#oc: murphy the siren

[pumaskulls]

*Borderlands!AUs my own OCs instead of actually finishing up their refs*

[eclipsewarrior101]

My Siren oc.

Name: Murphy Coralwave

Age: 31

Sex: male

Species: Siren

Description: Tall. Long metallic tail. Curly rainbow hair. Angler fish anchor. Neck fins. Sharp teeth. Scars on face and scales. Beautiful tropical blue eyes.

Story: Murphy was once a very happy siren at a young age. Curious, sweet and happy. That is until pirates attack his pod killing half his pod…including his mom. He was captured and tortured but he escaped as a teen. As an adult he had become wary, aggressive and fearful of humans. He had a vow to destroy those who took his family. He later becomes a pirate himself and rallies other sirens to take down the humans.

Abilities: very quick swimmer. Able to talk to animals. Able to control water. Can glow in the dark. Singing can hypnotize but only for a short time due to his throat being messed with by his captors.

[riddle-me-ri]

Well, the time has come, whoop. Way sooner than I expected it too!

Ri's 500 Follower Event

I've been mulling over different ideas/prompts for this event and its no doubt been inspired by many other events I've seen done in the past. I hope I don't copy too many but its bound to happen, especially if the prompt is *chef's kiss*

This is my first event so I'm not going to go super crazy and try not to overwhelm myself but I definitely also wanna make it special!

Below the read more tab are three different options AND rules for a drawing you guys can enter!

First and foremost these events options are open to all the characters I write for that are listed here, but if you need a refresher;

- General Riddler and Arkhamverse, BTAS, Gotham, Dano/Reevesverse, Telltale, Young Justice, Zero Year, Twojar, Gotham City Sirens, and DCAU Hush Riddler

- General Penguin and Arkhamverse, Farrell/Reevesverse, BTAS, TNBA, One Bad Day, Telltale, The Batman (2004), and Batman Unlimited Penguin

- General Mad Hatter and Arkhamverse, Gotham, BTAS, TNBA, Secret Six, Joker's Asylum, and Harley Quinn Animated Series (HQTAS) Mad Hatter

- General Scarecrow and Arkhamverse, Murphy/Nolanverse, BTAS, TNBA, Fear State, Year One, Masters of Fear, and Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo Scarecrow

1. 500 Word Drabble Prompts

Choose a prompt and I will write a 500-ish word drabble around it. Some of these can be fluffy or NSFW just lemme know which you prefer or I will just go with which comes naturally lol

Breakfast in Bed

Sharing a Bath/Shower

First Date Night

Arkham Visit

2. Headcanons

How they would react to you being kidnapped

How they would react to you wearing their clothes

How they would react to you confessing your feelings

How they would react to you breaking up with them

3. Love Letters

Give me a character and describe your envisioned relationship with f/o and I'll write a letter to you from that character.

Be sure to tell me any nicknames, how you guys met, and your relationship status (i.e. is he admitting his feelings, is he missing you while away in arkham, etc). and/or if you want him to be helping and comforting you during a rough time.

The more descriptive the better!

FINALLY, one last thing, sorry I know this is getting long but I'm really excited for this part!

I really wanna try and give back in any way that I can, so I decided that I wanted to do a name draw!

Submit a request from THIS post with one of these options (either with your username or an anon nickname, like "dormy anon" "timid anon", etc that way it's easier to separate you all lol)

If your name is drawn you'll get the option of:

A 2k fanfic from me

A drawing of one of the Rogues or your DC OC (if you have one) by me

This event will be running from May 19th - June 2nd. All 500 requests will be answered before normal requests, and if you didn't get a chance to participate feel free to submit as a normal request!

That is all I've got for now. I know not incredibly unique or different but again, kinda wanna start off with something familiar since this is my first ever event type thingy!

Thank you guys so much again for 500 followers, I'm still absolutely floored from that fact every day and I hope this shows even a fraction of my appreciation!

