#nothing to panic about because steps at this point are testing and meds adjustment

[ms-demeanor]

.

[converse-luke]

Raised Stakes

Here it is the last part of the poly!cake series! I’m going to write a prequel part but if you guys ask I may write some blurbs in this universe. 

Part One  Part Two  Part Three

Words: 3k

Warnings: Pregnancy talks, mentioned alcohol and drug use

Tag list: @softforcal @c-sainthood @calteahood @irwinkitten @glitterprincelu @hereforlukescruff @paqueretteash @negative-love @cal-pal-cuddles

You sit still on top of the toilet, silently watching the time tick past on your phone. With a deep breath you set down the phone and pick up the small stick on the edge of the sink. “Fuck, fuck,” a small plus sign stares up at you. Panic wells up in your chest and you have the strong urge to throw up. You stumble out of the bathroom and rub your eyes. Calum and Luke are on the couch, cuddled up against each other while Luke preens for attention.

You take a deep breath and stand in front of the couch, holding your stomach nervously. “Um, I have news.” They pull away from each other, Luke’s blue eyes looking up at you widely. You try to get it out but tears well up in your eyes. Calum pushes Luke to the side, grabbing your hands to pull you between them. 

“Hey it’s alright, you can tell us whatever it is.” Calum rubs your shoulders and Luke places a hand on your knee, thumb rubbing it lightly. “We’ll be here for you no matter what.” He wipes away a few tears that have fallen.

“I think I’m pregnant,” you whimper. Luke tenses and removes his hand from your knee, Calum keeps rubbing your shoulders. “I was late and I’m never late so I took a pregnancy test and it’s positive.” Luke stands, back drawn tightly as he looks at you and Calum. “Luke?”

“I… I… I have to go.” Luke stumbles back, grabbing his shoes before leaving the house. The sound of the door slamming echoes through your chest. You look back at the spot Luke had just left, completely silent. Your hand comes up to your mouth, a sob shaking your whole body.

“Calum, Calum he just, he just left.” You grab his shirt as Calum shushes you, adjusting you so you’re on his lap.

“I know, I know. He’s an asshole babe.”

“He’s not,” you whimper, clinging to Calum. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Here’s what we’ll do, we’ll go to your doctor, see what’s going on in there, and we’ll go from there.” Calum is unbelievably calm as he runs his hand down your back, slipping under your shirt to rub your back better. “It’s going to be okay.”

Hours later, when you’re in bed fast asleep Calum slips out and grabs his phone. He presses Luke’s contact and presses his phone to his ear. There’s a buzzing sound against the kitchen counter and Calum turns around. Luke’s phone is on the counter, plugged into an electrical socket. Calum hangs up his phone, “Damn it Luke.”

X-X-X

The sun is setting and Calum is plating two servings of mac & cheese when the door opens. His eyes glance at the door before he does a double take. Luke is standing in the doorway, eyes red rimmed and shoulders hunched. Calum sets the pot down, folding his arms as he stares at Luke. “Hi,” he whispers, gripping his shirt tightly.

“You’ve been gone for two weeks and you say hi?” The cold tone to Calum’s voice has Luke flinching. He scans over Luke, brows furrowing at his outfit. “That’s what you left in.” Luke nods, pulling on the cotton of his shirt nervously. “Where did you go?”

“A cheap motel I think, I don’t really remember much.” Luke is pressed against the door as he ducks his head.

“You don’t remember?” Calum takes a step forward and Luke flinches back. “What’s wrong with you?” He walks over to Luke who protests until familiar hands are resting against his cheeks. “You don’t look well, what did you do?” Luke shakes his head and grabs Calum’s hands to pull them away.

“I got drunk, a lot. Someone gave me drugs and I really wanted to take them but I didn’t. I took a lot of over the counter sleeping medicine though.” Luke hangs his head and Calum tilts his chin up. “I’m just going to get my things and leave.” He pushes Calum away and puts distance between them. “I’ll even get Petunia out of here if you want.”

“What are you talking about Luke?”

“You’re breaking up with me, I don’t have any reason to be here anymore.” Luke makes himself look small as anger fills Calum.

“You don’t have any reason to be here anymore?! What one baby and loving us is too hard?!” Luke shakes his head and pulls in on himself. “Then what is it Luke? Why have you decided that a pregnancy scare calls for us breaking up with you?!” Luke gulps as tears fill his eyes, he rubs them stubbornly.

“I can’t have kids.”

“We’re well past that point Luke.” Luke shakes his head and Calum folds his arms.

“No, I can’t have kids.” Luke can feel his chest tighten and he takes a shaky breath.

“You just said that, give me an actual reason.”

“I’m fucking infertile Calum!” Luke screeches, tears falling down his face freely. “I can’t have kids. Y/N is going to have your baby, not mine.” Calum looks stuck, unable to go to Luke who shakes as he wipes away the tears on his cheeks.

“I’m not pregnant Luke.” He gasps and turns to where you stand in the doorway. “It was a false positive and even if I was pregnant I’m not ready for a baby.” Your face is stony as Luke wipes his eyes. “You would have known that if you hadn’t left two seconds after I told you.”

You move to stand next to Calum as Luke tries to stop crying. The tears don’t stop, choking Luke as he braces himself against the back of the couch. Calum breaks from where he stands and grabs Luke, feeling tears soak his shirt. “Breathe Luke, I’ve got you.” Small whimpers escape Luke as he grabs Calum’s shirt, melting into the comfort he’s getting. “You’ve been off your meds for two weeks, shit Luke.” Your eyes widen and you rush to the bathroom, finding Luke’s medicine, rushing back to find Calum and Luke on the couch. You get a glass of water and make Luke drink it before having him take his medication.

“We need to talk about these past two weeks Luke.” He nods, sniffling as Calum pulls a blanket over his shoulders. “Tell us what went through your head.”

