel, not really.  And I think we—I made it seem like he is.”  He sighed. “I hate to think about rewriting the whole script, though.”

Bob shook his head.  “No, you can’t.  We’ve come too far for that.  There has to be some other way.”

They all fell silent for several moments.  Then Dick snapped his fingers.  “I’ve got it!”

“Huh?”  Don and Bob looked up at him quizzically.  

Dick leaned forward eagerly in his chair.  “Mr. Banks is harsh in the beginning.  He has to be; otherwise there wouldn’t be a story.  The only problem with our version is that he never changes.  So, really, all we have to do is rewrite the ending!”

“A redemption arc.”  Don nodded thoughtfully.  “I can work with that.”

“And we could write a song for it,” Dick added, gesturing between himself and his brother.  “Something upbeat.”

“A happy-ending song,” Bob agreed.  “I like it.”

“What do you think, Walt?” Dick asked.

Walt, who had stood there in silence while the seeds of inspiration germinated, now spoke.  “Well, it’s an idea.”  He looked around the table at each of them in turn.  “You think you can pull this together in twenty-four hours?”

Don shrugged.  “I don’t think we have a choice.”

“Well, all right then,” Walt said.  “I’ll stop in tomorrow afternoon to see how it’s coming along.  But for now, you boys should go home and get some rest.”

They nodded again; and once he had bid them good night and left, the trio rose from their chairs and made a cursory effort to tidy up the table before grabbing their jackets and heading out of the room.  As they strode down the hall, Dick heaved a sigh. “Just five more days, guys,” he said. “Then she’ll be gone, and we can get back to work.”

“. . . Following some drinks, a large bottle of aspirin, and a forty-eight-hour nap,” Bob amended, eliciting a weary chuckle from the other two.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, until at last they emerged from the building into the breezy cool of the southern California night.  There on the front walkway, they paused, and, as if drawn by some ethereal pull, tilted their heads back to gaze up at the heavens.  Although the smog and city lights of greater Los Angeles obscured the stars from view, Don found the velvety blackness of the sky to have a soothing effect upon his soul; and for a moment, he allowed himself to be lost in it, forgetting everything else.

At last, Dick broke the spell by inhaling deeply. “Ah . . . the sweet smell of fresh air and freedom.”

With a sigh, Don shook himself out of his reverie. “Enjoy it while you can,” he remarked wryly.  “We’re all going to be back here bright and early tomorrow.”

“Don’t remind me,” Dick groaned, then turned to nudge his brother.  “Hey, you think our wives are still awake?”

“Well, I told Joyce not to wait up for me . . . but I doubt she listened,” Bob replied, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Dick laughed.  “Yeah, it’s probably the same with Lizzie.”  Heaving a sigh, he laid a hand on Bob’s shoulder.  “And on that note, I’m gonna head home.  Tell Joyce and the kids I said hello.”

Bob nodded.  “Sure thing.  You do the same for me, all right?”

“You bet.”  Dick gave his brother a thump on the back, then turned to their friend.  “’Night, Don.”

“Goodnight,” Don replied.  “Drive safe.”

“Thanks.”  With that, the younger Sherman brother headed down the sidewalk towards the lot where his car was parked.

Don drew a deep breath.  “Well, we should probably get going too.  Goodnight, Bob.”  

He had just turned to walk away when he felt a hand on his arm.  “Don, wait a minute.”

“What is it?” he asked, turning back around.

Bob glanced over his shoulder to confirm that his brother was now a good distance away, then leaned in toward Don and lowered his voice.  “I didn’t want to say anything about this when Dick was around, but . . . what are we going to do if she finds out about the ‘Jolly Holiday’ sequence?”

“You mean the animation?” Don asked.  

Bob nodded.  

Don sighed heavily.  “Well . . . that’s just not going to happen.”

“Well, yeah, but . . . you know . . . what if it does?”

“It can’t,” Don replied firmly.  “Because we’re not going to let her find out.”

They remained silent for several seconds, staring across the street at nothing in particular.  Then Bob shook his head.  “I don’t like doing this,” he muttered.  “Mrs. Travers might be a pill, but I don’t like lying to her.”

“Neither do I,” Don replied.  “But Walt’s the one who insisted on the animation; and honestly, at this point, I just want to get this whole thing over with.”

“Yeah,” Bob agreed.  After another few moments, he turned to face Don once more.  “Well, you’re right; we should head out.”

Don nodded.  “See you tomorrow.”

“You too,” Bob replied; and with that, the two men parted ways.

She can’t find out, Don thought as he walked to his car.  A sick heaviness settled into the pit of his stomach as he realized, not for the first time, that everything they’d had to endure from her up to that point would be nothing compared to the wrath she would unleash upon them if she discovered the hidden truth about that sequence—that, save for Mary, Bert, and the kids, it was entirely animated, in direct violation of the terms of her contract.  

He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly.  No, she couldn’t find out.  She wouldn’t find out.  And worrying about it would do nothing to help.  So, as he got into his car and drove home, he instead tried to focus on what tomorrow would bring.  Together, he, Dick, and Bob would somehow manage to come up with a new ending—one that, hopefully, would meet with her approval.  A happy ending for Mr. Banks.  And then she would be satisfied, and they would finally be able to move forward and bring this project to fruition.  Walt would be happy.  Mrs. Travers would be . . . well, hopefully the closest thing to happiness that she had the capacity to feel.  Anyway, she’d soon be headed back to England, and then everything would return to normal.

In just a few more days, Don would once again feel the relief of coming to work every day without a cloud of dread hanging over him, the pleasure of doing the job he loved without a constant stream of vitriol assaulting him.  He’d once again know the joy of going home at a reasonable hour and kissing his wife and having dinner with his family and saying goodnight to his kids.  As for Mary Poppins, she would eventually make it from script to screen, like every other Disney movie Don had been involved with . . . and then life would go on, and all this insanity would be nothing but a distant memory.

And everything would work out fine.  Because it had to.

Tag list… let me know if you want to be added or removed!  

@iwillalwaysreturm | @writings-of-a-narwhal | @24hourshipping

[cardsvistas]

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Rotunda Rumblings

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Put to the test: Now that any Ohioan can get a coronavirus test, Gov. Mike DeWine, Aboriginal Adult Fran DeWine, and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted were anniversary accustomed a adenoids besom analysis alive during Tuesday’s briefing. “All right,” DeWine said, acclamation his easily aback the almost 20-second-long analysis was done. “Awesome!” Jeremy Pelzer has video of the accomplished thing.

Wish you were here: Carnality Admiral Mike Pence won’t be greeted by DeWine during Pence’s Thursday appointment to Lordstown, Seth Richardson reports. DeWine was originally appointed to be at the actualization of Lordstown Motors’ all-electric vehicle, but said he and aboriginal adult Fran DeWine are aggravating to abstain crowds. DeWine told reporters he did not anon ask the carnality admiral to abrasion a affectation during the visit, admitting recommended he do so about during his Tuesday briefing.

Statue of limitations: DeWine said during his Tuesday coronavirus conference that he doesn’t accept any agitation with the abatement of Confederate statues about the nation, as abounding accept alleged for amidst advancing protests for ancestral equality. But as Pelzer reports, the governor said that appropriate now he’s not in favor of demography bottomward statues of Columbus in his namesake city. “At what point do we stop diplomacy statues down?” he asked.

Positive thinking: There accept been 46,127 coronavirus cases in Ohio, which is up 590, Laura Hancock reports. DeWine said he will accommodate the media and accessible added advice about the allotment of coronavirus tests that are advancing aback positive, which could afford some ablaze on whether the college numbers are the aftereffect of added testing or if there are added affidavit abaft the transmissions.

Protesters: Additionally during Tuesday’s conference DeWine addressed aftermost week’s red-paint abuse of the Ohio Statehouse, per Andrew Tobias. He said he’s assured there weren’t abundant accompaniment troopers on arena to anticipate it from happening, which is article he said won’t appear again. He additionally afresh encouraged protesters to abide peaceful.

Daycare dispute: Having auspiciously affected the reopening of baptize parks and gyms in Ohio, the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law is now suing to lift accompaniment coronavirus restrictions on daycares. As Pelzer writes, 40 daycares about the accompaniment accept abutting the suit, filed in Warren County.

Flex time: DeWine said Tuesday that bounded schools will accept adaptability to appear up with their own re-opening plans, with accompaniment guidelines advancing in the abutting week. Per Emily Bamforth, DeWine additionally said bounded schools should apprehend “no surprises.”

Space jam: The U.S. aggressive is attractive for a abiding home for U.S. Space Command, and DeWine and a accumulation of bounded admiral has clearly nominated the Dayton area. As Pelzer reports, their choice letter touts the area’s low amount of living, accomplished workforce, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and added aggressive accessories amid nearby.

Training day: House agents were abreast Tuesday that an accessible training affair will abode ancestral assortment and inclusion, Tobias writes. News of the training follows accession annular of calls from the Ohio Aldermanic Black Caucus for appropriate ancestral acuteness and absolute bent training, but a backer for House Speaker Larry Householder said it was long-planned. Unlike a affair aftermost anniversary for the Ohio Senate, associates will not be appropriate to participate in the House training.

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Throwing abroad their shots: Ohio pediatric anesthetic ante are bottomward about 45% compared to what they about see this time of years, Bamforth reports. Hospital admiral are concerned, and accept parents may be alienated hospitals and added medical offices due to assurance worries during the coronavirus pandemic.

Throwback Tuesday: The controlling lath for InnovateOhio met on Tuesday, recapping a account of accompaniment projects that haven’t absolutely been top of apperception aback the actualization of the coronavirus pandemic. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who runs InnovateOhio, and his agents discussed projects including convalescent Ohio’s background-check arrangement for gun purchases, an automatic analysis of accompaniment regulations, online pre check-ins at accompaniment BMV offices and broadband admission expansion. Husted and lath associates additionally mused on what Ohio could do to allure companies and aptitude that ability be beat beyond cities due to COVID-19.

Polar opposites: Toledo Autonomous Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who co-chairs the aldermanic Poland Caucus, appear a account on Tuesday that apprenticed Admiral Donald Trump to abolish a Wednesday White House affair with Polish Admiral Andrzej Duda, whom Kaptur criticized for comparing the LGBTQ association to communism. “Unfortunately, Admiral Trump’s allurement is not hasty accustomed his favorability against strongmen and those who attenuate autonomous institutions,” said Kaptur, who alleged the appointment an inappropriate accomplishment by Trump “to admit himself into Polish calm backroom and accession Admiral Duda’s reelection.”

Emergency room: Kaptur on Monday abutting Holmes County GOP Rep. Bob Gibbs in introducing legislation that would advice accumulate hospitals from banking defalcation afterwards they were affected to acutely calibration aback non-coronavirus accompanying casework during the COVID-19 pandemic, writes Sabrina Eaton. Several bounded hospitals abutment their plan to absolve federal loans that hospitals and bloom affliction providers accustomed during the crisis.

Tired of imports: U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman of Ohio on Tuesday encouraged the U.S. International Barter Agency to advocate a United Steelworkers Union complaint that alleges Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan and Thailand are endangering U.S. jobs by auctioning commuter abettor and ablaze barter tires in the United States, Eaton reports. “We appetite you to accord abounding and fair application to the USW petitions in these cases and to ensure U.S. barter antidote laws are absolutely enforced,” said a letter they wrote with nine colleagues.

Looking ahead: Accompaniment Rep. Brigid Kelly, the Cincinnati Democrat, said Tuesday she may run for Hamilton County accountant in 2022. In a cilia of Twitter posts, she additionally said she “strongly disagrees” with contempo comments apropos aborticide and the Black Lives Matter movement fabricated by accepted County Accountant Dusty Rhodes, a bourgeois Democrat who’s captivated the job for about three decades.

Full Disclosure

Five things we abstruse from the Feb. 18, 2020 banking acknowledgment of accompaniment Rep. Catherine Ingram, a Cincinnati Democrat:

1. In accession to her aldermanic bacon of $69,053, she additionally appear assets from $1,000 to $9,999 from four altered sources — a alimony with Northern Trust Co., a sales abettor job with Comey & Shepherd Realtors, assets from a rental acreage and an annuity. She additionally fabricated $10,000 to $24,999 in retirement assets from the Social Security Administration.

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2. She holds at atomic $1,000 in banal in Duke Energy, Spectra Energy and AST Trust Co.

3. At some point in 2019, she owed at atomic $1,000 to: U.S. Bank Corp, GE Credit Union, Credit One Bank, Brandsource, Aboriginal Premier Bank, Comenity Bank, Barclays Bank, Amazon, Fingerhut, Macy’s and Bank of America.

4. She claimed House breadth reimbursements account $4,695.60.

5. Among the ability she appear are Opening Day tickets she accustomed from the Cincinnati Reds account $160, and tickets, aliment and cooler account $279.50 from the University of Cincinnati.

On The Move

Jason Paduchik has abutting McKinley Strategies as a carnality president, arch the firm’s government diplomacy practice. He ahead was chief administrator of government diplomacy for AT&T Ohio.

Beverley Laubert, the abiding affliction ombudsman for Ohio, was called with 24 added experts and advocates to serve on the Coronavirus Agency on Assurance and Quality in Nursing Homes. The absolute agency will analysis and acquaint accepted and approaching responses to COVID-19.

Frank Beel was appointed CEO of Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare, a Columbus ability run by the Ohio Department of Mental Bloom and Addiction Services. He replaces Bob Short, who had been acting CEO aback the February retirement of Veronica Lofton.

Recently appointed accompaniment Rep. Al Cutrona, a Mahoning County Republican, has been assigned to serve on the House committees for Criminal Justice, Health, and Agriculture and Rural Development.

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State Rep. Adam Holmes has been appointed vice-chair of the Ohio House Bloom Committee. The Muskingum County Republican takes the abode of the backward accompaniment Rep. Don Manning.

Straight From The Source

“It was abundant bigger than advertised.”

– Lt. Gov. Jon Husted anon afterwards accepting a COVID-19 analysis administered via a nasal besom during the governor’s office’s coronavirus conference on Tuesday.

Capitol Letter is a circadian conference accouterment succinct, appropriate advice for those who affliction acutely about the decisions fabricated by accompaniment government. If you do not already subscribe, you can assurance up actuality to get Capitol Letter in your email box anniversary weekday for free.

An beforehand adaptation of this adventure afield said accompaniment Rep. Brigid Kelly is appellation bound in 2022. It has been corrected.