Oh and if you don't wanna see any of the 500 Event stuff you can filter out the tag "ri 500"

[hungrylikethepuma]

dump of random stuff as I try to reset/restart my sanderssides paracosm ,,

currently not active until my hyperfixation of FOP slows down… I know I won’t get good lore in if freqking cosmo and wanda keep popping up in my head.

taking my own headcanons of the sides and adding a lot to them. some concepts ive come up with are

Alien Reptilian Janus , this is one is a guarantee because my alien-kin ass CANNOT pass up on relating my favorite character ever to an alien. I posted his design here , not colored bc I’m stupid. Personality wise I’m thinking of making Janus a full ,, destructive force,,, I think he deserves it. planning on making him an antagonist for quite awhile .

Uhmmmm others are the twins, stuck between making Roman and Remus some kind of mermaids/sirens, but it’s feels to basic… so thinking on that. I DOO plan on making them mainly aquatic bc I like that… some sea civilization royalty. Remus would be present and close to his brother rather than far apart like my last paracosm… !!

I have no ideas for Logan , Virgil , or Patton. I’ll give them something cool… okkkk I have a smallll thing involving western type city for them but I feel it wouldn’t fit the Paracosm’s vibe … so idk BUTTT WHATEVERRR

None of them are protagonist ,, except !character Thomas who I renamed Henry here bc I don’t feel comfortable having a real person para if you know what I mean.. like I can have real life actors , but idk .. it’s like different ,, so his name is Henry .. it always has been since I had my first Sanderssides paracosm like.. a few months after DWIT came out… whateva random lore drop ig

This paracosm is gonna involve my own sides I guess? basically my side ocs that represent me. I had them forever ,, the main mc is named Murphy ,, and of course the planned antagonist is Janus , simply renamed to “Januz” for a more alien vibe … womp… I’m done before my words run out… I might dump more bc I’m sick of all this just sitting in my head

[winterproductions]

Un-Thinkable

Chapter One

Genre: Mafia Au, Thriller, Suspense

Rating: 18+

Trigger Warnings will be given before each chapter based on the trigger.

Word Avg: 1.2K

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Reader, Bangtan x OC

Chapters: Preview > 01 > 02

"Officer Murphy!" The young male called out to the commissioner as he passed by. "Officer Lee." He greeted the young man that called out to him. "Officer Chan and I are about to transit inmate 007 for his mental evaluation." He informed his boss, who nodded in reply as his phone rang. He dismissed himself before leaving Officer Lee to remove the inmate from his cell and transport him to the awaiting police car.

He entered the passenger seat, looking at his partner. "All set?" Officer Chan asked as he looked in the rear view mirror to see the male in the backseat. “All set.” Officer Lee replied with a small smirk.

The sound of police sirens echoed through the art gallery as the female prepped the place for its opening. “My love.” She heard her boyfriend’s voice as he appeared from his office. “I didn’t know you’d be in today.” She whispered as she wrapped her arm around him. “Today’s a special exhibit, my love.” He kissed her softly. “What does the great Micah Stone have in store for today?” He smiled at her praise and guided her to a painting. “This. This is a painting by an artist named Moon Bin-Hyung” He began explaining. “Born and raised South Korea.”

She examined the painting, and it spooked her. “No offense, but it’s kind of….disturbing.” She considers art to based on interpretation. “It’s how you interpret it.” He told her, and she nodded in reply. “what do you see?” He asked her. “I see. I see chaos, bloodshed, and greed.” He squeezed her waist as she felt his head shake in disagreement. She slightly turned her head to him before asking “you disagree?”

He nodded before nuzzling back in her shoulder. “I see protection. A family protecting their assets from those who want to take it. Sometimes, you have to fight for what’s rightfully yours.” He whispered, making her look at the painting again to suddenly see his version of things yet simultaneously still viewing hers.

He heard his alarm from his cell phone and checked the time. “It’s time. Let’s open, shall we?” She nodded before switching the closed sign to open.

To her surprise, the crowd came rushing in, eager to see the new paintings and sculptures. She was greeted by many familiar faces of businessmen, locals, and celebrities by one stood out to see as he viewed the painting her and Micah just acknowledged.