“Will you wait until I’m done to say anything?” You nod and Calum nods as well. “I want kids, I really do, but I can’t have any. We’ve never talked about serious stuff like kids and marriage but guess what, we can’t even get married legally! So when you said that you might be pregnant and I knew that if you were it wouldn’t be mine, I freaked a little. Okay a lot; cause I could see you and Calum having this baby and that you… that you wouldn’t love me anymore. And I just don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have you two.” You grab Luke’s hand and squeeze it tightly.

“Luke, when will you finally learn how much we love you? A baby would not change our love for you at all. And you’d be the baby’s father too, I can’t imagine raising a baby without the two of you. We’re not ready for kids yet but when we are, we can talk about all this and more then.” You squeeze his hand again as Calum kisses his cheek.  “I’m still a little mad at you for leaving but I’ll get over it.” Luke nods, eyes a bit red and head pounding from crying. “Have you eaten yet?” Luke shakes his head, resting his pounding head on Calum’s shoulder. “I’ll split the mac & cheese into three plates, stay here.” You watch Calum tuck Luke into his side and it looks exactly how it should.

After you eat Luke settles on the couch under a blanket despite Calum’s protests. When he doesn’t give in to Calum’s pout Calum just tucks him in under another blanket. You tug Calum to the bedroom after turning the lights off. “You’re really quick to forgive him.” You cross your arms as Calum sits on the bed.

“Y/N he was having an anxiety attack right in front of us. He probably went through withdrawal from his medication too and we just learned that he can’t have a kid. Should Luke have left like he did no, but I understand why he was so upset.” Calum stays where he is while you pace the floor. “He hurt you, he hurt me by leaving like that and yea I’m a bit pissed but it’s nothing we can’t work through.”

“Calum I cried for days when he left, excuse me if I’m not ready to forgive him.”  You pace a few more times before standing in front of him. “What if I had been pregnant? Would he have just left us?”

“Y/N you weren’t going to even keep the baby if you had been pregnant.”

“Say that I was though! What if I went through with it and had your baby, would he have left us?”  

“You know it’s not as simple as that y/n, he just told us why.” You glare at him and huff.

“I can’t believe you’re defending him after he’s been gone for two fucking weeks!”

“I’m not defending him I’m trying to reason with you. We both know Luke has major relationship anxiety after what happened last time and we just learned that he can never have kids of his own. He thought we were going to break up with him not the other way around or that we would have a kid and he would just fade into the background.”

“Sounds like you’re defending him. Whatever, just get out, I don’t want to talk to you right now.” Calum sighs and gets up, letting the door close behind him. Luke is curled up on the couch, a pained look on his face as he sleeps. Calum sits on the couch, placing Luke’s head in his lap.

“Don’t have a nightmare, I’m gonna feel so bad if you have another one.”

“That’s why I got the sleeping pills,” he whispers, eyes remaining closed. “I kept having nightmares in this motel so I thought they’d help. It worked if I wasn’t shitfaced.” Calum pulls Luke closer, watching blue eyes pop open. “You should be with y/n.”

“She’s not happy with me right now. Come on, let’s go to the guest room.” Luke shakes his head as Calum pets his curls. “Why not Luke?”

“I don’t deserve it.” Calum grabs Luke and hoists him up, holding his chin so Luke can’t look away.

“You deserve everything Luke, just because y/n is mad at you does not mean you can’t sleep in a bed.”

“You’re still mad at me.” Calum shakes his head at Luke and sighs.

“I’m not as mad as I was. Luke I had a whole speech planned when you got back. And you walked through the door looking like hell and you know what, I couldn’t be mad anymore. If anything I’m relieved now cause you’re not hurt and the paps somehow didn’t find you. Come sleep in the guest room with me, I couldn’t bare to hear you have a nightmare.” Luke finally agrees and Calum lifts him up so he can carry him to the spare bedroom. Calum wraps Luke up in his arms, feeling at ease now that Luke’s finally where he belongs.

X-X-X

Calum is thoroughly frustrated. Luke’s been home for a week now and he acts like a ghost. Every time you and him are in the same room he shies away and keeps his head down. You on the other hand, have a glare aimed at the blond. “Okay that’s it, both of you sit on the couch now.” Calum crosses his arms and Luke scurries over. You roll your eyes but sit on the couch, making sure there’s distance between you and Luke. “I’m tired of you two fighting so you’re not getting up from this couch until you’re talking to each other. Luke, go first.” Luke flounders, mouth opening and closing until he shakes his head. “Okay, y/n go first.”

“Luke, you scared the hell out of me when you left. I had to go to the doctor with only Calum to learn that I wasn’t even pregnant. And the whole time I wanted you there too, because I was scared out of my mind. And then I was angry because you left with no explanation and no one could find you.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I left like I did, I should have done things so differently. I should have told you about how I can’t have kids and how I was scared that I wasn’t going to be part of your lives if you had a baby.” Luke shuffles in his seat, “I’m going to see a full time therapist so I can get better. Not be as anxious about our relationship.” Luke fiddles with his fingers, not daring to look either of you in the eyes. “I was hoping you two would come with me for my first session, just for support, you don’t have to talk.” You scoot closer to him, grabbing Luke’s face and turning it so you can touch your forehead’s together.

His eyes are misty and you can feel his fingers hesitating to touch your sides. He gulps, mouth opening to utter another apology. You bump your noses together before pressing your lips together lightly. Luke whimpers, his fingers finally closing around the fabric of your shirt. When you pull away Luke’s fingers are still wrapped tightly in your shirt. “We’re okay Luke,” he smiles slightly, eyes misting up as you press another kiss to his nose.

Calum sighs in relief, pressing himself close to you so you can bring him in. Luke’s fingers cling to Calum now, holding his two favorite people close.