———

©2020 The Plain Dealer, Cleveland

Visit The Plain Dealer, Cleveland at www.cleveland.com

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[lotusboutiques]

Affordable Women’s Fashion: 7 Must Visit Online Clothing Boutiques To Match Your Budget

Do you find shopping, in general, to be quite exhausting and tedious? Perhaps you simply can’t get enough of it! Whatever your reason for wanting to shop online, it’s always a great idea if you’re able to do so without having to break the bank, right?

At Lotus Online Boutique, we’re able to offer affordable women’s fashion in order to give you the opportunity to shop to your heart’s content; making it possible for you to rock various different outfits and accessories on a simple budget.

Depending on what it is that you’re looking for, we thought it would be quite fitting to offer 7 different online boutique must visit options in order to give you a wide variety of shopping choices.

Ready for the countdown?

#7 Hazel & Olive

“Our little family started this business in our tiny apartment in 2012 with $300. We started the business committed to provide the best customer service, low pricing and great quality. Today we are proud to continue providing our customers with those standards and more. We are committed to giving back through each purchase, with our H&O foundation we are able to give back to organizations locally and worldwide! 

 Xoxo, Taylor and the fam”

#6 Red Dress Boutique

“I am an artist in every expression of the word and I am not complete unless I am in a creative environment. The Red Dress Boutique was born from a need of creative expression on a larger scale…and www.reddressboutique.com, to push that creativity even further.”

"I will not go where the path may lead. I will go where there is no path, and I will leave a trail."-Strode

#5 NANNAMACS BOUTIQUE

  We are a family run business based out of a tourist town called Coeur D Alene, Idaho. Many of the photos you see are of the beautiful North West! We have 3 beautiful boys who are very enthusiastic about our company. The oldest is in the Navy, one has graduated High School and the other will be a Freshman in High School in 2015.

  #4 Dainty Hooligan

“Dainty Hooligan is a women's online fashion and clothing boutique carrying the hottest trends and unique fashion finds at unbeatable prices. All of our items are hand-selected for the chic, fashion-forward girl. You will find one-of-a-kind dresses, tops, sweaters, jackets, skirts, shoes, accessories and more.”

#3 Filly Flair

“Filly Flair is a large Women's online retailer that started with small humble beginnings. Our warehouse is located in Baltic, South Dakota with one retail location located in Sioux Falls.

Hi, and thanks so much for stopping by our online boutique! My name is Laura Benson and I am the owner of Filly Flair! I am a Jesus Lover, wife, and mother to two amazing kids.

I started Filly Flair back in 2010 out of my basement as a single gal, with a dream and a vision to make something amazing out of virtually nothing. Fast forward a few years later, and we have a huge warehouse, over 20 employees, and have shipped hundreds of thousands of orders to our amazing customers.

Raised on farm, I have always had a strong set of values instilled in me along with a crazy hard work ethic. My faith and family will always come first, but after that is my love for this business and bringing fun fashion to amazing women. As a wife and mother, I understand the need to be comfortable and have clothes that you can wear while chasing kids around, but still wanting to look stylish!

Filly Flair was created to help every women feel beautiful in her own skin.

  #2 PrettyLittleThing

“All about that new? We got you girl. PrettyLittleThing.us is your one-stop shop for trend led women's clothing at seriously killer prices. Whether you want the freshest threads straight off the runway, or to steal the style of your fave celeb muse of the moment, at PrettyLittleThing USA we've got you covered with everything you need to keep your style on-point. When it comes to serving you the latest dose of women's fashion, we've got hundreds of new product dropping daily for everything your #OOTD needs. This is fast fashion accelerated. Too well dressed to stress? Now you are.”

#1 Lotus Online Boutique

“Since we opened our first brick-and-mortar store in 2005, Lotus Boutique has grown from a one location boutique to a thriving company serving the Southeast. We currently have eight brick-and-mortar store locations owned and operated by Lotus Stores, Inc. It is our desire to be one of the web's most fun and easy shopping experiences. We offer trendy, carefully curated merchandise sure to inspire you to enjoy this world of a runway we live on! We are the best women's online clothing boutique located in the  deep south. But we are not just a southern boutique, most of our customers are from the East Coast and the Midwest. We serve many niches so if you are feeling preppy, we got you! If your mood is more boho or indie fashion, we have that covered too! Do you need a great dress for sorority rush wear? We will provide! Festival goers, we have great unique pieces to have you dancing for joy! Our store prides itself of being a boutique that can provide a shopping place for mom and daughter alike!

Our brands consist of an array of emerging new designers, and our buyers search all over the continent to provide you with fashion that you will want to call YOURS! We receive new shipments DAILY and upload them almost immediately. Our stock moves quickly, however, so don't hesitate to order to your heart's content! We are your source for the latest trends in women's fashion!”

Shop at Lotus Online Boutique

Read: Lotus Online Boutique: Your Personal Online Stylist

  Zenka Hattingh. Marketing Manager & Content Developer, Growth Hacker.                          I help startups and established companies build brand reputation through SEO-friendly content and growth hacking techniques. 

  Article Source Here: Affordable Women’s Fashion: 7 Must Visit Online Clothing Boutiques To Match Your Budget

[staceyresnikoff]

“Writing in Paris” Resources for Writers (Boston Book Festival - BBF Unbound)

Voilà ! You’ve found the linkable resource list from the “Writing in Paris” BBF Unbound session at the 2017 Boston Book Festival. Explore your options to write in English in France:

Cambridge Writers’ Workshop Writing Retreats

https://cambridgewritersworkshop.org/summer-in-paris-writing-retreat-july-22-30-2015/

Based in Cambridge, CWW holds retreats in Paris and the French countryside, mixing classes, workshops, yoga, café writing, outings, and time with faculty. Artistic Director Diana Norma Szokolyai says the next Paris retreat will be July 25-30, 2018 with Rita Banerjee, Diana Norma, and two or three well-established authors as faculty. See the daily blog from the 2016 Barcelona and the South of France Retreat to get more background on their approach: https://cambridgewritersworkshop.org/2016/07/18/bienvenidos-a-barcelona-the-cww-barcelona-south-of-france-writing-retreat-day-1/ From the website: “The workshop is a forum for fostering communities of dedicated writers and encouraging creative expression in the literary arts.”

  L’ATELIER

http://www.latelierwriters.org/

Founded by three Emerson College MFA graduates, Laura McCune-Poplin, Michelle Bailat-Jones, and Sara Johnson Allen, L’ATELIER was designed to be an instructive and supportive writing community coming together for one week in the French countryside. The third annual retreat took place in early June 2017 at a former winemaking estate. From the website: “The space provides privacy for writing and also comfortable common areas with verandas, centuries-old stone staircases, gardens, hidden libraries, and a reserved meeting space for L'ATELIER craft sessions, meals, editing consultations, and seminars.” See the blog to understand the introspective and inspirational flavor of this annual retreat: http://www.latelierwriters.org/blog/

  WICE Paris

https://www.wice-paris.org/

From the WICE website: “WICE is one of the oldest Anglophone organizations in Paris. For more than 35 years, this non-profit association has been offering cultural and educational programs to the international and expat community in Paris. Day-to-day operations are supported by a dedicated group of volunteers, diverse in age and nationality.” WICE creative writing courses are offered year-round: www.wice-paris.org/creative-writing-literature with regular faculty including David Barnes (of SpokenWord) and Gretel Furner. Occasional CNF/memoir teacher Lise Funderburg http://www.lisefunderburg.com/ is highly recommended.

  Paris Writers Workshop (run by WICE)

http://www.wiceblog.org/2016/03/paris-writers-workshop-2016.html

Every other year, WICE holds its Paris Writers Workshop, which includes workshopping, manuscript consultations, panels, and sightseeing. There is no 2018 website yet, but see the link above and the write-up in Poets & Writers: https://www.pw.org/content/paris_writers_workshop

about 2016. More information from Dmitri at WICE: “I was on the organizing committee in 2016, and am head of the committee for PWW 2018. This is a week-long workshop typically in late June or early July. We run seminars in novel, short story, creative nonfiction and poetry. We've had some distinguished faculty, including Phillip Lopate, Lan Samantha Chang (who runs the Iowa Writing Workshop), and Ayana Mathis (author of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie).”

Paris Writing Workshop at the Paris American Academy

http://pariswritingworkshop.com

This is an intensive month-long workshop held each July in the Latin Quarter on the historic Rue Saint Jacques, close to Luxembourg Gardens. The program combines fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry through craft classes and workshops, as well as special sessions in screenwriting, travel writing, and reading one’s work to an audience. Rolf Potts runs the program. His 2018 co-instructors are: Major Jackson, Dinah Lenney, and Robin Wasserman. There can be guest lectures and soirées. Writers in the Fellows Program focus on specific writing projects while also leading peer workshops and literary walking tours. Applications and acceptances are rolling.

  Paris Writers Retreat

http://www.pariswritersretreat.com/

Wendy Goldman Rohm of Rohm Literary created this twice-yearly program with best-selling authors and literary agents to empower writers in both writing and publishing. The next retreat is May 28 - June 1, 2018. From the website: “Story and manuscript development come alive at this acclaimed, professional workshop for authors of fiction and nonfiction. We hold the Paris Writers Retreat twice a year at our private loft in the heart of Paris, in May and September. Develop your book, fine tune your manuscript, and perfect your writing in progress. Writers of all levels attend to generate new material, develop ideas, or shape their stories.” The schedule is posted here: http://www.pariswritersretreat.com/schedule.html

  Left Bank Writers Retreat

http://www.leftbankwritersworkshop.com/

This one-week program, June 10-15, 2018, offers daily morning workshops and afternoon literary-minded outings. Founder Darla Worden aims to steep participants in the methods and influences of iconic expat writers. Quote from Darla on the website: “I want to offer this experience to other writers who would like to write in the morning and see the sights of Paris in the afternoon — using their Parisian experiences as writing prompts in their work. We will explore Paris’s Left Bank where iconic writers like Hemingway, Joyce, and Fitzgerald lived and worked, as well as the great museums, parks and restaurants that inspired them.” (Details on 2017: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/01/prweb13985873.htm )

 American University of Paris (AUP)

https://www.aup.edu/academics/summer/creative-arts/creative-writing-institute

https://www.aup.edu/academics/summer/creative-arts

The AUP hosts both a Summer Creative Writing Institute and summer classes in Creative Arts, including Writing. Coursework is transferrable for credit at U.S. universities. Founded 55 years ago, the AUP describes itself as an “American-style university education” set in Paris. It’s located on the Left Bank in the 7th arrondissement along with icons such as the Eiffel Tower and Musée D’Orsay.

  Shakespeare & Company

https://shakespeareandcompany.com/

This bookstore/café/literary mecca close to Notre-Dame cathedral delivers the pulse of what’s happening in the Anglophone writing/reading community in Paris. Shakespeare & Company provides its library room free-of-charge to several writing programs and teachers (upcoming events listed here:  https://shakespeareandcompany.com/51/shakespeare-and-company/389/workshops ) and hosts not-to-be-missed, high-profile author readings. One of its most prestigious partners is the NYU low-residency MFA Writers Workshop in Paris (see next blurb). If you’re lucky, you might become a Tumbleweed, which is a guest of the bookstore, encouraged to write and read, and given a spot to sleep, in exchange for volunteer work at the shop: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/35/history/38/about-tumbleweeds

  NYU MFA Writers Workshop in Paris

http://as.nyu.edu/cwp/low-residency-mfa.html

Whether you are ready to pursue a rigorous MFA in creative writing or not, the presence of this NYU graduate program is a boon to English-speaking writers and readers in Paris. It hosts twice-yearly residencies with stellar faculty during January and July — faculty who often do public readings and discussions — providing a tremendous surge of energy for students of other Paris writing programs running concurrently. NYU MFA students meet in Paris for five intensive ten-day residences over two years and then work remotely under close faculty mentor supervision. Check out a sample calendar of the residency period: https://as.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu-as/cwp/documents/Low-ResidencyMFAJuly2015Calendar.pdf

  Paris Lit Up

http://parislitup.com/

An independent, non-profit community arts organization, Paris Lit Up organizes a series of writing workshops, including the Paris Writers’ Group meetup hosted by Helen Cusack O’Keeffe (https://www.meetup.com/pariswriters/members/9573183/ ) and an application-based mini-residency (http://parislitup.com/writing-workshops/plu-mini-writing-residency/ ). PLU is also known for its Thursday open mic nights with featured writers at Culture Rapide bar in the 20th arrondissement of Paris (http://parislitup.com/paris-lit-up-open-mic/ ) and Paris Lit Up Magazine.

  Ivy Writers Paris

http://ivywritersparis.blogspot.com/

Ivy Writers Paris was founded by American writers Michelle Noteboom and Jennifer K. Dick. They offer bilingual poetry readings and literary lectures on the Left Bank. From the website: “Before the reading starts, we gather for a drink and chat with new friends and old alongside invited authors. After the reading, books can be purchased and signed and then everyone who wants to comes along for dinner. The reading is thus sandwiched between social space, allowing listeners to really get to know guest authors. Ivy gives you the opportunity to talk to the writers you love and to their publishers, as well as other authors, translators and aficionados of poetry in attendance.”

  SpokenWord Paris

https://spokenwordparis.org/author/db1066/

Directed by David Barnes, SpokenWord Paris hosts events for Anglophone writers. The Writers’ Group, organized and run by Bruce Sherfield, is its Sunday evening writing workshop, open to all, held at Shakespeare & Company. From the website: a “very down-to-earth, unpretentious feedback workshop running on a drop-in basis almost every weekend since February 2005.” (https://spokenwordparis.org/the-other-writers-group/ ). SpokenWord Paris also hosts a Monday night open mic in the 11th arrondissement at Au Chat Noir https://spokenwordparis.org/practical-info/ and publishes the literary magazine The Bastille.

 La Muse

http://lamuseretreat.com/

La Muse is just one of several pure retreats available to writers in the French countryside (just Google “French writing retreat” and you’ll find them). This one is in Labastide-Esparbairenque in the Occitanie region in southern France. It is run by writers Kelly Eielson and John Fanning, who left careers in publishing in NYC 15 years ago to found their enclave. In addition to a quiet room, here’s what guests can expect: http://lamuseretreat.com/retreats/what-we-do-each-retreat/.

  The Write Bank Children’s Book Workshop

http://www.maxineroseschur.com/about-the-write-bank.html  http://www.maxineroseschur.com/WriteBankFlyer.pdf

Maxine Rose Schur will host an intimate autumn 2018 writing course on children’s book writing for four to six participants, set in a rented Right Bank apartment. From the website: “Appropriate for both beginning and intermediate writers, The Write Bank Children’s Book workshop is a combination of lecture, discussion, readings, in-depth critiques and hands-on exercises. The focus is deeply personal: on your specific work and your current writing goal.”