“You’re interested in this one?” She asked the male as she approached the new visitor. He looked down at the female, smiling softly but large enough for her to notice his dimples. “Very. I’ve been looking everywhere for it.” She was taken back “Oh, you’ve seen this peace before?” She was told that the painting was recently done, probably a year, two at most.

She looked up at the male who seemingly stood at six feet.

He didn’t answer her question, though, and she was unable to continue the conversation as another visitor queried the price of a piece.

She looked over to the male once again. He was now speaking with Micah. Curiously, she approached the 61 both once again. “Ah yes, there she is. You had asked me a few moments ago if I was interested in this piece.” She nodded in agreement, looking at Micah, attempting to understand the confusion. “Oh, that’s right. I did not inform you, Y/N, this is not for sale.”

Her jaw dropped before looking at the visitor. “My sincerest apologies, I was unaware that this artwork was not for sale.” The male frustrated features softened at the baffled young lady. “Well someone needs to learn how to communicate with their staff better.” He remarked with a small taunting smile.

She saw the way Micah’s jaw locked and placed a small hand on his back. “Would you like for me to show you similar works?” The visitor shook his head. “No, thank you. Excuse me.” She watched as the male moved past both of them, steadily exiting the building without glancing at another artwork.

“Boss, may I speak with you.” Another officer from the police department asked as he entered the commissioner’s office. He nodded, gesturing for him to sit but giving him a minute to wrap up his phone call. As he hung up, he began to vent “My God, these gang violence conferences will be the death of me. The mayor is on my ass to get it under control. Anyways, what are you here for, Officer Cole?” The veteran officer cleared his throat.

“we’ve come to notice that Officer Lee and Officer Chan’s patrol car have been abandoned.” The commissioner choked on his coffee as the male a bit younger than them exposed troubling news. He looked up at the clock, it’s 7 p.m. “You’re meaning to tell me, it took everyone six hours to notice this?”

The male bit his lip “We know that the mental evaluations take a few hours, but after we noticed the car was stationed elsewhere, we called the mental institution and they informed us that no evaluations were set for anytime this week.”

The commissioner bounced up on his feet, “has anyone followed up? Did anyone go to the patrol car?” His words came out rapidly. “we wanted to confer with you first, sir.” The male exhaled, holding back the outburst he almost released. “You, you’re partner and another two go to that patrol car and find out what they are up to.” He bit his lip at he shook his head. “I believe we’re looking at a jail break.”

“Where the fuck is Namjoon!” Jungkook growled as he sat in the private plane. “Here he comes,” Taehyung mumbled as the last member entered the plane prompting one stewardess to close the door and another to alert the pilot to prepare for take-off. “Did you find it?” Jungkook asked, hopeful for one positive result. “I did.”

The group was excited but Namjoon cut it short. “It’s in an art exhibit, owned by a man named Micah Stone.”

Jungkook nodded as he listened to his co-leader. “This woman approached me, asking if I was interested in it and I was prepared to spend a fortune on it to bring it back to its rightful place, but he came to me to let it be known that the painting was not on sale, which was unbeknownst to the woman, that I assume is more than his staff.”

The group listened to the new found information. “What’s the art gallery name?” Namjoon chuckled “Stone’s Exhibition. It’s downtown, not far from the main strip.” Jungkook looked at his peers, then back to Namjoon. “What’s the plan?”

Namjoon smirked, “Well, you along with Officer Lee and Chan over here can’t show your faces here again.” He pointed to Seokjin and Jimin. “I don’t want to come back here. This place is boring and run down.” Jin scorned as he looked out the window at the lights from the city as the plane flew away.

“We were in one city. The other cities are beautiful.” Namjoon commented, making Jin shrug in response. “well I only saw so much the past five months.” Jungkook added. “it was quite the view.” He joked sarcastically. The guys chuckled before Namjoon continued.

“Anyway, you three will need to stay away until things die down. The rest of us can return and retrieve the painting.” Jungkook nodded in agreement before turning to Jimin. “we have some things we need to deal with at home anyways, and situations that need to be settled.” Jimin nodded before relaxing again. “Good Job everyone!” Namjoon commended the boys on a successful infiltrate and rescue mission.