X-X-X

Luke’s knee bounces nervously while his brother sits across from him. You had offered to stay with him but he’d declined. So you and Calum had picked up Noa and Amara and put them in their stroller before bringing the dogs along. “You know you didn’t have to pay for my flight Luke.”

“Yea I did,” Luke sighs, “I have something to ask you.” Jack nods, leaning forward as Luke fiddles in his seat. “The three of us have been talking and,” Luke takes a deep breath, “We’re thinking about trying for another baby.”

“Luke that’s great man, but you didn’t need to fly me out for this.”

“No we want another baby that’s mine. But I can’t have kids so I’m asking if you’ll help us.” Luke grabs a stack of papers, hands shaking as he gives them to Jack. Jack reads through them, brow furrowed as his blue eyes scan the pages.  

“Luke of course I’m going to help you.” He crosses over to his youngest brother, wrapping him up in a hug. “Tell me what I have to do.”

X-X-X

“Noa you’re going to late for school!” You shout, holding the five year olds backpack. Amara sits at the counter while Luke makes her cereal, her dark curls neatly braided back.

“Papa that’s too much milk!” She giggles, feet swinging as Luke smiles at her. Calum appears in the doorway with two three year olds on his hips. He places the two girls in their booster seats just as Noa careens down the stairs. He smiles widely, eyes scrunching up before running to the kitchen table. “Noa that’s mine!” Amara grabs her cereal from her twin brother, milk spilling on the counter.

“I’ve got it,” Calum grabs a few paper towels to clean up the milk while Luke makes breakfast for the rest of the kids. Noa gets some pop tarts while Mae and Daisy have cheerios. “I think you’re due for a haircut Noa.” Calum smiles as he runs his hands through the dark curls. Noa pouts as he munches on his pop tarts. It reminds you of Luke’s signature pout.

You hand Noa and Amara their backpacks when they hop down from the table. “Okay, we have to take a few pictures before we leave!” Luke holds his phone in one hand while he holds Daisy on his other hip. “First day of school tradition!”

“Papa we’re gonna be late!” Noa pouts at Luke who pouts back. Luke wins and he excitedly hands Daisy to Calum. Luke snaps a few too many pictures and they’re rushing out to their minivan. Luke sits between Amara and Noa while Daisy and Mae sit in their car seats in front of him.

X-X-X

“Okay now take care of each other and make friends. Give us hugs.” The two of them wrap their tiny arms around you three before running into their classroom. Daisy and Mae are sitting on the floor, playing with their stuffed animals. Luke feels tears well up in his eyes as pride wells in his chest. “Bambi don’t cry,” you pull him into a hug, feeling Calum hug Luke as well. “They’re gonna do great.”

“They’re growing up so fast, in two years Daisy and Mae are gonna be in school too.” He pulls away so he can wipe his eyes. “I love you guys so much.” You both kiss him lightly before picking up the twins to carry them to the car.

That night you all snuggle together on the couch, Noa sitting between you and Luke while the three girls cuddle up to Luke and Calum. You’re watching Tangled again, the girls favorite and Luke is already passed out. His head rests on your shoulder, curls covering his eyes while soft snores filter out. When the movie ends you and Calum tuck the kids into bed, Amara babbling to Calum about the other girls in her class.

Calum picks Luke up once everyone is sound asleep, carrying him to the bed and snuggling up against him. He’s still in the middle, resting between you two brings him a comfort. You kiss Luke’s shoulder and Calum’s lips before falling asleep. You love your small little family.

[firesoulstuff]

Being Human is Hard

An expanded version of this prompt from @agentmarymargaretskitz , because I got very carried away and wanted to write the whole thing.

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18315074

Gideon feels nauseous.

She has felt nauseous on and off for the past two days, yet she hasn’t actually felt the need to get sick. She isn’t sure if Rip’s noticed, she’s been trying to be discreet about it. She doesn’t think he’s noticed, it normally goes away by the time she should eat something. Actually, she isn’t entirely sure “nauseous” is even the right word to describe what she’s been feeling. She’s felt nauseous before, when she first became human and her body was getting use to actually being alive. This doesn’t feel like that. It doesn’t feel like her stomach is twisting and flipping over itself, but more of an achy feeling. Perhaps the term “stomachache” is more accurate to some human ailments than she previously thought.

Still, now she has reached the point in which she is making a conscious effort to stay standing straight the pain is so crippling, so maybe she should start worrying.

She manages to make it into the galley for breakfast and grabs a banana, she isn’t sure her stomach can handle anything more than that right now, even if she is hungry.

“You alright Gideon?” Zari asks when she lands heavily on the barstool next to her, and Gideon has to fight the urge to groan before answering her question.

“Yes Ms. Tomaz.” She says, wincing as she catches herself using Zari’s last name, old habits. “Or no, maybe not. I don’t know. I think something might be wrong with my body, I’ve felt sick for the last two days.”

Zari looks mildly worried by that announcement, though not so worried that she pauses in bringing her donut to her mouth. She’s been fine ever since she became human, for the most part, but Nora and John had still cautioned her to be aware of her body’s adjustment even as the months passed by, since they had essentially created an entirely new spell to give her full humanity.

“We should get you to the med bay.” Zari says, powder from her donut still coating her lips.

Gideon nods weakly, ordinarily she would probably put up more of a fight over going to the med bay for something as minor as a stomachache, but she is a little nervous about how it’s been getting worse.

She huffs, bracing herself for the simple motion of standing up, and with her palms pressed against the surface of the breakfast bar she pushes herself to her feet.

“Or not,” she hardly hears Zari’s quiet exclamation. “Um… Gideon?”

Gideon huffs, still leaning the majority of her weight onto the counter, but when she looks down at Zari she sees the other women staring at, of all things, her ass.