  Erin Byrne

http://www.e-byrne.com/workshop.html

Travelers’ Tales author and Solas Awards-winner, Erin Byrne, plans to resume her eclectic writing workshop in April 2018 at Shakespeare & Company. From the website: “Our writing can be brightened with techniques, styles, and flourishes of other genres. During this two-session workshop, taught by author Erin Byrne, we will dip our pens into fiction, nonfiction, travel, memoir, film, poetry, and journalism to add vivid hues to our writing styles.”

  A few à la carte links:

https://www.meetup.com/topics/writing-workshops/fr/paris/

This list on Meetup.com features many writers and artists organizing their own Anglophone writing groups, literary communities, and readings in Paris.

  http://parisreadingsmonthlylisting.blogspot.fr/

A blog sharing writing and literary events by month, posted by Jennifer K. Dick of Ivy Writers.

 https://www.ceastudyabroad.com/#go-with-cea

About CEA from the website: “Since 1997, CEA has maintained one simple philosophy: To provide high-quality international academic programs and services.”

  This petite guide was created for the “Writing in Paris” BBF Unbound session at the Boston Book Festival, October 28, 2017, with panelists Marcia DeSanctis, Lauren Grodstein, and Stacey Resnikoff, and moderator Kelly MacFarland. Set at the French Cultural Center of Boston, it’s one of four events co-presented by the BBF, FCC, and Consulate General of France in Boston. For any future “Writing in Paris” updates, follow @staceyresnikoff on Twitter.

[charliechanaratsopon-blog]

How 'Charming Charlie' Built A Hit Fashion Chain In Under A Decade

Charlie Chanaratsopon is a young man in a very great hurry. "I hate downtime!" exclaims the 35-year-old Thai-American, chopping the air for emphasis. With his slicked-back hair and sleeves rolled up to the elbows, he's always ready to get down to business--even as he weaves frantically in and out of Houston traffic in his black Mercedes S550, eager to show a visitor one of his stores. "I'd probably be the worst lawyer, worst doctor, worst engineer on the planet because of my ADD-ness," says Chanaratsopon (cha-na-ROT-suh-pon).

No examples of botched cases, mangled surgeries or shoddy construction in his world. But there's an element of reckless endangerment in Chanaratsopon's rush to build a retail chain of accessories. In less than a decade the young founder and CEO of Charming Charlie has built a $400 million-plus (sales) mini-empire of watches, necklaces, scarves and handbags--284 stores in 40 states that FORBES values at $1 billion-plus. With an estimated net worth of $500 million he's careening toward billionaire status before his 40th birthday.

Since launching his first store in Houston nine years ago, Chanaratsopon hasn't slowed down a whit. He's now opening five stores a month, mimicking the model of fast-fashion giants Zara  and H&M by selling attractive but cheaper versions of trendy items, sourced from Asia. Examples: $15 scarves, $9 sunglasses and $7 to $15 iPhone cases. Customers spend, on average, $30.

Is he making money? Chanaratsopon insists that all but one of his existing locations is profitable. The company's Ebitda is an estimated 15% or so--better than most apparel chains but far below luxury retailers like Coach COH -1.76% and Michael Kors. Chanaratsopon refuses to comment on a key index--same-store sales growth--though it's probably safe to peg it at 10% (Francesca's, a clothing and accessories boutique with 360 outlets, does 10% to 15%). One former Charming Charlie buyer claims on her LinkedIn LNKD +% page that her division, apparel and accessories, expanded 26% across same stores in 2012.

Charlie Chanaratsopon says he's in a race to capitalize on a burgeoning trend. Accessories are a $9.2-billion-a-year business in the U.S. and expanding swiftly. As a category, paired with beauty and footwear retailers, it grew six times as fast as other mall-based apparel stores from 2007 to 2012, reports Credit Suisse. "We've spent years brute-forcing things across the finish line," says Chanaratsopon.

His drive runs deeper than business, supercharged as it is by a familiar immigrant success story. His maternal grandfather worked at a gas station in Houston to put his two daughters through college. As the first generation born in the U.S., Chanaratsopon always felt the heat to keep pushing. Perhaps a frightening childhood episode played a part, too. Burglars broke into his house at 2 a.m., tied up his family and forced his father to give up all their valuables. "They put me on the floor and started kicking me," he recalls. "They took the revolver out, shoved it in my throat, clicked it back. I'm 13, and all I remember thinking is, 'Well, I think I had a great 13 years.' "

His parents, who immigrated in 1974, had founded Silver Express, a sterling silver jewelry outfit that sourced production from Thailand and sold on consignment to the likes of J.C. Penney, Nordstrom JWN -3.11%, Target TGT -1.46% and Wal-Mart. Chanaratsopon grew up with the business, watching his parents work 18-hour days, overhearing dinner-table discussions of employee issues and traveling with them on sales calls and sourcing visits.

Some of that business education surely stuck, since Chanaratsopon ended up in the elementary school principal's office after charging first-grade classmates $1 a day to rent his Nintendo games. Profits fueled more game purchases and, hence, more rentals. Today, he says, "I'm still buying and selling--that's what I love."

There were detours. After graduating from Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles with a degree in finance, he became a real estate analyst at Sanwa Bank, then came back to Houston to help his dad find a new headquarters, persuading him to build rather than lease. Chanaratsopon supervised construction of an office building as well as an adjacent strip mall, which he quickly filled with tenants. That venture was so successful he started financing construction of other shopping centers in Houston's suburbs, building seven in two and a half years. "It wasn't being smart, it was kind of luck at the time," he muses. "The real estate market was so hot, and they were valuing it so high, whatever you built you could make so much refinancing and selling it."

But Chanaratsopon couldn't sit still. He dreamed of building 100 such malls and making more money by owning the store that anchored them all. But what kind? Apparel had too many players. Harwin Avenue, Houston's stretch of discount stores offering cheap imports in warehouse settings, offered inspiration. With leftover consignment returns from Silver Express as the merchandising backbone, the first Charming Charlie opened in October 2004.

It nearly died after the first month of desultory traffic. On a whim Chanaratsopon decided not to pull the plug and re-lease the space but to stay open another couple of weeks. Thanks to dumb luck, or a direct-mail drop, women started queuing up outside the doors before Charming Charlie opened each morning. "It became the 'in' place for suburban moms' day out," recalls COO Steve Lovell, who joined the company after the third store. "Word spread like crazy. My wife heard about it from her friend before it ever opened near us."

Chanaratsopon didn't need much encouragement to start fast-tracking. "Own the store, own the complex--that was the idea," he says. "That kind of turned when I realized you couldn't physically build 100 shopping centers in six years. The stores were getting so much traction. It was a better business--a faster business." Each cost, on average, $750,000 to open.

So he appended a grandiose plan to his business school application to Columbia in late 2005. Over the next two years he flew back and forth most weeks between New York City and Houston, where he not only wrote checks but also hung display racks and swept floors at new locations. Monday mornings he was back in Morningside Heights, soliciting advice from professors and speakers.

Slapping "the go button even faster" after he returned to Houston full-time in 2007, Chanaratsopon raised an undisclosed amount from private equity firm Hancock Park Associates, to double the store count from 7 to 14. (He and Hancock today control 95% of the company.) As the economy crumbled, Chanaratsopon squeezed desperate shopping mall operators for the best terms. "Landlords were freaking out," he recalls. Charming Charlie more than doubled in size to 36 units in 2010, jumping to 96 in 2011. Its cheaper wares hit the mood of the times, offering what Hancock Park managing partner Mike Fourticq calls "the perfect shopping experience for a hurting economy."

But as the economy mends and the chain grows, Chanaratsopon pegs his overall performance at six out of ten. As he walks into store number five, it's obviously in need of a face-lift. He shudders at the warehouse-style fluorescent lights, beige slat wall and water-stained ceiling panels--all part of a discount store vibe that "drives me nuts." As the company fanned out across the country, it replaced those features with higher-quality fixtures but still organized merchandise according to color instead of type (walk out of teal and into orange).

The newer stores are smaller--averaging 5,300 square feet instead of 8,000--and assert more fashion confidence, leaving little to a wandering imagination. Push on the hot-pink doors and walk into walls of bold navy and white stripes and blaring pop music. The floor is packed with mannequins and flat-panel TVs to demonstrate hot looks using different Charming Charlie products. New trend tables show off the latest bubble necklaces and sand-blasted bracelets; cubby walls hawk higher-margin handbags.

One slight problem: The redesign isn't making the stores more lucrative. Average sales are slightly lower than they are at the company's traditional stores, though costs per square foot are up 25%. So why do it? Customer surveys suggest that store experience has dislodged low prices as the chief reason for shopping there. Put another way, Chanaratsopon is trying to develop Charming Charlie into a brand--one he hopes to export to the Middle East and South America (as well as to New York City's Fifth Avenue next year). "Where I think we have an opportunity is 5,000 stores globally," he blurts without hesitation.

You want to tell him to chill. "A few stores in Canada are a whole lot easier than in Europe and Asia," says Laura Champine, retail analyst at Canaccord Genuity, the New York investment bank. "There's still plenty of runway in the U.S."

Charlie Chanaratsopon might also put more horsepower behind his e-commerce efforts. The first attempt, two years ago, was a painfully expensive mistake he refuses to quantify. "We didn't really focus on it, didn't complete the thought," he says. Take two, launched in October, is a clean if unexciting website that isn't yet mining a potentially rich vein of customer data.

If there are speed traps ahead, Chanaratsopon seems determined to ignore them. Says Bill Moreland, the new vice president of real estate, "It's 100 miles per hour all the time around here."

Original posted... https://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2013/11/27/speed-demon-how-charming-charlie-chanaratsopon-built-a-billion-dollar-fashion-chain-in-under-a-decade/#1b625ce62dc3

[andipxndy-writes]

Meeting Mom - Jesse & Laura

[[I have another thing!! Jesse and Laura are so gosh-darned cute tbh and I love them, so they get more love. Here is that love.

Jesse belongs to @sxpersquad​, who is a wonderful hooman bean and she and her muses deserve much love <3

Enjoy!]]

Meeting Mom

Laura didn’t know what to expect when Jesse had told her they were going out that day. Honestly, Jesse tended not to take her out all that much, and if he did it was because he’d gone and found out about a new dog park for them to visit, or because he’d found a brand new recipe that he just knew she’d want to try and was dragging her out to get the ingredients against her will. More often than not, it was her that was dragging him out of their dorms to go and do something fun.

Today, though, they weren’t exactly doing something fun. In fact, it was the last thing Laura had expected them to do.

Anyone who knew anything about superheroes knew about the famed Ice Queen, the cryokinetic hero who died to save the ones she loved. Not as many knew that she was Jesse’s mom, and even fewer knew that she’d died right in front of him – in fact, she was probably one of a handful of people who actually knew this.

And today, Jesse had brought her to his mother’s grave.

There were various people flitting around the graveyard – a couple were talking and bringing things for their own loved ones, but no grave looked as loved or as cared for as that of Alasie Reinhart. It was kind of creepy in Laura’s opinion, considering none of these people knew her personally but treated her as if she was treasured, long deceased family.

Standing before her gravestone, both of them in long dark coats and thick scarves as they prepared for the coming winter, neither of them spoke as they stood side by side. The cold wind ruffled through their hair softly, blowing Laura’s bob into her face and forcing her to pull her hands out of her pockets long enough to brush it out of the way.

When Jesse finally spoke, his voice was quiet.

“She would’ve liked you.”

Of all the things Jesse could say, of all the things he should say, Laura knew that this was the biggest. It was the most important compliment he could have given her, and even if she didn’t see his eyes watering (he would blame it on the wind, and she would pretend to believe him), she knew that hers were watering on his behalf.

Instead of replying to that, she cleared her throat, ignoring the look Jesse gave her as she took a step forward.

“Um, hi,” she greeted awkwardly, pulling her hands out of her pockets and twisting them together in that awkward way she did to stop her nerves from making her use her powers. Wow, great start, Laura. “I’m Laura Banks. That probably doesn’t mean much to you right now, but I just want to say… thank you. Not just for all that you did as a hero, but for your son. You… you’ve raised an amazing man, ma’am, and I know you… you didn’t do it all the way, but the time you spent with him has given him a heart that others could only dream of having. He’s gentle, and kind, and has such a desire to help others – the perfect traits in any human being, not just a hero. And he’s sweet and honest and playful and…” She drifted off when she realised she was going on far too much about her boyfriend right then. If his mother had been alive, she was pretty sure she’d be stopped and would be blushing the brightest of reds. “And… I’d just like to thank you, because I’ve recently had the privilege of seeing everything he is, everything you’ve given to him, up close and personal.” Not quite knowing how to end it, she left it there, taking a step back to stand right beside Jesse and letting her hands drop.

There wasn’t even a hint of surprise on her face as she felt his hand slowly take hers, interlocking their fingers as he squeezed lightly.

[andipxndy-writes]

Starlight Kiss - Jesse & Laura

[[Another fic? Woah!!! But yeah, I have another thing here!

This one was written a while back, but I only recently got round to editing it fully. I realised I haven’t really written anything for my newer ships, so I have a thing! Basically Jesse and Laura are really cute together and she works really hard at opening him up. Plus, she’s a stubborn ass and won’t let him go. And they also have real cute rooftop sessions. This fic is kinda based off that.

Jesse belongs to @sxpersquad​! Enjoy!]]

Starlight Kiss

Blankets wrapped around their shoulders, Jesse was getting very much used to this little tradition they’d seemed to have formed. Every other night, whilst Pyro was on late night duty, he somehow found his way up to the roof, blankets wrapped around him and the pretty girl beside him.

The first night it had happened, he'd been reluctant to go. After all, he was tired – he’d been well fed at dinner, and was in a nice, cosy bed for the night. A girl knocking at the door, waking up not only him but the rest of his roommates, made for a pretty grumpy Jesse. It had taken a forced tugging through the doorway and all the way up to the roof for him to finally give in and do what she’d asked.

And it turned out, that night had been nice. The sky was clear, the stars were out, and she had proceeded to tell him about all the constellations they could see.

It was pretty.

And so was she.

It had taken a while before any of their instructors caught on, and Sirena was the first to find them on the roof, half asleep from spending the whole night out there. Disgruntled and surprised, Laura had practically been panicking as she tried to come up with excuses as to why exactly they were out of the roof all night. Jesse, honestly, couldn’t care less.