[watasemasaru]

oc music + style

five songs dahlia would listen to

••• plastic cup politics // less than jake ••• battle sirens // tom morello ••• little bitch // the specials ••• captain kelly's kitchen // drop kick murphys ••• desensitied // green day

three outfits/things dahlia would wear

[header art by me please do not use or repost]

[tannithvibes]

meme feat. @thetanniskissesmoxxiproject 's lovely Alice!!

[newts-and-sharks]

Ok, here is the Ophiuchi Fleet/Crew! My alien oc’s for @maudiemoods alien au!

Rasal is the positive and cheerful person of the group, his power basically being a flash bomb, but he can control the brightness, so he can either be a homing beacon, distress signal, a night light, or a living glow stick. He is a little dumb, but he has a good heart and would do just about anything for his crew. He has poor patience and terrible memory, but luckily Sabik is there to help him out. Rasal is quick to form attachments to people and gets very sad about leaving a planet and all the friends that he had made. At least he’s got his crew with him though! That is his main comfort, knowing that his crew will never leave him behind. However, this also makes him grow a hero complex, always going out of his way and even endangering himself to save his crew mates. He would never forgive himself if one of his crew mates died under his watch, whether he could have prevented it or not. But at the end of the day, as long as his crew is safe, he will be the happiest creature in the entire universe.

Sabik is the most manipulative of the group. He has no qualms about lying to get his way and does what he has to to survive. However, they would never do anything that wasn’t in the best interest for their crew. He grew up on the streets and still likes to partake in a little shop lifting here and there, but he mostly steals stuff for Omi in hopes to impress her. They are an excellent strategist and can has the second best poker face on the ship, but he also has a slight anger issue and is terrible at intimacy or anything touchy-feely or emotional. Sabi’s power is the Siren Call, basically verbal Hypnosis. Even a whisper can convince someone to do as they ask, but he prefers not to use this. Mainly for the fun and challenge, but he also hates using his power due to the intense headaches and temporary voice loss.

Cebal is the gentle giant of the crew. He is unusually big and bulky, but don’t ask him about it. He is a selective mute and has his own collection of terrariums in his ship quarters. He cares deeply about all life on all planets, and likes to collect tiny trinkets from all the planets they visit. He is kind and gentle in everything they do and finds it difficult to harm others, even when the crew is in danger. His power is controlling plant life, which admittedly you wouldn’t guess by looking at them. They mainly just grow flowers to decorate the ship and give as gifts to everyone. They have severe social anxiety, and he’s the most introverted of them all, rivaled only by Nu.

Marfik is the prankster of the ship. She has boundless energy and is the most active of them all, always scouting ahead and finding places to settle down when they explore a planet. Their power is unnatural speed, and they love to use it to trick the others. They know just how to cheer up the others, always getting to make them laugh and smile. They even got Nu to smile one time, but it might’ve been a trick of the light. She has a very very high metabolism so they’re always hungry despite not needing to eat for several days. Sometimes they ask Cebal to grow fruit from other planets just so they can eat it and stave off the hunger. Their favorite prank victim is Sabik, mainly just because it’s easy to get him riled up. The reason their nickname is Murphy is because everyone started calling them Marfi, and eventually it just blended into Murfi/Murphy.

Omi is tired 24/7. No nonsense, and all common sense. She is a bit stressed out about everything, but uses her studies to block out any negative or unwanted feelings that arise. She is the brain cell holder of the ship and 95% of everyone’s self control. She has the best poker face, and has become apathetic to most things. Sometimes Sabik gives her gifts that he says he bought, but she knows they are stolen. She has, however, grown a soft spot for him. Her power is telekinesis, but she uses it sparingly. Her power gives her major headaches, but she will do what she must to help the crew. She has grown up with the mindset that if she can’t be of use to someone, then she was useless over all and unwanted. She cares about her crew mates and wants to be wanted and useful to them, so she has a habit of over exerting herself for them.