“What?” She asks, twisting herself and pulling at the fabric of her pajama bottoms because Zari’s face is one of almost worry, and she doesn’t understand why… until she sees it.

It’s like a bull’s-eye, nearly centered on the seat of her soft grey sweats; a dark red circle roughly the size of her thumb.

“What?” She exclaims, panic coursing through her as she tugs on the waistband of her pants, trying to twist the spot closer. Did she sit in something? But there’s nothing on the chair, and… Oh.

Oh.

Oh.

Thankfully Zari’s mind is processing this much faster than her own, as she is still coming to the realization of what the red spot is when her friend’s favorite red flannel suddenly covers it, the arms of it’s owner snaking around her waist and trying the sleeves to secure it.

“Ok, scratch the med bay, let’s just get you to the bathroom.”

Gideon nods, and suddenly her stomach pain makes a lot more sense.

They walk down the halls of the ship in silence, something Gideon is very grateful for. They pass by Ray, and Sara, but not Rip; thankfully, because he would likely greet her and ask where she and Zari are off to, and that isn’t exactly a conversation she feels she knows how to begin right now.

Of course, her luck runs out at the bathroom.

The door is closed, which means someone’s inside. Zari doesn’t hesitate to knock, though, and the voice that calls out “occupied” belongs to Mick.

“Gideon and I need to get in there!” Zari replies with a roll of her eyes.

There’s no response, but there is the sound of a deep-throated wad of spit being hacked up, followed by the sink being turned off. Mick comes out a moment later, scowling at them both before he simply pushes through them with a growl.

“Thanks Mick.” Zari calls after him, gesturing for her to enter the bathroom.

She does as she’s instructed, and she’s grateful that her friend follows her in before shutting the door. It isn’t like she’s a child with no idea what is happening to her, she is fully aware of what is going on and the methods of dealing with it, but at the same time she is still a little freaked out.

“Ok, um…” Zari drawls, “Do you… You know what it is right?”

“Yes,” She nods with her answer, a little anxiously. “Menstruation. Although I believe the common phrase for it is a period.”

“Good.” Zari nods as well, her hands settling on her hips. “Ok, have you ever had one before?”

She shakes her head, “No.” She confirms, “No, Ms. Darh- Nora, warned me that it could take time.”

If she got one at all. The whole spell had been a gamble, but the chances of her reproductive system working at all had been one of the biggest parts of that. Nora had warned that she couldn’t be sure about it, in any aspect, so this? This is promising.

Another wave of pain hit her right then, of course.

So it’s progress, no matter how much it hurts.

“Ok.” Zari says, turning her attention to the closet. She shuffles various things around until she pulls out one box of pads and one box of tampons. “Ok, do you know how to use these?”

She eyes the boxes, biting at her lip as she thinks that question over, along with her track record with doing things on her own the first time.

“Logistically.” She answers, very unsure of herself.

Zari nods and gives her a quick rundown of each product, and then leaves her with them while she goes off to fetch her some clean underwear and pants.

There isn’t a LOT of blood, which she’ll take as a good thing, and soon she’s all cleaned up with her soiled clothes waded in her hands, along with Zari’s flannel, and she’s back to following Zari through the halls.

“Does it always hurt so much?” She asks as they reach her room, and she really has no idea where Rip has been this morning but she is grateful she is still yet to run into him; she’s still processing this.

“Sometimes.” Her friend answers, while she busies herself in burying her old pants at the bottom of the hamper and, ok, maybe she stays bent over the edge of it for a second or two longer than necessary, but it just feels so good to crouch into the pain.

“It depends on the woman.” Zari goes on, “Mine usually hurt the day before and the first day, but moving around helps, and sometimes I take painkillers if it’s bad. I remember my first one didn’t hurt, or have any side effects for that matter.”

She scoffs at that as she forces herself to straighten up.

“Well lucky you.” She remarks and her friend smirks.

“I was also a lot younger.” She recounts, “You’re a full grown adult, your body can handle the side effects.”

Again, she scoffs.

“Try telling my body that.” With that she flops down onto her bed, because now that she knows what’s wrong with her she isn’t planning on moving unless there is an actual emergency, and maybe not even then. “This sucks.”

Zari chuckles at her proclamation.

“First day’s usually the worst.” She offers as a small condolence, “I’ll get you some pain killers.”

“Thank you.”

Once Zari leaves Gideon lets out a low moan, pressing her head deeper into the pillow. She feels a little stupid for not having realized sooner what was going on with her, but to be fair, she wasn’t even sure this was a possibility for her.

When the pain increases again she closes her eyes and presses a hand down firmly on her stomach, hoping to maybe alleviate some of the discomfort with pressure. It doesn’t work, not really, but it works enough that her thoughts start to drift to what this could mean for her.

It doesn’t necessarily mean that she can have children, but it’s a step in the right direction. Not that she wants children anytime soon; she and Rip have barely figured their relationship out. Not to mention she isn’t even sure if he wants children.

The door opens and she looks over, but instead of Zari standing there and holding the bottle of painkillers and another of water, it’s Rip; and he looks worried.

“Why did Ms. Tomaz ask me to bring these to you?” He asks, to which she chuckles before forcing herself to sit up with a wince.

“Nothing serious.” She promises, reaching out for the bottles and he comes over to the bed obediently.

Taking the painkillers is a test all in itself, she is nowhere near use to swallowing things whole and she actually spits them out at one point before she finally manages to get them down. She gasps once that’s finally done, and Rip is looking at her with the absolutely most worried expression she has ever seen on him, it’s kind of cute.

Still, she does have to ease it.

“I’m alright, really.” She promises, “I just um… I got my period today.”

His face goes a tint of red, and then, of all things, he laughs.

Not just a little bit. No, he stands up and barks out maybe the most genuine laugh she has ever seen from him, even doubling over from it.

“It’s not funny!” She protests half heartedly, standing up herself and regretting it instantly because the painkillers have not kicked in yet and OW.