Then it was Optimo, who had caught them sneaking down from the roof just before breakfast, but had decided not to ask any questions. Which the two of them had been grateful for, because both of them had looked like they’d just risen from the dead, pretty much mummified in the blankets they were bringing back down with them. They knew, though, it was something he was probably going to laugh with Sirena about.

Pyro was the last to find out.

Jesse had flipped him off all the way to his room, making Laura laugh. (She hadn’t even felt bad about the threats of being in trouble they got from Pyro – they were college students; they couldn’t get detention.)

It had taken even longer for the others to find out what was going on between the two of them. Somebody (*cough*Alex*cough*) had got really suspicious watching them sneak up to the roof every night, and when the others finally decided to snoop the pair had been rudely awoken by a bunch of snooping supers in training getting caught by Sirena.

They’d all been forced to undergo covert operations training that week.

Despite what the others thought, though, it took even longer for them to kiss. Even though she was demanding, she never pushed him to do anything too uncomfortable. Sure, she demanded ridiculous levels of attention from him at times, and was more than willing to test his patience and push his buttons, but she’d never forced herself on him. Ever.

Which is what confused him the night she was calling their three-month anniversary of finding their roof spot. Sitting on the soft grass Jodie and Audrey had grown, the pair looked up at the sky, gazing up at the stars and the moon. She wasn’t saying anything about the stars, nothing about the constellations, but he was pretty sure he had them memorized now. He could speak them back to her and point out everything if he wanted to.

After all, he listened. He liked her voice, so he listened.

“What’s wrong?” he finally asked, breaking their silence. It wasn’t like her to stay so quiet for so long – she was usually the talkative one.

She was quiet for a little while longer, before asking, “Why haven’t you kissed me yet?” softly.

That made him freeze, his breath catching in his throat. There were many reasons that came to mind as to why he hadn’t kissed her yet, but one thought was at the forefront of his mind. She was waiting for him… to kiss her? But… why? Couldn’t she kiss him instead?

“Because,” he finally answered, hoping that was enough for her. He wasn’t sure he liked this topic. He preferred to move on.

He should’ve known that she’d press.

“Because…?” she pressed.

He pursed his lips, letting out a slow sigh through his nose. Did he want to answer this? No. Did he have a choice? Probably not, the way this was going. Laura would never let this go.

There was only one way to keep her quiet.

Turning to her fully, he pressed his lips softly to hers, catching her by surprise. Short and sweet, it wasn’t long before he pulled away and went back to looking up at the stars, as if nothing had happened.

He didn’t expect her reaction.

“That was the shittiest kiss I’ve ever had,” she snapped, grabbing her blankets roughly and storming towards the stairwell and off the roof. He watched her leave, his eyes uncharacteristically wide.

What had he done wrong?

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

It took him a whole night of restless sleep to figure out that he’d been a bit of a dick. Kissing her just after she’d asked why he hadn’t done so yet? Dick move. Ultimate dick move.

He had to fix it.

Stumbling into the kitchen after his uneasy night, he wasn’t surprised to see her buttering toast. Except, there were only two slices.

Usually, she’d make at least four for just him.

“Laura?” he called out softly, waiting for her to respond. When she didn’t, he tried again, his voice louder, but still with a tinge of vulnerability. “Laura…?”

She turned her head to look over at him, not saying a word. The blankness on her face was enough to tell him exactly how she was feeling about his presence that morning.

In other words, not very happy.

I’m… sorry.

He thought the words, but didn’t dare say them – that wasn’t the kind of person he was. Now was probably one of the times he was glad her mind reading was limited to her sister. Because if she could read his mind right then, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle her reactions to his thoughts.

She simply stared at him, before going to sit at the dining table. He followed her over.

I didn’t mean to hurt you.

She stayed silent as she sat down, tucking her chair in and facing away from him.

“Are you just going to ignore me?”

A shrug told him that she was listening, but that was it. She wasn’t going to talk. She continued to go about having her breakfast, reaching over to the jug of orange juice in the middle of the table and pouring herself a glass.

The room began to heat up slightly as he got more upset at her behaviour. He was trying, wasn’t he? He’d turned up for breakfast and was paying her attention, wasn’t he? It wasn’t as if he was outright ignoring her because of the awkwardness of the night before. He was trying to talk to her. Wasn’t that enough for her? Wasn’t that what she wanted?

No, he knew what she wanted.

Acting on impulse, he moved to sit beside her and, before she could take a bite of her toast, he grabbed her face and pulled her in for a deep kiss, pleasuring in the fact that it didn’t take her long to drop her toast and kiss him back.

They only pulled apart when they heard a whistle from the doorway, and turned to see Alex, Obed, Jake and Dimitri stood there, passing cash between them (though more of it seemed to be leaving Obed’s hands than anything).

“Who knew the dining room could be more romantic than a rooftop under the stars?” Alex teased as he counted the cash in his hands.

“Haven’t you heard?” Jake asked with a grin, pocketing his own winnings. “The kitchen-diner is always hot from the cooking. No place hotter to kiss.”

Jesse and Laura proceeded to flip the laughing males off as Laura pulled him back in for another kiss.

[andipxndy-writes]

Life Is Hard - Sam & Kat

[[So you know how I love angst a lot? Well, this came more out of an angsty discussion where an idea popped into mind and I just kinda decided to sprint with it. But you have no idea how much I love this family just being a family - it’s the sweetest thing ever, and they pull each other through a lot.

So here’s another thing I wrote for @a-simple-rper - based off the family life that our muses Sam and Kat are thrown into at possibly the worst time in their lives, financially.

Enjoy!]]

Life Is Hard

Standing at the open window overlooking the street below, an unopened box of cigarettes in their hand, Sam was deep in thought. Fingering the box in their hand, never had they been more tempted to open it and light one than right then – just for the feel of the smoke, the nicotine rushing through their system, the sense of peace that came with the drug.

Or maybe they could take advantage of their night off, head down to the bar anyway and drink themselves stupid. To the point where Rick would either carry them back home or up to the spare bed.

But they couldn’t do that. Not to Rick. Not to Kat. Not on their good conscience, when three lives depended on them.

Three lives. Not one. Not two. But three. That was what seemed to be keeping them up late on a night where they would usually nod off without a care in the world. The fact that they were up at such a ridiculous hour should be more than enough to show that they had a lot on their mind.

They had three lives in their care. Three lives, and not a lot of money. As great as Rick was as a boss, it wasn’t like the man could suddenly afford to up his pay a lot when there were bills to pay. Sam wasn’t the only employee anymore, and the fact that he was dating the other gave her a bit of an advantage when it came to things like working out paycheques. At least, it did in Sam’s opinion.

Not that they didn’t like Laura. Well… they were terrified of her, to be honest; but she could be nice, they supposed.

But now they were stuck. For some reason, they’d had a conversation with some of the other dads at Kat’s pregnancy group, whatever it was called, and the subject of how much kids cost came up. Apparently, one of the other dads wasn’t exactly a new dad. And the conversation they’d had was… enlightening.

Not only were they going to pay for baby stuff (which they’d started buying already with Kat, and wasn’t cheap), but kids grew out of clothes quickly. So they’d have to be buying those regularly. Then there was the food, because apparently kids needed a lot of that – and a lot of the good stuff, not the shitty microwave stuff Sam could live on – to grow healthy. There was no way Sam was gonna let their kids not be healthy. Not after the childhood they had. Add to that the increased heating and water bills, because babies needed baths and they needed to stay warm when it was cold (they just had to have late fall babies, huh?), and raising a baby was expensive.

And that wasn’t even taking into account those toddler years. Kat would obviously have to go back to work, because they couldn’t live on just Sam’s salary, meaning they needed someone to take care of the kids. Kat’s mom would’ve been the obvious choice, but she wasn’t retired yet, so Sam couldn’t exactly call her out of a lecture to take care of her grandkids. That wasn’t fair. So they had to go for either a nanny, or daycare, and eventually pre-k. They knew Allie would be more than willing to nanny, but she was also still a student. They couldn’t ask her to cut her studying short just for them. And Jake had a full-time job. And there was no way Rick would let them raise children in a bar.

Oh God, after pre-k was actual school, and even if public schools were free, food was not. Packed lunch, or school lunch, that was gonna cost money. They’d have to get suitable clothes and shoes and… oh Lord, if their kids were anything like Kat’s brother, George, clothing was gonna be a bomb. And then there was the school books and the stationary and when they got to middle school did they have to buy reading books for literature? They’d have to look that up. And then there were the proms and the school trips and the birthday parties… oh God the birthday parties…

This wasn’t even taking into account the fact that there had to be a college fund.

And all of that mentioned earlier? Yeah, double it. Because they were having twins.

They were so lost in their thoughts that they didn’t hear the soft patter of feet behind them, until a blonde messy bun suddenly appeared in their peripheral. They visibly jumped, turning to see Kat stood there, heavily pregnant and looking adorable (in Sam’s opinion) all sleepy in her pajamas.

“Sammy?” she asked, yawning and rubbing her eyes tiredly. “What are you doing up…?”

“I was just… thinking,” they responded quietly, shrugging a little. Their usual crooked smile appeared on their face, but it didn’t reach their eyes.

Kat just stared at them for a few moments. “Right…” She took their arm, beginning to drag them back towards the bedroom. “It’s too late to think. Back to bed.”

“Don’t you mean too early?” Sam teased as they let themselves be dragged away, back to the bedroom. At the last moment, they threw the pack of cigarettes behind them, out of the window.

“Don’t make me think.” As the pair reached the bed, Kat hesitated for a moment, which made Sam pause.

“What?” they asked slowly, leaning down a little to look her in the eye.

She drew her lips to the side, before responding, “We’re gonna be okay, you know.”

Sam just stared at her for a few moments, before sighing and climbing into bed, carefully pulling her down beside them so that they could curl up together under the sheets. “I know, it’s just… hard to imagine, y’know?”

“Then don’t imagine,” Kat responded softly, caressing their cheek with her hand. “Just have faith.”

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

Looking up from her own stack of reading papers, Allie was surprised to actually see Sam so focused on the worksheet in front of them. Despite their obvious lack of schooling, they actually seemed to be progressing well in their studies. They were almost at the end of elementary now, and soon enough they’d be moving on to middle school stuff. Allie promised she would celebrate the day they reached the high school curriculum, and had somehow managed to convince Rick to hold a graduation ceremony for them if they got through it all and passed.

After a few minutes, though, Allie realised Sam wasn’t actually focused on the worksheet.

“Hey,” she called, reaching over to tap their arm. They jumped at her touch, eyes wide, and looked up sharply at Allie.

“Oh, uh, hey…”

Her eyes narrowed at them. “What’s bugging you?” she asked, as blunt as ever.

Sam pursed their lips shut – a universal sign that they didn’t want to speak – and looked down at the worksheet again, but when they looked back up they realised Allie was still staring. They knew that look. Laura got that same look when she knew they’d done something wrong and she was gonna figure it out. Rick got that same look too. Heck, even Kat got that look sometimes when the twins were playing up.

“It’s… it’s nothing,” Sam answered finally in a quiet voice, clearly not wanting to talk about it.

She raised an eyebrow at them. “Are you sure…?” she asked, her own voice suddenly softer as she leaned forward. “Because I’m always here if you need it…”

Sam looked back down at the worksheet in front of them. They were finally getting some of the stuff, but clearly not enough to know how short they were on the bills payment that month when they’d decided to go and do some grocery shopping. So long water and heating. They’d have to get a second job if things were going to keep going like this.

“I’m sure,” they replied, going back to the work with renewed vigour.

Later that night, when they checked their wallet for spare change, they realised they knew exactly who had snuck in the cheque for a thousand dollars.

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

Wiping down the bar, Rick sighed as he looked up. The bar was practically empty – Thursday evenings were apparently not meant to be that busy, which was fine for Rick. It meant that he had time to prepare for the inevitable weekend rush.

Hearing the door open, he looked up expecting to see a customer, and was pleasantly surprised to see Sam stood there, the twins at their legs. As much as he claimed it irritated him when they brought those two to work, he actually enjoyed having them around. Annabelle was shy and kept out of trouble by sticking to her dad (and keeping them out of trouble), whilst Tyler had to be the happiest three-year-old he’d ever met.

Except Rick distinctly remembered telling Sam to take the night off because it was going to be slow, to spend some time with Kat.

Kat wasn’t there.

Huh.

“Hiya, Unca’ Wick!” cane Tyler’s cheerful greeting as he ran over, waving wildly. Rick leaned on the bar, looking over at the little guy.

He had to admit, there was a soft spot for the kid. Somewhere.

“Hi, Tyler.” He then turned to Sam and the hiding Annabelle. “Hi, Annabelle.”

The little girl gave a wave from where she was hiding behind Sam’s legs. “Hello.”

Rick then looked Sam in the eye. “I thought I told you to take the night off?”

“You did. And I am. But I thought these two deserved a special dinner tonight,” the younger said with a wide grin, earning a cheer from Tyler and a bright smile from Annabelle.

It didn’t take a genius to see what was going on, and Rick turned back to Tyler. “Well, I guess you gotta go give your orders straight to the kitchen.”

“Okay!” Tyler exclaimed before running off, and soon enough Annabelle was racing after him.

As soon as the twins were safely in the kitchen (not that the kitchen was particularly safe for a pair of three-year-olds), Rick turned back to Sam. “Where’s Kat?” he asked as he went back to wiping down the counter.

Sam shrugged a little as they sat down, running a nervous hand through their short hair. Rick was pretty sure they’d picked up that habit from Jake. “Had to work tonight. Something about not doing her required hours, so they’re docking her pay unless she goes in to do some late work.”

Rick could hear the unspoken sentence: And we can’t afford to have her pay docked right now.

“Do they know she has kids?” he asked, though he felt as if he already knew the answer to his question.

“Do you think they care?” Sam let out a humourless laugh, crossing their arms and leaning down onto the bar counter. “If they did, they wouldn’t be docking her pay when our nanny cancels on us, would they?”

Rick started at them for a few moments, noticing how their shoulders were tensed and their jaw clenched, before letting out a slow sigh. “Dinner’s on the house.”

Sam’s eyes widened. “Wait, what? Rick, no—”

“Make sure you get the most expensive meal you can, because it’s not happening again.” He grabbed a glass from below the counter, ignoring the way Sam seemed to be protesting. “Pop?”

Despite what Rick said, it did, in fact, end up happening again.