Nu is…Nu. They crawl around the ship and fix any damage from the journey, Murphy’s pranks, Sabi’ temper, or Attacks from other ships. Most of the time, they can’t be found on purpose. You either find them on accident, or when they want to be found. Sometimes the crew finds them crawling in the vents, or in a dark corner of the ship while repairing something only to have them spin their head at a 180 angle and stare right into their eyes. On the rare occasion, they can be found ravaging the fridge at the dead of sleeping hours for their rations. Despite their cryptid and creepy behavior, they actually really care about their crew mates, which is why they work so hard to make sure nothing is wrong with the ship. Their power is being able to walk on any surface. They use this power to walk on the wall or ceilings, and also stick to the side of the ship when doing external repairs. They sometimes help Murphy out with pranks to spook other crew mates. Their best friend is Cebal, sometimes just sitting next to him and reading a book in comfortable silence as he takes care of his terrariums.

[acediian]

─𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲, 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲, 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 [ℹ.]

Pairing: Stephen Strange x OC, (eventually) Sinister Strange x OC

Synopsis: Alma, a newly appointed S.W.O.R.D. director, finds herself working alongside Stephen Strange to confront an inter-dimensional threat two months after he abruptly ended their long-term relationship and broke her heart. A young girl needing their help forces Alma to confront her lingering feelings for Stephen while they search for answers.  [Loosely follows the plot of DSMOM.]

Word count: 3.8k

Warnings: violence, gun use, swearing, unrequited love but also mutual pining, general peril??? Since this fic will eventually feature some smut, I’ll go ahead and say this now: MINORS DO NOT INTERACT! 18+ ONLY

A/N: I saw DSMOM one freakin time and fell so hard for Sinister Strange that I’m writing a multi-part fanfic just to shamelessly ship a self-insert OC with him (and 616 Stephen ofc). I truly hope you enjoy this chapter, even though we haven’t gotten to the best bits yet. I love some good setup in my fics! c:

* Please do not copy or repost my work anywhere else! *

Silence. That was what a corner office with a view of the New York City skyline got you. Well, not dead silence. There was still the soft, rhythmic ticking of the clock on the wall. The distant sounds of car horns on the street. The clacking of fingertips on a keyboard. For most agents, the quiet, meditative atmosphere of a glass office and the accompanying promotion to regional director of S.W.O.R.D. for the Northeast would be a dream come true. It was the culmination of a career spent running memos to research and development, investigating inter-dimensional anomalies, and occasionally responding to the odd extraterrestrial threat. 

A pair of brown eyes glanced up from the computer screen to the bronze plaque hanging on the wall to her left. 

The United States Government recognizes Alma Elizabeth Simmons for her bravery and dedicated service during the Battle of New York on May 4, 2012.

This was the only one she had hung of the numerous other medals and plaques that she had earned in her more than fifteen years as an agent. Boots on the ground was all she had known for so long that the transition to ass in an office chair had been a tough pill to swallow. 

Still, she had to admit… “Director Simmons” did have a nice ring to it.

It was like an answer to her prayers when the sudden blaring of sirens pierced the silence of her office. Alma nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden interruption, but the satisfaction of putting her computer to sleep pushed aside her momentary shock. It took her two quick strides to make it to the glass door and swing it open, letting in the beautiful cacophony of a facility leaping into action. 

“Finch, talk to me,” Alma shouted to her assistant through a rush of agents passing by. “What’s going on?” 

“Inter-dimensional visitor, ma’am,” Finch replied, pressing a datapad into her hands that already displayed what little information they had on the incident. He struggled to keep up with her pace as they followed the others to the atrium. “SoHo. Unknown origin. But it’s, uh… big and it’s angry.”

Alma sighed. “Great. Alright, I’m gonna want Squadron 3 on this. Armored vehicles only. And get me one with a laser turret on top.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

---

Her team was suited up and speeding through the city streets less than five minutes later, their convoy of vehicles weaving in and out of traffic as sirens blared and unsuspecting civilians gawked from the sidewalks. Alma could feel her heart pounding excitedly in her chest. It was her first chance since her promotion to be at the front of the action. No more hiding behind a desk while the agents got to have all the fun. 