“I… I know.” He manages between his bouts of laughter, straightening himself up and doing his best to compose himself, though the amused grin is still there. “I know it’s not. It’s just that I ran into Ms. Tomaz, and she shoved these things into my hands and asked me to bring them to you in your room, so I thought you were dying.”

She folds her arms over her chest and raises an eyebrow at him.

“She gave you a bottle of standard painkillers, and your immediate thought was that I was dying?”

He shrugs, “In my defense, Ms. Darhk and Mr. Constantine both did say to keep an eye on any seemingly random pain that strikes you, as it could be a sign of the spell failing.”

She nods; she often tries not to think about that possibility. It’s been getting easier lately, she’s pretty sure that if the spell was going to spontaneously fail it would’ve done so by now. Still, the idea frightens her, but as the pain flares up in her belly again and she sinks herself back onto the bed she’s convinced more than ever that it isn’t going to fail.

Seriously, how long does it take these painkillers to work?

“Being human is hard.” She groans, flopping back on her back with her hands on her stomach again because, ok, that pressure did help a little bit.

“Really?” Rip scoffs, clearly amused by her handling of this whole thing. “I hadn’t noticed.”

She lolls her head to the side, groaning and glaring at him.

“Shut. Up.” She’s blunt, because now not only are the painkillers still not kicking in, but he is being the exact opposite of helpful. “You don’t have to deal with this.”

“I know.” He says, a flicker of sympathy finally in his eyes as he ambles over to the bed and perches himself on it’s edge.

She nuzzles her head against his leg, one of her arms slinging over his knees to keep him close to her. Ok, so this part of being human sucks, but with Rip stroking her hair in the gentle way that he is she just might to be able to get through it.

So long as she gets some better painkillers.

[sapphicscholar]