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

Walking around the bar in her pajamas, even on an open night, had become a norm for Laura ever since she’d become a parent. Heck, she couldn’t waste time caring about how she looked to the customers when she had screaming kids that needed juice, or sobbing toddlers that needed their Tylenol. Looking good for the customers was a daytime thing – once it hit ten, and the kitchen was closed, functional quality beat public approval by a long shot.

Which was why, when Rick called her down to check who was at the door round the back, Laura found herself standing in just her pajamas, face-to-face with her twin and her partner. And their two kids.

Tyler grinned up at her toothily, his little dinosaur backpack looking huge on his little four-year-old body. “Hi, Aunt Lauwa!”

Laura just stared at him, before looking back up at Kat. “That speech impediment is still there?”

“Give him a break, he’s four,” Kat laughed.

“I have three one-year-olds who could probably speak better,” Laura teased as she stood aside to let the family of four in.

“One of those one-year-olds literally screams her head off every time Rick tells her it’s bath time,” Sam pointed out with a snort, making Kat chuckle and Laura glare at them.

“I could literally teach her to scream at you,” she threatened, though she had a smirk on her face.

“Yeah, but I give her chocolate milk every time she sees me, so that’s not gonna work.”

Laura glared at them for a moment, before smiling down at the twins and kneeling in front of them. “Hey, so your momma tells me that you’re here for a sleepover! Is that true?” Both children nodded excitedly, and Laura chuckled. “Well, guess what? You get to sleep in your dad’s super cool old room! You remember where that is?”

“Yeah!” Tyler exclaimed, before racing up the stairs before anyone could say another word, Annabelle in her sunflower backpack right behind him. The adults simply laughed as they watched the pair race up the stairs, before Kat moved to follow them.

“I better make sure those two troublemakers don’t break anything. Or wake up the triplets.” She gave Sam a quick peck on the lips. “Don’t stay down too long. You know they won’t sleep if you’re not there.”

Sam nodded, watching Kat’s retreating figure with a smile. Though, as soon as she left, that smile faded and made way for exhaustion.

Laura watched their facial expressions carefully. “Heating…?” she asked softly.

Sam glanced over at her, not sure exactly what to say, before responding quietly, “And electricity. Water goes in two days.”

Laura nodded, biting her lip. “Stay as long as you need. We’ve got the space, even if it’s a tight fit, and the food.” Noticing the guilty look that was forming on their face, she added, “God knows Rick needs someone to show him up with the parenting side of things. Have you seen him change a diaper?”

Sam’s nose crinkled. “He’s still screwing up the diapers?”

“He put one on Claire backwards yesterday.” Granted, Claire had been giggling and crawling away as he’d tried to, but that served him right for using the bathroom floor instead of the changing table like she’d asked him to many times.

Sam smirked, before rolling up their sleeves and rubbing their hands together. “Looks like I’ve got some work to do. Hey, big guy!” They turned and headed not towards the stairs, but into the bar to mess with Rick, as usual.

Laura gave a small smile at Sam’s behaviour, almost tempted to call after them to keep the noise down, but instead she sighed as she shut the back door. It was going to be hectic, but having this huge family all in one place was going to be a lot of fun. She could tell.

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

“I still I can’t believe I’m gonna be a dad.”

Sam actually gave a chuckle at Jake’s apparent surprise as they walked through the store, sharing a trolley between them. They didn’t quite understand why Jake had chosen them to go on a shopping trip with, but considering it meant they got out of helping out with stock and cleaning and they still got paid as if they were on shift, they weren’t complaining. They patted his shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry – these next five months are gonna go by in a flash,” they said.

“That isn’t reassuring,” Jake pointed out, making a face at them. “That’s fucking terrifying.”

“I know. I wasn’t trying to reassure you.” They laughed at the punch to the shoulder they got in response, rubbing their shoulder.

Eventually the pair reached the kids’ aisles, and Jake slowed down as he looked through all the baby clothes.

“They’re all so tiny…” he murmured, reaching out to touch a tiny pink dress.

Sam gave a small smile. “Yeah, but they grow so fast.” They laughed a little as they held one of the baby boy outfits. “It feels like yesterday that Tyler was wearing something like this. Now he’s in kindergarten ruining almost every pair of pants he’s got.” They made a face. “Kids grow like weeds, oh my God.”

“Yeah, Ty’s gonna be a tall one,” Jake agreed with a laugh. As they continued to pass through the aisles, Jake realised Sam had stopped in the section for five and six year olds. He walked backwards towards them to see what they were looking at.

Hanging up was a pretty Disney Princess dress. Ever since Allie had introduced Annabelle to the Disney Princess movies, she’d been hooked on Aurora, saying something about how her daddy loved to sleep a lot too so she was her favourite. Sam had tried very hard not to take offense to that when Kat cracked up.

“That’s cute,” Jake said casually. “You thinking of Halloween costumes for double trouble?”

Sam let out a snort at Jake’s nickname for the twins. “Kinda? Kat was thinking of doing homemade costumes this year.”

Jake raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t this the first year Anna has actually wanted a costume?”

“Yeah, and we can make it from scratch. Don’t worry.” They gave Jake one of their trademark grins.

Jake didn’t seem placated by Sam’s reassurances, but shrugged anyway, heading off to do the rest of the shopping. After all, they had a lot to do, and Rick still needed them back before the bar actually opened for the day.

It was after they’d finished, when Jake was dropping Sam off at the bar, that he handed them one of the carrier bags. Sam frowned.

“This for Rick?”

“No, for you.”

Sam’s eyes widened, almost looking as if they wanted to hand the bag straight back. “Dude, I didn’t ask for anything…”

Jake rolled his eyes at them, pushing the bag into their arms. “Take the damn bag and go,” he said, shooting them out of his car before driving off with a wave.

Sam rolled their eyes at him, before glancing around nervously and then looking into the bag. Their breath almost hitched at what they saw: a few pairs of kids’ jeans, some t-shirts, jumpers and cardigans.

And right on top? The princess dress, complete with a crown. For Annabelle.

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

Sam started at the letter blankly in their hands. Not that they couldn’t read it, of course (even with their lack of education, they could at least read), but the words were just swimming on the page right then.

It was a letter for a field trip. The twins were barely six, of course, but their kindergarten class were doing a trip to Central Park to look at nature, or something like that, and draw the trees and the leaves. A ridiculous trip, in Sam’s eyes, but both of them were begging to go.

The only thing was, the school was going to provide them with lunch, and they were taking the school bus to the park. And they expected the parents to pay for fuel and food.

It didn’t really seem that expensive, considering they were splitting things with all the parents, but Sam didn’t have that kind of money. In fact, they didn’t have any kind of money. As it was, they were almost living paycheck to paycheck, and were trying to save up some money for repairs on their car, which had conveniently decided to break down last week, just before Kat had to go out of town for a conference. Which had resulted in them borrowing Jake’s car until the repairs could be done.

But they knew the looks they would get from their children if they told the twins they couldn’t go, and they couldn’t bear to face the tears that would come with them. And it wasn’t even as if they had anything to make up for not going…

Rubbing their hands through their hair frustratedly, they just about noticed Rick approaching them before they began to speak.

“Why is life so damn expensive?” they hissed, clenching their fists in their hair. “It’s just bills and rent and more bills and school and food and even more bills! Half the time I can’t even afford a decent meal!” Slamming their hands down on the bar counter, they continued, “And it’s not even as if anyone makes it easier! Goddamn college bosses don’t give a shit if you have kids and need to pick them up! And if you don’t have a nanny, well, you’re goddamn fucked! Stores keep raising their fucking prices and make everyone live on food stamps! Food stamps! Schools charge for a fucking education! That sort of shit should be free! Kids are suffering and not getting fed and can’t afford to live and all these people care about is fucking money!” They began to scrub at their face furiously, and suddenly their voice sounded like they were on the verge of tears. “I can’t even afford to take care of my own kids! They just drain and drain and drain and drain and drain and I love them so much but I have no money to take care of my wife and kids and—”

“Hey,” came the soft voice from beside them, only just loud enough to hear over the voices in their head screaming that they were a failure, they didn’t deserve to have kids and social services were gonna make sure they would never see them again. The gentle hand on their shoulder made them flinch and panic more, their breaths coming out in short puffs and their body beginning to shake. They couldn’t do this they couldn’t do this they were failing they weren’t good enough they were just destroying their kids they—

“Hey.” A firm hand landed on their other shoulder – a grounding hand that made Sam stop and listen to the firm, deep voice. Moving their hands away from their face, they looked up to see Rick stood in front of them on the other side of the bar, calm dark eyes staring straight at them. Calm dark eyes that conveyed the message that he would say if he actually wanted to speak.

“Why do you keep pushing us away?” Sam looked to the owner of the other hand on his shoulder and noticed it belonged to Allie. An Allie holding a tiny baby, but Allie nonetheless. When they didn’t answer, she sighed. “Sam, it’s okay to let us help you, you know.”

“Help with what? My failure in taking care of my own family?” Sam choked out harshly, looking away from her and almost pushing her hand off their shoulder.

“No,” Jake interjected, sitting on the other side of them at the bar and blocking off any possible escape route from the conversation. “The failure of the government to help you in taking care of your family. This system is shitty.”

“And we’re your family, Sam,” Allie pointed out. “We take care of each other, no matter what.”

Sam thought back to all the times these guys had helped them out over the years, without even them having to ask. Not even once had they demanded that they help in return – they’d just helped without questioning. And one look in Rick’s eyes told them that they would continue to help out no matter what.

Their eyes started to well up with tears, and then they heard the watery voice behind them.

“Don’t you ever call yourself a failure again.”

They span on the stool to see Kat stood there, eyes red from crying and tears still on her cheeks. They watched as she neared them, clearly still crying.

“Don’t call yourself what you aren’t. You are not a failure. You are a husband and a father and damn good at what you do. And I love you with every goddamn fiber of my being.”

Seeing that she was still crying made them begin to sob, and soon enough she was in their arms, the pair of them crying quietly. Multiple pairs of arms enveloped them, comforting them softly, until the sobs quieted down and they all slowly pulled away from each other. Except Kat, who kept her arms wrapped around Sam and her face buried in their chest as she stood in the space they’d made for her between their legs.

They placed a kiss on top of her head. “I’m sorry for worrying you like this…”

“I’m sorry for not making myself available for you to talk to about this,” she responded softly, her voice slightly muffled in their t-shirt.

The two were broken from their moment by the clearing of a throat, and Sam turned their head towards the person whilst Kat lifted her head to see who it was. Turned out it was Rick, sliding a small piece of paper across the bar to them.

A cheque of $150,000.

Kat’s mouth dropped open as Sam immediately began to shake his head. “No, we can’t take that from the bar…”

“It’s not from the bar,” Allie interrupted, drawing their attentions to her. “It’s mostly mine. And before you say anything,” she gestured to the baby in her arms, “Joseph already has a college fund set up. Take the money.”

“And if you need any more,” Jake added, causing the couple to turn to him, “please, for the love of all that is good in this world, fucking ask.”

“We’re literally a phone call away,” Laura added, leaning on the bar counter beside Rick. “Just call us when you need.”

Sam stared between the members of his makeshift family, eyes wide, before their eyes finally landed on their wife, who still had her arms wrapped around them, her eyes still shining with unshed tears but a hopeful smile on her face. A smile that made them smile back.

Life was hard. But they were going to be okay.

[andipxndy-writes]

From You - Rick & Laura

[[Honestly, I love writing for this family too much. Anyway, I have another thing! Basically these two (Rick belongs, as usualy, to @a-simple-rper) have the most hilarious kids and I love them a lot, and they both fail to claim responsibility for who gets what from where.

So I decided to write a thing about it oops.

Anyways, here’s the thing! Enjoy!]]

From You

When children inherited from their parents, it wasn’t just genetics that they got. Or, at least, that’s what Allie said. She said that personality traits could be inherited too – things that they didn’t necessarily see their parents do, but did anyway in almost the exact same way as their parents did. Like seeing a miniature version of them going around.

Laura didn’t believe it at first. After all, in what way could a kid inherit personality from their parents?

However, it seemed as if Rick was a lot more eager to believe science than she was. Or he was wanting to shift the blame.

Standing in front of their two year old, who was refusing to have a bath on the grounds that they didn’t have her favourite “bubbles” (she’d completely forgotten to buy that yesterday when she’d gone grocery shopping), Laura ran her hands over her face. This was not the day to argue with her – not when she had to prepare a new menu because the seasons were changing (Christmas was coming, and the patrons wanted something more seasonal to eat, obviously).

“Claire, you need to have a bath.”

“No!”

“It’s bath time.”

“No! I wan’ bubbles!”

Laura pinched the bridge of her nose as she sighed (a habit she’d obviously picked up from her husband) before glaring down slightly at the toddler.

“She gets that from you, you know.”

Laura grit her teeth a little at her husband’s voice. Was this the time to be making quips? No. Was she going to humour him anyway? Apparently.

“Gets what?” She turned to see him wiping down the bar as he usually did, cleaning out the place on the Sunday evening when the building was closed to the public.

“The stubbornness.” Rick glanced up from his cleaning with the smallest of smirks on his face, which infuriated Laura. She did not need this right now.

“You focus on your cleaning you… ugh!” She couldn’t even say bad words around the kids. They were at their sponge stage. If she said anything, Claire would be saying it until the cows come home, and Rick would blame it on her.

The ass had her trapped.

Huffing, she forcibly picked Claire up, who promptly started screaming. “No! No!”

Laura glared at her. “No. If you want hot cocoa, you need to have a bath.”

That quietened her down quickly. Laura smirked as she headed up the stairs, taking Claire for her bath.

That food bribery working? It wasn’t from her side.

---

As they’d grown older, the triplets had displayed distinct differences in their personalities that helped to distinguish them, which helped a lot. Of course, Freddie was the only boy, but his more laid-back attitude and desire to eat more than anything meant that he was a lot easier to care for. Rachael was the most laid back of the babies, barely even making a sound and only ever crying when she absolutely needed something. Even as a toddler, she was more content reading picture books and playing with toys on her own than bothering her parents.

But Claire, oh Claire. Claire was the heart attack child.

From the moment she could walk, Claire was getting into places she shouldn’t, and screaming at people who got in her way. She was more well-behaved towards the patrons than her own parents (though that wasn’t saying much), and was always the first to grab someone’s attention. And she also liked to grab her father’s attention, though not in the best ways.

At one point she’d nearly run through the open cellar door and fallen down the stairs, if Rick hadn’t caught her in time.