“What’s our ETA?” she asked, catching the driver’s gaze in the rearview mirror. 

“Two minutes, ma’am. Traffic allowing.”

“Director?” came a voice from behind her.

“Yes, Murphy?”

“Looks like Stephen Strange is already on the scene, ma’am.”

The back of the vehicle filled with an air of excitement. Hushed but enthusiastic whispers passed between the passengers. These were experienced agents, but the chance to watch an Avenger at work was always thrilling. Alma, however, couldn’t share in their delight. It was bound to happen sooner or later - seeing him again - especially given the work that they both did. All the grief and heartbreak that she had spent the last two months trying to process, to suppress, to overcome, consumed her in an instant. It was a ravenous beast and she, its vulnerable prey. 

Perhaps she should have sat this one out, after all. 

“Agents–” Alma finally managed to croak out, breathless, before she summoned her composure. “Agents. When we arrive, I want Team Alpha to begin setting up a perimeter and escorting civilians out of the area. We’re going in weapons hot. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” they all said in unison.

“Team Bravo, on me. Engage with the intent to neutralize. And watch each other’s–”

The vehicle squealed to a stop just short of the next intersection, narrowly avoiding the enormous, tentacled creature that was lumbering down the street with a city bus in its grips. 

“There’s our bogey! Go!”

Their convoy of armored vehicles sprung into action. Agents poured out of the vans and onto the road as instructed. “Moreno! Rouse! Bring the Cannon and rendezvous with us. You four – with me!” 

For her first incident as director, Alma didn’t think she was doing too badly so far. But the real test of her leadership skills was currently rounding the next street corner. She took off sprinting with the other four agents in tow, dodging abandoned cars and fallen street lamps in pursuit of the creature. A familiar red blur whizzed through the intersection, causing the lump in Alma’s through to grow even larger. The sooner this was over, the better.

As the squad turned onto the next street, they were met with their first full view of the creature in all its many-tentacled splendor. They immediately began firing on the monstrosity, which responded to the sting of their bullets with a high-pitched screech. A mass of tentacles came hurtling toward them, grabbing two of the agents and tossing them aside as if they weighed nothing. Alma prepared herself for the inevitable when something else wrapped around her shoulders and swiftly pulled her out of the creature’s reach. Once she skittered to a stop, she swiveled around to see who had saved her only to see Stephen’s Cloak of Levitation hovering behind her. 

“Oh,” Alma breathed with a smile. “Hey, you.”

The Cloak drew in closer, wrapping a bit of its cloth around her in a sort of hug. 

“Yeah, I’ve missed you, too,” she chuckled. “Thanks for the assist.”

Alma thought the Cloak nodded to her before it flew off, presumably back to its master. The creature, in the meantime, had become distracted by something else, which gave her a window of opportunity to check on the agents who had been thrown. They were fine, if not a little shaken up, and they would definitely have a few bruises later on. But it was her responsibility to make sure that wouldn’t happen to them again. 

Pressing on her earpiece, she barked, “Where is my Cannon?” to the two agents who she had tasked with bringing the weapon.

“Coming up on you now, ma’am,” a breathless voice replied.

S.W.O.R.D.’s R&D department had been cooking up prototype weapons for occasions just like these but hadn’t had many opportunities to test them in the field. Alma saw two outcomes: either the Cannon was going to work and kill the creature or it would explode in her hands and kill her in a blaze of glory. 

The agents promptly arrived with the weapon, a laser cannon that must have weighed more than fifty pounds and had a smooth, silver exterior that pulsed with a pale blue glow. Alma could feel the thing humming with energy beneath her fingertips. With the press of a button, the Cannon whined to life as it began to charge up its laser pulse. The bar on the top blinked rhythmically - one light for every minute it needed to charge. R&D said the process would take three minutes. Hopefully, that would be enough time.