Could you write a fic where Alex gets powers (temporarily or permanently, either works)? Chapter Text “Agent Danvers,” J’onn radioed in through the comms. “Have you finished your sweep of the building?” “One floor left. Nothing yet,” Alex responded as she motioned for Alpha team to head up the stairs to the top floor. With every floor she grew increasingly frustrated. Sure, they’d found plenty of weapons, but that wasn’t enough to justify the level of security that had been in place. There had to have been a reason for Cadmus’ increasingly desperate attempts to defend this building with stockpiles of alien technology, lead-lined walls, and Kryptonite emitters. And the DEO had been monitoring the whole building during the siege, making sure no one left with whatever was being stored inside. As they stormed the top floor, guns out in case anything had been left behind as a final defense mechanism, Alex’s eyes landed on a shabby wooden crate in the back corner of the room, as though whoever had left it had intended for it to look as unremarkable as possible. Moving forward quickly, Alex threw off the lid of the crate, stepping back in case it was an explosive. But nothing happened. She inched forward again, two of her agents flanking her on either side. “It’s a…watch?” Agent Hu declared, the confusion evident in his voice. Stepping forward, Alex reached out to pick up the watch to bring it back to the DEO for closer examination. But as soon as she touched it, the watch seemed to mold to her skin, settling around her wrist tightly—far too tightly for her to pry it off. She let Agent Hu try, but he too found himself tugging uselessly at a metal band that felt strong enough to be otherworldly. Trying not to let her concern show, Alex called over her comms to J’onn, letting him know what had happened and that she’d be back to the DEO as soon as she could. --- “Well, Agent Danvers, the watch hasn’t done anything harmful physically, at least,” Dr. Jacobson informed her, looking over at J’onn as he nodded in response. “We’ll continue to monitor you, but…” she paused, trying to find a diplomatic way to phrase her sentiments, “I assume you will not want to stay here until we do?” Alex was notorious around the med bay for her self-diagnoses and refusals to accept treatment if it meant she was stuck out of the field for longer than she deemed necessary. Alex shook her head vehemently. “Absolutely not.” “I don’t want you going out on any missions until we know what this watch does. Do I make myself clear, Agent Danvers?” J’onn said, looking sternly at Alex. “Yes,” Alex sighed. “Now I’m going down to my lab to see if I can’t get it off or at least figure out what it does.” “Take Schott with you.” “Fine.” -- “What happens if you press the button?” Winn asked, gesturing at the button on the side of the watch. Alex glared at Winn. “And if it blows up? I’m just going to stand here and die because you wanted to know what the button does?” Winn had the decency to look away sheepishly. “Perhaps, um, have you tried x-raying it?” “Kara looked inside of it. As far as she could tell, there was nothing that should explode…” Before Alex could agree to something that might very well kill her, Kara flitted through the door and interjected: “But Kara doesn’t know the full breadth of alien technology available. Which is why I went to the Fortress first.” She stood there beaming at them until Alex finally asked what she found. “It appears to be similar to technology that was manufactured by the Dokris race. They can time travel,” she added, seeing the looks of confusion on both Alex’s and Winn’s faces. “Oh my god,” Winn exhaled. “Can Alex time travel now?” “Wait…can I?” Alex asked. As much as she understood that there would probably be terrible consequences for changing history, she couldn’t help herself from thinking about the possibilities… Of course, that led very quickly to the what ifs—what if she hadn’t killed Astra, what if she had recognized that something was off about her father when they got him back, what if she hadn’t gone flying with Kara when they were young, hadn’t let them be spotted by the real Hank Henshaw, hadn’t forced her father to sacrifice his life to the DEO to protect Kara. She shook herself out of it, forcing herself not to dwell on such possibilities. “I doubt it,” Kara answered. “They were time travelers as…who they were, if that makes sense. It wasn’t like they had some sort of device that did it for them. They just…did. This is similar to their technology, but I can’t tell exactly how. It would be best if I take you to the Fortress,” she concluded, looking up at Alex. “Then Kelex will be able to analyze the watch, even though you can’t take it off.” “Okay,” Alex shrugged. In a flurry of movement and a gust of wind, Kara was gone and back with a warm winter coat and gloves in tow. “Ready?” Alex nodded and felt herself being scooped up in Kara’s arms as the floor, then the DEO disappeared beneath them as they rose higher and higher into the sky. --- “So…you can stop time?” Kara asked, her eyes wide. “Apparently.” Part of Alex was relieved that she wouldn’t have the temptation to turn back time, to try to adjust the parts of her life she wasn’t exactly proud of. But she was still wary of whatever this new power was—whatever it might mean for her. “Should we test it?” Kara asked, looking more excited than Alex felt. Never one to admit to her nerves, Alex nodded. Holding her breath, she hit the button, then looked up and around her. For a moment, nothing seemed different. Kara was still staring at her; Kelex was hunched over the computer; and that was…about it. But when Alex moved, Kara’s eyes didn’t follow. When she peered outside, she saw snowflakes frozen in their descent. She tried calling out to Kara, but got no response. Thinking of how productive she might be, she grinned, only to pause in a momentary panic. What if the button didn’t reverse it? What if she was now doomed to live out the rest of her life alone, trapped in a frozen world that waited for her to what? Waited for her to die? When she hit the button, though, Kara snapped back to life. “Did it work?” “Yeah!” Alex exclaimed, letting herself feel truly excited for the first time. “And you…you don’t feel any different, right?” “No,” Kara answered, levitating and testing her powers a bit to make sure. “Seems perfectly fine to me.” “Awesome.” --- “Maggie!” Alex called out, striding through the front door. “In the kitchen!” Maggie called back. “You’ll never believe what happened.” “Well, with a lead like that, it better be good,” Maggie chuckled, wiping her hands off on the towel and turning to greet Alex with a kiss. “Ooh, where’d you get that watch? Very lesbian chic. I’m into it.” Laughing, Alex kissed Maggie again. “That’s actually the story! Well, no, sorry, the watch isn’t the whole story. At least, not the way you’re thinking about it.” She shook her head, trying not to ramble. “So long story short: there was a raid on a Cadmus facility. This watch is what they were protecting. When I went to take it back to the DEO, it latched onto me. No physical harm. Kara took me to the Fortress. I press this button here, and I freeze time.” “What?” “I freeze time!” Maggie looked slightly incredulous, so Alex kept going. “It’s from this race of time travelers. I guess sometimes they needed a way to freeze things with everyone being able to jump in and out of the future and the past. I don’t know. Point is: I can freeze time! Think about how much work I can get done!” “Only you would think of that first, Danvers.” Alex blushed, but Maggie just laughed. Because this was exactly the woman she fell in love with. “Want to see?” Alex asked, looking more than a little excited. “Sure,” Maggie shrugged. With a nod, Alex reached down and hit the button. “See!” she exclaimed to no one in particular. Only, Maggie wasn’t frozen. “Um, I don’t think it works that well, babe.” “No! I swear, it worked this morning!” Alex spluttered, looking around, turning her wrist to look at the watch from every direction. She was too busy to notice Maggie’s jaw dropping, to see the way she took in her surroundings—the water on the stove frozen mid-boil, the bird floating motionlessly outside their window, the oven timer stopped at 13:28 until their food would be ready. “Alex…” “I swear,” Alex whined. “Alex,” Maggie repeated more insistently, tugging on Alex’s sleeve. “It does work.” At that, Alex finally looked up, surveying their apartment and the view from their window, which now essentially overlooked a hyperrealistic still life. “But you…you’re not frozen.” Maggie didn’t have an answer for that. Alex tried to think about what was different. It couldn’t have been the fact that they were in the same room; after all, she had been with Kara the first time in the Fortress. But then it hit her: Maggie had been touching her. “Can I test something?” Alex asked, always a scientist, always needing to confirm, to test, to retest. “Um, okay,” Maggie nodded. Stepping away from Maggie, Alex unfroze them, glad to find that everything went right back to the way it was, even if she and Maggie weren’t clinging to one another. Staying a distance away, Alex clicked the button once more, watching as Maggie remained frozen in place while she walked around the apartment. When she clicked back, Maggie’s jaw dropped, finding Alex all the way across the room. Intent on testing it just one more time, Alex came back and took Maggie’s hand in hers. “Together?” “Together,” Maggie confirmed. And then time froze for them. And, like any good couple, they seized the occasion to fuck with no worries about wasting time, no worries about emergency phone calls from the DEO or NCPD, no concerns about neighbors complaining about volume or Kara complaining about mental images she’d never be able to rid herself of, even though she was the one who flung herself through the balcony windows without calling first. For a while, that was all they really used it for. The doctors at the DEO kept an eye on Alex’s vitals (and Maggie’s, once Alex accidentally let slip that she had let another person escape time with her). She was beyond relieved when the doctors found that they weren’t aging more rapidly or experiencing any side effects that would have made their timeless sexcapades too dangerous to continue. Of course, she didn’t say what they were using the watch to do, though Lena and Lucy had insinuated heavily enough at the bar that they knew damn well what they would do if they got their hands on such a watch. For once, Alex was glad that all the DEO tech in the world still hadn’t been able to pry the watch from her wrist. It wasn’t until she was out in the field with Kara going up against a particularly nasty alien that she thought to use her watch as her own superpower of sorts. Grabbing hold of Kara’s wrist before the alien could reach her, Alex jammed her finger against the button, watching as the world froze once more, save for her and Kara. “Alex,” Kara breathed out. “That’s amazing!” Alex preened and nodded, glad to have found yet another way to help her sister, to ensure her safety out in the field. --- When they got back from the mission, Winn was practically glowing with excitement, having heard the chatter from the other DEO agents about the way Supergirl and Agent Danvers seemed to move faster than time itself, how they went from nearly losing to toppling the alien in mere nanoseconds. “What do you want, Schott?” Alex asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. “Well…with your new superpowers and all, I think it’s probably only fair that you get a name…and a suit.” Kara snickered. “I take it you have some suggestions?” Winn nodded enthusiastically. “I swear they’re good!” Pacing forward menacingly, Alex pointed a finger at Winn’s chest. “Now, this is not a yes. But I need you to know: if you so much as try to put me in a miniskirt, I will demonstrate the six new, but equally painful ways I have of making you change your mind using only my wristwatch and my index finger.” “Yep, okay, got it!” Winn squeaked.