She also wasn’t allowed to be set on the bar counter, because tipping over glasses filled with drink and pushing bottles off the counter and seeing how quickly Rick would react was one of her favourite games.

Her new favourite, though? Playing “catch” with daddy.

Where she was the one that had to be caught.

Wiping down the counter, Rick was half listening to a patron when he heard loud laughter from one particular area of the bar. Looking up to see what was going on, his heart rate increased when he realised Claire was dancing on one of the tables, giggling. Turning around mid-dance, she waved excitedly at Rick.

“Hi daddy!”

“Oh God,” Rick muttered, already moving around the bar counter to grab the little girl. She was supposed to be in bed. “Claire, honey, get down from there.”

Words he would later regret saying.

“Catch me!”

Rick couldn’t remember ever running as quickly as he did to catch Claire in that moment, pulling her out of the air before she could hit the floor. Her laughter only stressed him out more.

“God, Claire, don’t do that,” he scolded, his voice not rising in level a single bit but his eyes portraying his worry.

Claire didn’t read it though. “That was fun! I wanna go again, Daddy!”

“No.”

“Awww…”

Heading upstairs with his daughter and leaving Sam to man the bar, he could only imagine what Laura was going to say.

“Jumping off tables and laughing about it? She certainly doesn’t get that thrill-seeker attitude from me, Mr. Broke-Into-School.”

---

If Laura was being honest, Robbie was a completely unexpected child. After all, she and Rick already had three, and they didn’t expect to have another at all. When they did find out, however, they were more than glad that they were having a single child and not multiples. Pregnancy with the triplets had been stressful enough. They didn’t need to add anything like twins on top of that.

And honestly? Robbie was Laura’s baby. She would never admit it, but he was her little baby and she loved him dearly, no matter how big he got. It made sense, then, that he very much enjoyed cuddles and had a tendency to draw closer to one of his parents and snuggle up to them, silently demanding to be cuddled.

So Rick wasn’t surprised a single bit when, as he spoke with Jane one late night at the bar, Robbie toddled up to him and held up his arms to be picked up, which Rick obliged to. Settling him on his lap, Rick automatically moved his arms to hold Robbie in a comfortable position as the little boy closed his eyes.

Jane chuckled lightly. “Oh, I remember Laura doing that all the time when she was younger – too tired to do anything but expect cuddles.”

Rick showed the barest amount of surprise. “Laura used to do this?”

“All the time. She was such a cuddle bug.” The mother-in-law took a sip of her soda. “Or she just wanted attention and didn’t like strangers. Depended on how you saw it.”

Before Rick could say anything in response, Laura emerged from the kitchen, wiping off her hands on a dish rag.

“Kitchen is all done, and—what?” She frowned at Rick, before over at her mother. “What did you say?”

“I was just telling him how you used to love cuddling when you were younger, to get away from strangers and get a nap without the bed,” Jane replied simply, and Laura glared at Rick.

“Don’t say a word.”

Rick gave a small smirk.

“He gets it from you.”

---

One of the perks of visiting his parents in Arkansas was that Rick could just kick his kids out of the house for the day, and they’d have something to do that would exhaust them and made sure they actually went to bed that night. Sometimes it was fun to help the kids with the farming duties he used to have, but most of the time? He just preferred to take his wife walking in the fields, showing her his favourite spots and taking her on picnics away from the kids so that they could have time to themselves, and his parents could enjoy themselves by pampering their grandkids.

And the kids loved it. Whilst Robbie wasn’t quite old enough to be helping out with the proper farming, he certainly enjoyed pulling weeds out of the garden with the helpers. Freddie had made it his life’s mission to beat Rick’s records out in the fields, doing farm work, and Claire always went out with Grampy, straight into the tractor to work on the crops. And Rachael preferred to stay in the kitchen with Gramma and cook and clean the house, though occasionally she went out to see the animals with Grampy and Claire.

It happened to be one of those days when Rick and Laura returned, Laura laughing with her hair tied back from her face, both of them soaking wet. As soon as Judy spotted them, she began to fuss, shooing them to the back porch so that they didn’t drip all over her freshly cleaned floors.

“For goodness’ sake, Rickard! How many times have I told you not to go playing around that pond! You always end up in it more than around! And dragging poor Laura in!”

Reaching the back porch, the couple only laughed as Rick pulled off his shirt, throwing it over the porch railing to dry. Laura pulled off her own cardigan, doing the same, and began to wring her hair out. It was as they were drying off that Rachael approached the house with John, the little girl sat on a horse and holding the reigns with a huge smile on her face whilst Grampy John led the horse slowly.

“Daddy! Mommy! Look!”

The parents looked over at her and smiled. Rachael rarely had such a high level of excitement on her face, usually a lot more reserved with her nose in a book. Seeing her so excited was a rare occurrence to be treasured.

“I know what I want to be when I grow up! I’m gonna be a horse rider.” The excited look on her face made way for a look of seriousness. “So I want a horse for Christmas. Please.”

Both parents froze. Rachael never asked for anything, and they gave her things they knew she enjoyed all the time. But for her to be actually asking for something… and a horse no less…

“She gets that from you,” they both said, looking to each other at the same time, and Grampy cracked an amused smirk at that.

---

Watching the kids interact was generally entertaining for Rick. If they weren’t bickering or fighting, obviously. Which happened a whole lot more the moment Robbie learned how to talk, actually.

Who knew that Claire would near constantly clash heads with a kid five years younger than her?

“Let go! This is mine!”

“I wan’ it! Gimme!”

“No!”

He sighed as he watched the two fighting over one of Claire’s fighter jet toys. Grampy had got her that for Christmas. It would be a real shame if it—

“You broke it!”

He grit his teeth, preparing for the onslaught of crying and bickering that was bound to happen. The screaming and crying that came from Claire was expected.

However, he did not expect Robbie to actually come behind the bar, where he was organising stuff before they opened for business, with the broken toy in his hands. As Rick had thought, the toy had broken in half, the tail end completely separated from the pilot’s cabin. Not as bad as it could be, but still rendering the plane unable to fly (if it was a real plane, that was).

The little boy stared at him for a few moments, before thrusting the broken toy towards him. “Fis’it.”

Rick blinked for a few moments, not quite sure of what the little boy was saying.

Then Robbie narrowed his eyes in a way that he’d only ever seen on two others before.

“Fis’it!”

The father sighed as he took the pieces of the toy, before standing and heading into the kitchen, where Laura was doing an ingredients inventory. She looked up when Rick entered, Robbie hot on his heels, and her eyebrows rose.

“What’s up?”

Rick held up the broken pieces of the toy. “I have to fix it.”

She smirked. Sometimes she swore Claire had him wrapped around her little finger, even if it wasn’t in the most conventional of ways. “Claire?”

“Nope.”

Okay, that answer surprised her.

At the surprise on her face, Rick gestured to Robbie before reaching into their DIY cupboard to grab the superglue. “He said I have to fix it.”

She snorted. “What, really?”

“Yeah.” Rick glanced over his shoulder at her. “He gets it from you, you know.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Oh, really?”

“Fis’it?” Robbie was stood by Rick, staring up at him as he glued the toy plane back together.

“Yes,” Rick answered simply, smirking over at Laura.

She scoffed, turning back to her inventory counts. Just because Robbie knew what he wanted and asked for it, just like Claire had when she was his age, didn’t mean he got it from her… right?

---

Travelling to Arkansas for Thanksgiving had become somewhat of a tradition since the triplets were young. Their grandparents from the south absolutely loved having them around, and the kids themselves loved being able to help out with the farm work and around the house, with Rachael aiding more often than not in the kitchen whilst the other three worked out in the fields with the farm hands. And Judy always had a proud, warm smile on her face when Freddie and Claire (and when he was old enough, Robbie too) came in from a hard day of work, sweaty and rosy cheeked but happy. And straight into the bath, at Laura’s demand.

And every day, they kept a part of the tradition that Rick had as a kid, and that he and Laura neglected to keep because of their busy work lives.

A big family dinner.

Seated at the table, Freddie watched eagerly as Rachael and Claire helped their mother and grandmother to bring dinner from the kitchen and set it down at the dinner table. Roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, peas and carrots amongst other vegetables and freshly toasted corn bread were set on the table alongside a couple of roasted chickens. Honestly, the dinner looked huge – enough to seemingly feed more than the family of eight – but all four adults in that family knew that they’d be polishing off those plates in no time.

As soon as everyone sat down, Freddie’s fingers began twitching eagerly, just waiting for the moment when he would be allowed to start serving himself.

“Freddie, could you please say grace for us?”

Glancing up at Gramma Judy, Freddie hesitated before holding hands with his mother and Rachael, closing his eyes.

“God, we thank you for this food and we ask that you bless it and us. Amen.”

There was a chorus of “Amen”s from around the table, and then everyone let go of the hands they were holding and started serving food.

It didn’t take long for Freddie’s plate to be piled high with food, the boy already digging into his meal with gusto.

“Ugh, Gramma’s food is the best,” he managed to moan out through mouthfuls. “She always gets the ‘taters just right, and the corn is always the right kind of crunchy, and the corn bread…” He trailed off when he saw the look Laura was giving him, and he swallowed what was in his mouth before hurrying to backtrack. “Not that your cooking isn’t great too, mom! I-I mean, your stuffed chicken is the best!”

“You said you were excited about Gramma’s chicken just last week,” Claire countered, earning herself a glare from Freddie.

Judy chuckled, looking from Freddie to Rick, who sat at the other end of the table. “That boy sounds more and more like you every time I see him,” she teased, making Rick sigh.

“Ma…”

“So this one’s from you?” Laura asked, smirking at her husband. “Explains the portion sizes.”

The deadpan look Rick sent Laura got sniggers out of all four of the kids.

---

Of their four children, it was easy to see who was the quietest. Rachael always sat on her own, away from the others and, as a result, out of trouble. Which was absolutely wonderful in her parents’ eyes – it meant that they usually had one less child to tell off when something happened. She didn’t break anything. She didn’t insult anyone. She didn’t get into fights.

She was the child they occasionally dreamed the others copied.

Still, it wasn’t hard to realise that she had her moments. They weren’t often, but they tended to happen on bar nights when they all refused to go to sleep. More often than not, the refusal to sleep came from wanting to play with Sam and Jake and the other patrons.

This night? Claire had somehow convinced Sam to sneak herself, Freddie and Robbie some pop, and the trio were prancing around the bar, screaming and laughing and generally entertaining everyone with their hyper behaviour.

Rick could only sigh as he stood behind the bar, sending Sam a dark glare before pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

Only Rachael seemed to be calm, sitting at the bar and reading a book that she and Allie had bought at the bookstore a week or so ago. Some book about mythology in the modern world or something – Rick hadn’t been quite sure what exactly the book was about, and Rachael had been too eager to start reading it to fully explain everything.

If only all of the kids were like Rachael in the evenings. Just to give him enough of a break to focus on the patrons. That would be nice.

“You know, this wouldn’t have happened if you actually hid it.”

Rick looked up from where he was mixing a drink to see his daughter giving him an almost bland expression – almost, because he could see the mild irritation in her eyes. “Hid what?”

“The pop,” Rachael clarified. Her book was still open in front of her, but she was levelling Rick with a look so familiar that he was sure it didn’t come from Laura. “Claire knows where to get it.”

“Sam got it out.”

“Sam only opened the door. The one you locked.” Her focus turned back to her book, her eyes scanning the pages as she read. “Hide the pop.”

Rick blinked at Rachael for a few moments, the few words of wisdom she’d given spinning through his head. Well… that piece of information was nice to know, he supposed. But why say it so bluntly?

As soon as he heard the kitchen door open, he knew what was coming.

“She gets it from you, you know.”

He shot the smirking Laura a look over his shoulder, before shaking his head and going back to dealing with the patrons. Yeah, so what if she got it from him? At least it was words of wisdom.

---

To say that Rick was surprised when Freddie told him he didn’t want to do any sort of sport was probably an understatement. In fact, he’d been so surprised that he’d gone and said something stupid about drama, which had promptly upset both Laura, his wife, and Freddie, his son. Still, in retrospect, he shouldn’t have been surprised that Freddie enjoyed acting so much. After all, Laura had been a sort of drama queen when she was in high school – he had to get it from somewhere, right?

Then again, Laura regularly pointed out how he seemed to be a bit of a brick wall when it came to his emotions, not letting on anything unless they were to the point of him needing to explode at someone or something unless the emotion was a positive one. He even brushed off how he was feeling in favour of making sure others were okay, and seeing his expression whenever someone approached him crying was the most amusing thing – in particular when he guided them towards Rachael (who seemed very unemotive on the outside but was much more comforting and gave much better advice than Freddie could even imagine) or Claire (whose solution to every issue was to either yell at it or throw things at it, neither of which was actually all that helpful if the issue was a person).

That was why, as they sat right in the middle of the audience (not at the front because of Rick’s height, but not at the back because Laura still wanted to video her baby in his first performance) Rick and Laura shared glances throughout the entire performance. Because whilst his acting was a lot better than most of his friends’, the blank look he could pull on stage was so much like Rick’s that it was impossible to say it wasn’t from his father.

They literally couldn’t decide.

“That blank look is definitely from you,” Laura whispered over at her husband, who was holding the camera towards the stage to video everything.

“And everything else is from you,” Rick murmured in response, earning himself an elbow in the side from Laura that made him chuckle lowly.

---

“Quit it, or I will throttle you!”

Rick could only sigh as he heard footsteps thundering down the stairs from the upstairs apartment, and he didn’t need to look up to know that it was Claire chasing Robbie down the stairs for doing something to irritate her… again. Those footsteps had become something of a norm when the bar was closed off to the public.

Rachael sighed as she flipped a page in her book, continuing with her reading. Rick honestly had no idea what she was reading this time, but he knew that it was some sort of sci-fi fantasy series that involved time travel or something like that. At least, that was what he’d managed to get out from her excited blabbering.

“Is the floor still wet?” she asked casually. Rick looked up from where he was cleaning the counter to check.

“Already dried.”

“Oh. Shame, really.”

Rick raised a single eyebrow at her, before focusing back on the counter cleaning.

The kitchen door opened, and Freddie burst out of the kitchen, laughing and covering his head.

“How many times have I told you and your father to stay out of my kitchen when I’m cooking!” Laura yelled, wielding the infamous spoon threateningly. “If you try to steal another handful of fries again, I’m smacking you with the spoon! And do not come to me if you get scalded by hot oil, you hear me, Frederick Williams?”

Catching Rick’s eye as she turned back to re-enter the kitchen, Laura glared at Rick. “He gets this from you, and you keep encouraging it. Discourage it now.”

Rick just sent her a small smirk. “I can’t help it if your food is good.”

“Discourage it.” She paused for a moment. “And tell those two to stop running all over the place!”

“Stressed?”

“They’re going to singlehandedly destroy your bar.”

“Who’s that from?”

Looking around the bar, Laura looked at all of her children. Claire and Robbie, chasing each other around the tables and in and out of the arcade room, laughing and yelling at each other; Rachael sat calmly at the bar, reading her book but ready to scold the others at a second’s notice if she needed to (and if she needed to, she would raise her voice and make sure they stopped and sat down); and Freddie with a handful of fries, popping them into his mouth as he headed down to the cellar (to grab a couple of cans of pop, as usual, and deplete the stock that Rick had counted just a day ago). The quatro of chaos, but the four individuals who would always hold a strong place in both parents’ hearts.

“Both of us,” Laura responded simply, a smile on her face. At his raised eyebrow, she elaborated, “If you really think that hyperactivity is from me, you’ve got another thing coming. I’ll take the stubbornness and short temper, but you better take that inability to sit still.” Spotting Freddie emerging from the cellar with a Dr. Pepper, she gestured over to him. “And that love for Dr. Pepper. Honestly, there are way better sodas.”

“There definitely are not.”

“Dr. Pepper sucks. Give me a Pepsi any day.”

“Don’t let Sam hear you say that.”

“I will scream it from the roof tops, spoon in hand.”

Rick cracked a grin at that. “I’m not dealing with the aftermath.”

“It’s okay.” She gestured to the four children in the room. “We have four minions to deal with it for us.”

At that, Rick had to let out a chuckle. In all honesty? She had a point.

[andipxndy-writes]

The Triplets - Rick & Laura

[[Oh my gosh it’s been 5ever since I’ve actually posted anything on any of my blogs on this site. But here I am, back because my muses decided to pop up!

Anyway, I wrote a thing! Basically, in my procrastination, I’ve been reading through a bunch of old threads, and I got really sucked into my threads with @a-simple-rper and fell in love with these characters and their relationships and... well, basically, I was so inspired that this thing got done in, like, a day and a half. Which is probably a new record for me, considering I’ve actually edited through this thing more than once (I never go back and edit, lol) and it’s more than 5.5k words. I’m actually very proud of myself.

So here’s my cute thing! Edited to completion, methinks. Enjoy!]]

The Triplets

When Rick had woken up that morning, he hadn’t known what to expect. Well, he kind of did – Laura in bed beside him, the light of the sun rising filtering through the curtains, a day filled with work ahead of him.

What he did not expect was to wake up to an empty bed, the bedroom door wide open. He frowned as he sat up, stretching and yawning before heading towards the door and out into the corridor. That was strange… Laura usually woke up after he did.

His unasked question of where exactly his girlfriend was, was answered by the sounds of retching coming from the bathroom. His brows furrowed even more at that – Laura hadn’t been drinking last night, so why was she sick? Did she eat something bad? As far as he knew, nothing had been out of the ordinary.

Approaching the door, he knocked on it. “Laura? You in there?”

There were a few seconds of silence, before Rick heard the feeble “yes,” that he knew could only come from his partner. Which was less than comforting.

“What’s wrong? Did you eat something bad last night?” Getting straight to the point was Rick’s favourite mode of action, and he felt that it was definitely important to use right now, considering she didn’t sound all that great.

“N-no…”

Rick waited silently to see if she would elaborate, but when she didn’t say anything further he sighed. This didn’t make sense. Why was Laura sick?

It seemed as if Laura could sense Rick’s struggle on the other side of the door, so she called out, “Door’s open.”

Rick barely hesitated before pushing the door open, trying not to appear too worried as he did so. He wasn’t surprised to see Laura leaned against the toilet, head resting on her arm on the seat. What did surprise him was the weak, tired smile she gave him.

“How long have you been here?” he asked slowly as he moved to sit beside her, rubbing her back. Weird thing was, she didn’t feel that clammy, or hot, so she couldn’t have been ill…

“A couple hours,” she replied, her voice croaky. “It’s been mostly up and down. I feel good for a few minutes and have a glass of water, then I throw it all up again. It sucks. And dry heaving is the worst part.”

Rick frowned deeply at that, the usual slight amount of concern breaking through his normally stoic expression.

“This isn’t the first time it’s happened.”

“What?” He hadn’t been expecting that either. Laura was always in bed when he woke up – he hadn’t noticed her being away first thing in the morning until today.

She nodded. “Yeah. It’s just a little worse today…”

“Do we need to go to a doctor about it?”

She appeared to contemplate the decision, before the small smile appeared on her face. “No need. Though, you might want to grab your phone.”

His eyebrows rose at that, and he waited for her to elaborate, hoping that she’d actually do so this time.

That was when she picked up something that had been sat on top of the toilet cistern and held it up for him to see, and it took him less than a second to realise what it was.

A pregnancy test.

A positive pregnancy test.

“You might want to call your ma about this one. Because it looks like we’re getting a second chance.”

“And how are you today, Ms. Banks?”

Laura shifted slightly on the bed, looking away from the ultrasound scanner and up at the sonographer. “I’m alright, I guess.”

Honestly, though? She was very nervous, and even Rick could see that on her face. The last time they’d been in this situation, it hadn’t turned out well at all – they’d finally got their hopes up, only for it to be ripped away from them for some reason or other. She was scared of it happening again.

Heck, even Rick was scared of it happening again.

This was their second chance, and they didn’t want it to be ripped away from them like before. They were being extra careful now, doing everything the midwife and the doctor had suggested, making sure there was no room for a single thing to go wrong.

The doctor nodded, smiling comfortingly at the couple. “That’s good, that’s good.” She stopped typing at the computer to face the couple fully. “Now, as you know, we recommended you come in earlier than most just to make sure everything’s alright with this pregnancy, considering what happened in the last one. We’ll be asking some more questions, and keeping a closer eye on you too, just to make sure this one goes smoothly. That sound good to you both?”

The pair nodded, and Laura took Rick’s hand, squeezing it lightly.

The sonographer nodded once. “Good. Now, as we’re having an early scan, we’re going to be doing it vaginally, just so we can see everything. Is that alright with you? It requires a bit more prep than just lifting your shirt, and could take a fair bit longer, but we’ll be able to see more and make sure your baby is healthy.”

After Laura nodded her consent, she headed off to the bathroom to prepare for the scan, lying on the bed awkwardly when she was done. She glanced up at Rick, who (for some reason or other) was looking away.

“If you’re doing that to give me some decency, I’d like to remind you of what position I was in for me to end up here in the first place.”

He turned back to her with a slight smirk. “Are you sure it was this one? I’m pretty sure it was another.”

“Are we really going to have to recall back to that night?”

“I think we can do that.”

“Maybe later,” the sonographer interjected casually, causing Laura to blush. Rick coughed slightly to cover up his laugh.

The couple’s eyes were focused on the ultrasound screen as the probe was moved about, getting the necessary image. It took a good few minutes of staring at seemingly nothing, but then the sonographer spoke.

“Aha! Here we go.” She pointed at the screen. “So, here’s your uterus, and that right there… right there, is the foetus.” After a bit more movement on the screen, she paused. “Hang on…”

Rick and Laura frowned at each other, before looking at the doctor.

“Is something wrong?” Laura asked, and she found her hand in Rick’s again, squeezing it. She didn’t want anything to go wrong. It couldn’t be happening again. They’d barely even started…

She found her heart rate decreasing when Rick squeezed back, getting rid of the fear caused by the doctor’s silence.

The doctor didn’t answer for a little while, seemingly focusing on the screen, before she eventually let out a laugh. “Well, you two are in for a real treat.”

Laura blinked at the sudden change in atmosphere. “What?”

The doctor moved the probe again, before turning to the screen. “Right, so here we have a fetus…” She pointed to another position on the screen. “And we have fetus number two…”

“Oh God…” Rick muttered.

“And fetus number three, kind of separate from the other two but still very much present.”

Laura’s jaw hung open, her eyes wide. “Are you… are you serious?”

The doctor nodded, a smile on her face. “Congratulations, you two. You’re having triplets.”

Laura sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror, standing sideways. She’d long since given up on wearing her usual skinny jeans and tight shirts, since she pretty much popped right out of them, but she wasn’t exactly sure how good she looked in the winter dress Kat had bought her. She was big, yes, but this just made her look huge.

“Are you coming down?”

Laura looked over at the door to see Rick stood there, in a shirt and jeans himself. She turned back to the mirror with a sigh. “I will…”

“Our parents are waiting.”

“Our moms are probably just chatting it up whilst our dads just sit there.”

“If you’re here much longer, Sam will be forced to entertain.”

Laura winced. They both knew how much her dad loved Sam.

Then again, her father didn’t know that she was pregnant yet. Her mother knew, and so did Rick’s parents, but she most definitely knew what sort of reaction she’d get from her dad at this. Then again, he either found out now, or when she was literally about to pop.

“Is George here yet?”

“He’s entertaining the twins.”

“Is the turkey out of the oven?”

“Just as you instructed.”

“What about…?”

“It’s all ready, Laura.”

Laura was pleasantly surprised when she felt Rick’s arms around her, a kiss placed on the top of her head before he rested his on hers. She smiled and leaned back into him.

“He’s gonna be mad…”

Rick raised a single eyebrow at her in the mirror. “He’s fifteen weeks too late to complain.”

Laura smirked. “Well, that’s an attitude I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

“It’s just the truth.”

She laughed, kissing what she could reach of his arm before patting his hands so that he let go. “Okay, okay. I’m ready.”

Rick let go of her, taking a few steps back and letting her walk past him to the door. Noticing how her back was straighter, how the way she walked was a lot more confident, he smiled a little.

That’s his Laura.

Lying in bed, arms wrapped around Laura as she leaned up against the headboard, Rick couldn’t imagine a better way to spend a Sunday morning – even if this whole situation was only happening because Laura had demanded it and hadn’t budged until he’d agreed.

Whilst he had his eyes closed, simply resting and enjoying the peace, Laura was reading a book she’d been given at the clinic, flipping through the chapter on 20 weeks. Reading through the various pieces of information, and looking through the various pictures on the pages, she scowled.

“I look like a whale.”

“Hmmm?” Rick opened his eyes when she spoke, looking up at her.

“I look like a whale,” she repeated, still scowling down at the book. “Look at all the women in these photos, Rick. They can probably reach their toes whilst sitting down.”

Rick blinked at her, though his face appeared as blank as ever. What had brought this on? “You’re pregnant with triplets.”

“And I’m a whale.”

“You’re not a whale. You’re pregnant. With three babies instead of one.”

“I feel huge.”

“I’d be worried if you weren’t.”

When she glared at him, he sighed and decided to elaborate.

“You’ve got to be three times as big to fit them all. It’s fine. You’re fine. And beautiful.”

Her expression softened, and she blinked at what he said, blushing. The blush only got darker when he sat up and leaned over to kiss her softly. And then she gasped, pulling away suddenly with wide eyes.

He frowned, concern appearing on his features almost immediately. “What is it?” he asked, trying not to convey how concerned he was through his tone. Had he done something wrong?

“I think… I think I felt a kick.”

It took a few moments for what she said to fully register in Rick’s mind. And then, all of a sudden, it clicked.

A kick.

When Laura saw the small smile beginning to spread on his face, she took his hand and placed it where she’d felt the kick. She knew it was probably futile, feeling for a kick in the same place when the next kick could be anywhere, or not even be felt at all.

She was pleasantly surprised when there actually was a kick in the same place again, right against the palm of Rick’s hand. Looking at him, she didn’t bother stop the laugh coming out at the genuinely surprised expression on his face. Seeing expressions like that, clear on his face without any of his usual restraint, brought her a level of joy that very little could compare to.

Except, probably, the feel of their babies kicking for the first time.

When Rick had first met Laura’s family, it had been pretty awkward to be introduced as her boyfriend. Especially since he was not only much taller than her, but much older and a whole lot more Southern. He was quickly singled out as the odd one out in any family gathering, which he supposed he could deal with. After all, Laura still loved him, and it wasn’t as if her dad hated him for being in a relationship with his daughter, like he did Sam; though, her mother did seem to favour the other a whole lot more than him.

Finding out that she had more extended family, made up of her mother’s sisters and their children, was something Rick thought he would be able to handle. After all, the twins were nice. Their cousins couldn’t be that bad, could they?

He was proven wrong the moment Laura’s mother stepped into the bar with two women he’d never met before.

“Oh, what is that horrid smell?” the older woman asked, wrinkling her nose in distaste as she looked around the bar.

“Must be the drunkards,” the younger responded casually, her eyes focused on her nails. The response caused Jane to roll her eyes before approaching Rick at the bar, leaving the two women to disapprove of the place.

“Rick, how are you doing?”

“Well thanks, Jane.” He looked up from wiping down the counter. “Did you need Laura?”

“We’ll need her in a bit. Probably when Kat gets here.” The smile melted off her face. “As soon as she steps through that door, start us up on a tab. I’m going to need a drink or two to deal with them.”

He simply nodded, tossing the rag onto his shoulder. “I’ll go give her a heads up.”

“Thank you, Rick.”

He gave another nod before turning and heading into the kitchen. He wasn’t surprised to find Laura at the stove, whipping up the next order at a slower speed than usual. Granted, she wasn’t letting her rapidly expanding stomach get in the way of her cooking, but even he could tell that having three babies was draining her energy faster than usual, and reaching for anything below knee height was a struggle for her on a good day. She looked over at him when the door opened, smiling.

“Hey, Ricky, is everything okay?” she asked as she turned back to focus on what she was doing. Even if she looked huge at only 24 weeks, Rick still thought she looked as beautiful as ever.

“Your mom’s here.”

“Oh?” Laura turned to reach for a ladle, lowering the heat on the soup and beginning to spoon it into the waiting bowls. “Did she want something?”

“She’s here with two women.”

“Really?” She paused. “What did they look like?”

“Blonde, like you. She also said something about Kat joining you guys when she gets here.”

Laura was silent for a few moments, before swearing violently under her breath and leaning the ladle on the side of the pot. “Keep an eye on the soup for me,” she muttered as she waddled past him to the door, opening it a little and peeking out. As soon as she spotted her mother, she shut the door quickly and swore again, this time more loudly.

“That’s my aunt and cousin.”

Rick’s eyebrows rose.

“They don’t know I’m pregnant.”

Now Laura’s swearing made sense.