[kaitymccoy123]

Oxygen

Intro: Okay so I am super excited about this fic, I love it so much and am quite proud of it. 

The idea for it came from @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse​‘s fic, Imagine Fainting in the Medbay (go read it it is absolutely amazing).  So all the credit goes to them for writing the original story, but as I read it one part really inspired me: 

“You’d been sent on away mission, and come under fire, and when you finally beamed aboard, all in one piece except for some bruising, Bones had grabbed you roughly by the upper arms and admonished you never to terrify him like that again. And then he’d kissed you. You’d been inseparable ever since” 

A story started forming in my head as soon as I read it so I asked if I could use that snippet and make it into a full fic.  

Pairing: Bones x Reader

Word Count: 2169

Triggers: being shot at, description of a wound (that’s about it)

Summary: see above snippet from the original story. Because I just took that idea and made it longer and with more detail. 

-Enjoy!-

The sound of phaser shots rang out around you and you ducked as one landed near your head, making the stone crumble above you.  Adrenaline coursed through you and you felt your heart racing as you attempted to make your way over to the unconscious ensign with a large gash in his chest.  He was about 50 feet away when your com beeped.  Your eyes continued to survey the scene and you put one foot in front of the other as you flipped open your com, clutching your your med kit to your chest as if it would protect you from the aliens.  

"Y/N!" You heard someone shout from the other side of the com. 

"I'm here!" You said back, yelping as another shot hit the ground a few feet in front of you. 

"Are you alright?" The voice said, and you now recognized it as Leonard. 

Leonard, aka Dr. Leonard McCoy, Chief Medical Officer, was your boss and one of the best doctors you ever worked with.  As a nurse you were usually under-looked and underappreciated but since the day you first met Leonard, he always respected you and treated you like an equal.  Well almost always.  And when he didn't you made sure you set him straight.  

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Thank the stars." Leonard's voice sounded strained. 

You'd become relatively protective over each other, working side by side day in and day out, and the two of you had been through a lot.  It felt like he was the only one who understood you, and though you teased each other most of the time, when you were up against a challenge together, nothing could stop you. 

"I'm going to beam you up now." You heard Leonard's voice say as you continued forward, now only 10 feet or so from the un-moving ensign. 

"NO! Don't!" You yelled into the com, "I am close to Ensign Harley, and he seems really hurt."

"Y/N, damnit, you're gonna get yourself shot!" Leonard yelled, sounding frustrated, "You're in the middle of a war zone for christ's sake!"

"No, Bones,  I need to check to see if he is alive." You stated firmly when suddenly you were thrown forward in response to something exploding near you.  

You skidded to a stop in the dirt, only about a foot away from the injured ensign.  You lifted your head and tested your limbs.  No injuries save for a scratch down your forearm and a few bumps and bruises. 

You heard loud shouts from the com that sounded like your name and a lot of swear words. 

"Bones," You gasped and crawled over to the ensign, "Bones, I'm okay, just got knocked down." 

"We need to beam you up now!" Leonard yelled. 

"NO!" You shouted when suddenly the com was knocked out of your hand by a phaser beam.  

You screamed and scrambled over to the un-moving ensign, quickly pressing your fingers to his pulse.  There was none.  You moved to begin CPR when you saw the aliens approaching.  3 of them, all dark and shadowy, their phasers pointed right at you.  

You froze, unable to move, your hands now soaked in the blood from the young ensign's chest wound.  You gulped as one of the aliens stepped into the light, with what could be considered an evil grin on his face.  His phaser pointed to your head and you heard it charge up.  You squeezed your eyes shut. 

Suddenly the ground beneath your knees was not the soft mossy floor of the planet's forest,  but instead unforgiving steel, and you were thrown off balance by the absence of the ensign's body beneath your hands.  You landed on your side, the room much brighter than the planet had been, and it was all shiny metal and light.  You groaned and squinted your eyes against the brightness and were about to attempt to sit up when strong arms wrapped around you and lifted you so you were standing.  Your eyes finally adjusted and you saw that you were in the transporter room of the Enterprise, and you were being held up by none other than Leonard's strong arms.

You let out a gasp of relief and spun around, wrapping your arms around Leonard in a hug, and he responded by wrapping his arms around you as well. You soaked in the warmth and protectiveness of him and let a few tears of relief fall down your cheeks and soak into his shirt.

Releasing him you stepped back, feeling a little achy but other than that pretty good.  Suddenly you remembered the young ensign you left on the planet.

"Bones!  We left Ensign Harley on the planet, I think he was dead but we still can't just leave him there!" You said loudly.

"We already got him out, a few seconds before you came aboard, see?" Leonard explained and motioned towards the door.  

You now saw the transporter techs pushing the hover bed out the door, the prone ensign lying on the bed, his chest wound no longer bleeding.  

"Damn." You whispered. "How many people did we lose down there?"

"He makes 14, and about 30 came back with serious injuries." Leonard explained, "you were the last one to be beamed up."

"Well then we better get to work." You said and walked in the direction of the door.

"Y/N!  You just got beamed off a planet at war!" Leonard yelled and you spun around to face him, "the least you should do is sit down for a while."