Rick pursed his lips a little as he tried to think of a solution to this. All of them involved Sam, and all outcomes were disastrous. “Do you need someone to stall?”

“My mom knows I’m in here. I’m stuck. Unless I can hide this.” She gestured to her bump.

“That’s 6 months of Rick’s hard work in there,” Sam chirped from the serving window as they approached to deliver orders on their trusty notepad, and take the completed ones to the waiting tables. “You can’t be hiding that.”

“I kind of need to right now.”

Sam blinked at her, before glancing over their shoulder towards the dreaded table. “Is this about the two ladies mom is sitting with? They gave me the stink eye when she introduced me.”

“What they said behind your back must’ve been ten times worse.” Laura groaned and ran a hand over her face.

Rick watched her closely. “Do you need to sit down? You’ve been standing for a while.”

“Probably…”

“Uh, I don’t know whether this is a good thing or not, but Kat just got here and mom is signalling to me to call you,” Sam muttered, a look of genuine sympathy for Laura on their face. “You want me to stall for you?”

Laura sighed, running a hand through her hair and pushing it back before shaking her head. “No, I’ll… I’ll head over.”

Rick nodded, nearing her and kissing her softly. “You’ll be fine. I’m here if you need.”

“That soup is burning.”

He quickly turned to switch it off, causing Laura to laugh as she turned towards the door. Taking a deep breath, she made her way slowly out of the kitchen and towards the table her mother was sat at. Luckily she was approaching from behind her aunt and cousin, facing her mother. She looked incredibly nervous as she reached the table. “Hey, mom, Kat.”

She should’ve expected the scathing comments that were coming.

“Oh, that bastard doorman knocked you up too?” Lara sneered. “I told you, mom, it’s a harem in here.”

Laura spoke before Kat could spit something angrily from where she sat. She could’ve seen the anger boiling from a mile away. “No. I’m dating the barman.”

Lara’s eyes widened. “You mean, that mammoth?”

Her aunt sneered. “Look at you both, having children out of wedlock like heathens. I would’ve thought you taught them better, Jane. This stupidity must come from your husband.”

Jane glared at her sister. “Now, don’t you start, Elizabeth.”

Before anything else could be said, Sam approached the table, the first drinks of the tab on a tray. “Ladies,” they greeted, with their usual grin. When they noticed Laura was standing, though, they frowned. “Laura, you shouldn’t be standing.”

“Oh, and you have an idea on what she should be doing?” Elizabeth asked snarkily, almost glaring at Sam.

They bristled at her tone, but a look from Jane ensured that they said nothing as they placed down the drinks that had been requested earlier, sending Laura and Kat smiles as they left.

As soon as they were gone, Lara scoffed. “What a fool. I cannot believe Katherine stooped to that level. And had little bastards with him.”

Laura had barely blinked before Kat snapped and punched Lara in the face, hard. “Don’t you ever insult Sam or call my children bastards again, you bitch. Otherwise that punch will feel like a tickle compared to what I’ll do to you.”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened as Lara reeled back on her chair, screeching and holding her bloody nose. “Katherine!”

“Oh, don’t you start,” Laura sneered, pulling out a chair and sitting down without invitation – her back ached like hell. “I can’t deal with your whining.”

“How dare you speak to me in that manner!”

Before Laura could reply in a sarcastic manner worthy of Allie in one of her annoying moods, her mother spoke. “I think, perhaps, it’s time you took your child and left, Elizabeth,” Jane stated calmly, though the expression on her face was steely and dark. “And you can show yourself out.”

Elizabeth glared at her sister. “If you think that I am lowly enough to be forced to follow your instructions—”

“Is there a problem here, ma’am?”

All five ladies looked up to see Rick stood by the table, drying a glass in his hands with the usual stony expression on his face. Though, Laura could see the anger hidden behind his eyes. And apparently, so could everyone else.

His appearance was all Elizabeth and Lara needed to get out of there, both of them grabbing their bags and walking hurriedly towards the door without looking back. As soon as they were gone, Rick focused on Laura, his eyes softening and his expression concerned.

“Are you alright?”

“I’ll be fine,” Laura responded, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself (and the agitated flutterings of the babies growing inside her) down. “Just need to rest a bit.”

Jane looked guilty as she leaned on the table. “I’d originally come to check on you both before those two decided to tag along… without my consent.” She sent Laura an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

“No, it’s fine, mom. Besides,” Laura grinned at her twin, “I finally got to see the results of Sam’s boxing lessons.”

Kat grinned as she cracked her knuckles. “Oh, sweetie, that was only the beginning.”

Rick gave a small smile as he headed back to the bar, the three women laughing behind him.

If there was one thing Rick hated more than looking ridiculous, it was looking ridiculous in front of other people.

Still, for the sake of his girlfriend and their babies, he sat quietly in the lesson, Laura between his legs and leaning back on him, all four of their hands resting on her now very large bump. Today happened to be a lesson on breathing exercises – and Rick wasn’t sure whether he was looking forward to it.

“Right, now I want you to relax into your partner – think calming thoughts as you slowly breathe out… then in…”

Rick’s hands remained on the bump as Laura leaned back into his torso, her eyes closed as she focused on her breathing.

“Remember, start with a slow breath out to relax your muscles… and think calming thoughts… the stress will only make the pain worse…”

“Did Sam and Kat have to do these…?” Rick asked Laura lowly, leaning down so that only she could hear him.

“If they didn’t, would you make us leave?” Laura muttered back in retaliation.

Rick just rubbed her stomach comfortingly, smiling a little when he felt a couple of kicks. “I’m just saying… they’re pretty uneventful.”

Laura opened her eyes and looked up at him. “What kinds of things were you expecting to do?”

“Stress will make the pain worse, so imagine the stress leaving your body as you breathe out…”

“I don’t know, but maybe something more than breathing exercises…” Rick responded.

Laura scoffed. “Last week you were bouncing the birthing ball like a basketball and commented on all the stupid stuff Sam would do with it if they found it in the bar…”

There was a loud clearing of a throat, and both of them looked towards the teacher, who was glaring at them.

“It would be nice if, after paying for the class, you actually bothered to listen,” she quipped.

“Sorry,” Laura mumbled, and Rick ducked his head, hiding the smirk growing on his face.

The teacher watched them for a few moments, before nodding and continuing with the class. “Now, as I was saying, let the stress flow out of your body like a stream from a spring…”

“You got in trouble with the teacher,” Rick muttered into Laura’s ear with a smirk, and she huffed, pinching his arm in retribution.

“Ass,” she grumbled, though a small smile had formed on her face.

Walking through the supermarket, Laura sighed, leaning heavily on the shopping trolley as she moved. Her feet hurt, her back ached, her hands and feet felt swollen, and she was exhausted near constantly, but today was the only day Rick was willing to leave the bar under Sam’s supervision and go baby shopping with her.

Baby shopping that was taking a whole lot longer than she’d anticipated.

Looking into the trolley, there were a ton of baby outfits and even more diapers there, as well as three baby carriers that could transform into car seats very easily (thank goodness). At that moment, Rick was looking at some strollers, a frown on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Laura asked, sounding pretty much as tired as she felt.

“Three-kid strollers are really expensive…” he muttered, looking between the different types. “What do you think?”

Laura straightened up and looked at the different options available – basically, one. Which was definitely very expensive. “What about a double and a single?” she suggested.

Rick looked over at her. “We’d have to take them on walks together.”

“It’d get you out of the bar more.”

He rolled his eyes at her, before turning back to the strollers. “I guess… but wouldn’t the triplet one be better in the long term?”

Laura opened her mouth to answer when she suddenly felt a discomfort in her lower back, and she leaned more fully on the trolley, breathing slowly.

When Laura didn’t answer, Rick turned around to see her leaning on the trolley. “Laura?” He approached her, rubbing her lower back slowly.

“Braxton Hicks,” she replied, answering the unasked question. “Just real uncomfy right now.”

Rick nodded, before realising she couldn’t see him. “Need to walk around a bit?”

“Yeah, but my back kills…”

He sighed, continuing to rub as she hummed to herself, probably to stop herself from groaning from the discomfort. He had an idea, but he wasn’t sure if it would be allowed… “Want to head over to the sofa section?”

She turned her head to look at him, a frown on her face. “Why?”

“You need to put your feet up.”

“You want us to get kicked out of Wal-Mart?”

“They’d kick out a pregnant woman for resting?”

Laura pursed her lips. Rick had a point… “Okay, help me out…”

Sighing, Rick walked slowly up the stairs, running a hand through his hair. The bar was finally closed for the night, but today had been hectic. The Carter twins had just started Pre-K, because Kat was back to working as a lecturer and Sam worked every day anyway. Except, some kid had turned up at school with chicken pox a week before and now the twins were spotty, itchy and tearful every day, so Kat and Sam had to take shifts taking care of them and making sure they didn’t scratch their skins off.

So he was down a worker.

Then there was the fact that Laura was officially not allowed to be on her feet for more than ten minutes at a time. Which meant that she wasn’t allowed to be in the kitchen – at least, that was how Rick interpreted it, even if she’d fought to get it interpreted differently. Luckily, it had reached the summer, and some kids were on summer break, so Allie offered up the services of her cousin (who happened to be a high school teacher) so that the kitchen could stay open and business could keep bringing in profits. Particularly because it was family season.

The lack of a doorman and the usual chef made it harder for Rick to deal with a shift, considering he also had to do crowd control, and there wasn’t exactly anyone to serve the food (unless that kid who volunteered to help out counted – Rick was pretty sure the kid expected payment for his service).

Now, though, he was looking forward to just relaxing in bed with his woman and letting all the stresses of the day just melt away. Tomorrow, hopefully, Sam would be back for a shift and take some of the stress off Rick, but tonight was a night to relax.

Opening the bedroom door, Rick wasn’t surprised to see Laura sat up in bed, reading with the book set on her bump as she rubbed it fondly. She looked up when she realised Rick was there, and smiled. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He shut the door and approached the bed. “Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“I’ve rested pretty much all day. I’m not that tired.” She rubbed her stomach. “Plus, it’s their playtime apparently. Mama isn’t allowed to sleep.”

He chuckled as he pulled off his shirt, approaching the bed. “Need me to have a talk with them?”

Her expression soured. “You make it worse. Every time.”

“Hey, at least I’ve tried.”

“Your kids don’t take you seriously. You need to sort that out.”

He just chuckled again, stripping down to his underwear and lying down beside her. “Not long before I’ll be able to.”

Being 31 weeks along, the doctors had suggested that Laura only keep pushing until at least 34 weeks before she delivered – it was certain that she wouldn’t be able to carry to full term, but they needed the babies as developed as possible before they took them out and kept them in the NICU until they were healthy enough to survive on their own. Which meant Laura would be stuck on bed rest for at least three weeks.

She’d only been on rest for half a week, and Rick could already tell she hated it.

A nervous expression appeared on her face, and Rick sat up. “Nervous?”

She huffed out a laugh. “Yeah. We’re having three kids. In at least three weeks. What’s not to be nervous about?”

“Remember that you’ll – we’ll – have a support network. We’re not alone in this.”

She smiled widely at that, closing the book and setting it on the bedside table. “Yeah… yeah, I guess…”

He leaned over and kissed her softly, gently cradling her head in his hands as he did so. He rested his forehead against hers as he pulled away. “We’re a team. We can make it work. We can do this.”

She narrowed her eyes at him as she pulled away. “You took that from the antenatal class. You were actually listening?”

“You were the one who got told off for not listening.”

“That was your fault!”

The summer was usually the busiest season for the bar, simply because people were more free to do what they wanted – especially with the kids out of school. Since it had become general knowledge to the regulars that Rick was going to be a dad, Rick more often than not found himself chatting with a dad who had dropped the kids off with the grandparents and was chilling whilst their significant other was at work, and conversations ranged from the sweetest things kids did to the times they literally caused heart attacks, and Rick certainly wasn’t looking forward to the latter.

However, it was when he heard the call that he realised kids started giving heart attacks from before birth.

“Rick!”

His heart leapt into his throat as he shot Sam a look, and the other raced over to take his place at the bar as he ran upstairs to see what was going on. He stiffened when he realised Kat was stood there in the corridor, supporting her pregnant sister.

Her pregnant sister, who was stood with her hands braced against the wall, her face scrunched up in pain and a slowly growing pool of liquid around her feet.

Please let that be pee, please let that be pee…

“Her waters just broke,” Kat explained, rubbing Laura’s back. “She’s been having contractions since this morning.”

Rick’s heart clenched at that. If she’d been having them, why hadn’t they called earlier? He hadn’t been that busy, had he? God, was she in labour?

Oh God, she was in labour.

“Grab the baby bag from our room – it’s under the bed,” he instructed, quickly moving to take Kat’s place in supporting Laura. “Sam has the truck keys.”

“I’ll get it all ready for you.” Kat raced off to do as Rick explained, leaving the pair in the corridor.

Leaning down, Rick kissed Laura’s cheek as he rubbed her lower back and realised her face was wet from tears. “Remember, breathe. Breathe out slow, then in. Don’t panic.”

As Laura began to follow the instructions given in the classes, Rick realised he was also using the breathing technique to keep calm and that his heart was beating twice as fast as usual.

It felt like forever, but Laura eventually relaxed, her breathing returning to normal and her hands unclenching from where they had been scratching at the wall in pain. But the tears kept flowing. Rick leaned down again and kissed her cheeks, letting her know he was still there.

“You ready to move?”

Laura forced out a laugh, still braced against the wall. “Do I have a choice?” She took a deep breath. “And here I was hoping I could hold out for another week…”

“You’re 34 weeks already. You’ve made it far, and you’ve done well. I’m proud of you.”

She smiled at that. “Really?”

He smiled back. “Really.”

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes tightly to stop the flow of tears. “Okay then. Let’s go have our babies.”

Rick could probably count on one hand the number of times he’d got emotional in his life: his first wedding; leaving home; that time with his dad when he was a teen…

But this definitely topped that list.

Staring through the windows to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, his eyes were focused on three incubators with wires and tubes leading out of them. Inside them, three babies laid, tiny and helpless and premature, unable to breathe without the aid of a machine.

And as helpless and as tiny as they were, and as terrified as he was to now have three tiny lives entrusted into his care, Rick couldn’t deny the overflow of love he felt as he watched them. The emotion was just… so much more than he was used to.

That’s what he would attribute the crack in his voice to as his mother answered the phone.

“Ricky? Is everything alright?”

“Ma…” He smiled, his eyes still glued to his two daughters and son. “You’re a grandma…”