"Bones, you said it yourself, there are people with injuries that need treatment, I'm a nurse, you're a doctor, let's go!" You demanded, and looked at him incredulously. 

"What are you waiting for?" You questioned, motioning to the door,"I don't even know why you were in here when there are so many wounded out there."

Leonard suddenly looked hurt.

"What's wrong, Leonard?" You asked, this time not as harsh as your previous comments, "you are always reminding everyone else that you are a doctor, so go be one!"

"You almost died!" Leonard said, his voice full of exasperation, "you almost died and you feel nothing about it.  You have nothing to say to me about it.  How?"

You were taken aback by his sudden sincere question. 

"Leonard, I felt everything, and I mean everything, down there.  Fear, anger, regret, helplessness.  But right now other people need me.  Other people's lives depend on me and I need to push those feelings aside for the time being.  You are usually the one telling everyone else that, are you alright?" You said, stepping towards Leonard, looking up and tried to get him to meet your eyes. 

Suddenly he grabbed you roughly by the upper arms, his fingers pressing into your skin.  

You looked up into his face and were surprised to see panic lining his features, his mouth open and his breath ragged.   His eyes were sad, though, and he looked as if he might cry as his gaze frantically roamed your features.  

"Don't you dare terrify me like that again!" He admonished, his voice breaking. 

You furrowed your brow in confusion and suddenly felt hurt and concerned at his behaviour, 'why was he acting like this?', you thought to yourself. 

"I'm fine, Bones."  You stated, trying to console his panicked demeanor.  

"Well I'm not." Bones exhaled, his breath tickling your mouth, making you realize how close his face was to yours.

Before you could respond, his lips were pressed to yours and his hands were knotted into the back of your uniform.  

The kiss was gentle but urgent, and you froze for a moment, trying to collect yourself.

You loved Leonard, but never thought that anything would ever come of it, and you were happy being his friend and colleague.  But his lips on yours sparked something inside of you that you could feel growing by the second.  And his hands pulling you close made you realize that through all the bickering and teasing, the late nights and early mornings spent together, that you had come to trust him more than you trusted anyone else in the entire galaxy.

The heat of his mouth on yours melted your hesitation and your lips parted as you deepened the kiss and dug your fingers into his hair. 

The kiss obliterated every thought you had, except for one; that you needed him.  And so you kissed him like it was the last thing keeping you alive.  Like he was oxygen and you needed him to breathe. 

And he kissed you back, his mouth opening to yours and his fingers trailing down your ribs, sending shivers down your spine.  Your mouths moved together and you slid your hands down to rest on his chest, digging your fingers into the material of his shirt.  

A tear slipped down your cheek before his lips pulled away from yours breathlessly.  He slid his hands up to your neck, his fingers resting just below your ears, his thumbs caressing your cheeks.

You met his handsome eyes and felt the spark that had ignited within you moments ago catch fire, as if your love for him had been just waiting for the right moment to burst into flames.   

You saw love in his eyes as you gazed at him and you realized that you were looking at him with love too.  It was like looking at him for the first time, as if after all you had been through you were seeing a new man.

You were so lost in your thoughts and emotions that you barely heard the sound of the transporter techs returning to the room.  

Leonard didn't move away from you like you thought he would have, but instead kept his fingers rested on your neck and traced the outline of your lips with his thumb. His fingers set your skin on fire and a smile escaped you, and his features lit up to return the smile.   

As the techs entered the room they paused for a moment, looking between you and Leonard with a smirk, but only for a moment before quickly getting back to work.  

You looked back to Leonard, whose face held an unabashed look of longing and happiness, and you nodded in the direction of the door, indicating that the two of you should head out. 

When he didn't move, you spoke. 

"Leonard, we have patients." You said and tugged at his arm until he walked with you towards the door. 

When you were out of sight of the transporter techs, Leonard reached over entwined your fingers with his and you walked wordlessly down the hallway, hand-in-hand.  

You looked over at him with a smile and saw he was smiling back. 

"I'm glad you're okay, kid." He spoke as he grinned and squeezed your hand. 

"Oh don't you worry, I am going to be here to boss you around for a lot longer." You teased and squeezed his hand back. 

That made him laugh and it was like music to your ears.  As you approached the medbay he released your hand and you walked through the doors into the bustling wing, people running around like crazy.  

"Alright, darlin'" You heard Leonard's voice as he suddenly appeared in front of you, "you go sit down in bed 9 and I will be by in a sec to check you out, just after I grab my..."

You interrupted him, realizing that even though everything had changed, he was he same old Leonard, "Like hell I am sitting down!  Leonard, I'm fine!"

"You just got beamed off a planet filled with aliens that wanted to kill you, Y/N," He explained, looking very exasperated, "you need to sit down and get checked out, maybe get some fluids into you."

"Leonard.  Even you can see that I am much more needed on the floor, helping people, than cooped up in a bed." You argued, and you knew that Leonard knew that you weren't going to back down. 

He paused for a moment, as if hoping that you were going to change your mind and comply, before he let out a frustrated sigh and rolled his eyes. 

"FINE!" He grumbled, "but if you faint because of dehydration or internal bleeding, I am not saving you."

"Sure you won’t." You said sarcastically, suddenly hearing someone yell "Doctor, we need you!", but Leonard continued to look at you, the corners of his mouth tipping upwards. 

You leaned up and quickly kissed his lips as if it was the most natural thing in the world. 

"Let's get to work." You smirked and looked up at him.

"Let's save some lives." Leonard responded with a grin and a wink before dashing into the chaotic crowd, already yelling orders at people. 

You stayed where you were for a moment, surveying the busy medbay, and took a deep breath in and out before you smiled.  It felt like home. 

And you realized that though everything had changed, everything also had stayed very much the same. 

-Thanks for reading!  Hope you liked it! Go follow @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse for some more amazing fics.  Have a lovely day!-