Throwing the Cannon’s strap over her shoulder, Alma resumed her pursuit of the creature with her agents on her heels. “Keep it engaged until I’m ready to fire!” She had to shout over the screams of panicked civilians and the distant sirens that were steadily growing louder. 

The team had to dodge a flying sedan before they could resume shooting at the creature, which hardly seemed interested in them this time. It was after something else. No, someone? There was little time to discern who or what its target was. An Eldritch Whip suddenly wrapped around one of the creature’s tentacles, but it broke free and grabbed the spell’s caster, hurtling him into a van on the opposite curb. 

Alma wanted to run to him but her legs wouldn’t budge. She could only stand there, gawking, as Stephen Strange shook off the blow and rose to his feet. It was merely a coincidence that he looked in her direction. But as soon as their gazes locked, the world around them fell away. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else existed. Not the creature, not the people running past them, not even the ground beneath her feet. All Alma could hear was her hammering pulse and all she could see was him. 

It was clear by the way Stephen’s shoulders dropped that he could discern the hurt on her face. There was a yearning in her eyes, too, that was unmistakable. Finally, he broke eye contact with her to look down. He was thinking. He always drummed his fingers against his leg like that when he was thinking. But the second he looked up again, one of the creature’s tentacles wrapped around him and squeezed. Neither one had seen it coming, lost as they were in the sight of one another.

“No!” Alma bellowed as the creature lifted Stephen into the air. He struggled, but his arms were pinned to his sides. No spells. No way to save himself.

The third light on the Cannon was blinking, now. Less than a minute until it was ready to fire. 

“Ugh, come on, fucking thing!” Alma gritted through her teeth, giving the weapon a little shake as though that would help it finish its charge more quickly. Surely it was a coincidence that the light stopped blinking just then and the end of the weapon’s barrel lit up with a sickeningly bright glow. Her brow lifted in surprise. “Huh. Okay, then.” 

Alma struggled to brace the Cannon against her hip so she could aim the barrel at the creature, which still had a tight grip on Stephen and didn’t seem inclined to let him go. It was trying to escape the barrage of gunfire by clambering up a skyscraper, sending boulder-sized pieces of limestone tumbling to the earth. 

Why did they always have to climb the buildings like the city was some kind of playground?

The Cannon beeped as Alma followed the creature up the building’s facade, signaling that it had the thing squarely in its crosshairs. She hesitated for only a second and hoped against all hope that the weapon wouldn’t backfire before pulling the trigger. To her relief, a glorious beam of light left the Cannon’s barrel with a roar, illuminating everything in a fifty-foot radius as it came into contact with the creature’s flesh. 

The being had only a second to let out an ear-shattering screech. The beam’s energy quickly traveled through its body, searing every vein, muscle, and limb. In an instant, the creature disintegrated into ash. Stephen, finally released from its clutches, let out a yell as he began his eight-story fall. Not a moment later, the Cloak of Levitation seamlessly caught him in mid-air and gently lowered him back to the road before disappearing into the sky once again.

The momentary confidence and satisfaction that came from defeating the creature evaporated as Stephen jogged over to Alma. An awkward pause followed while the two struggled to find what to say to one another. Stephen opened and closed his mouth several times, even drew in a quick breath before stopping himself. Clearing his throat, he gestured emphatically at the Cannon that Alma was gripping so tightly that the tips of her fingers had turned white. 

“That’s a… fun weapon you’ve got there,” Stephen finally managed.

Alma could only raise her eyebrows in response. His first words to her in two months and those were the ones he chose? Well, since he wanted to be quippy with her, the least she could do was respond in kind.

“Oh, you like it? It’s a prototype.” She slapped its metallic exterior. “You can… kill so many giant tentacled freaks with this bad boy.”

Alma winced at her bungled attempt at humor. He was so much better at it than her. It was one of her favorite things about him - the way he had always been able to make her laugh.

“You agents and your toys,” Stephen remarked with a lopsided grin. 

They stood there silently for another moment, Alma shuffling her feet and Stephen fiddling with his hands. But he finally beat her to the punch, speaking just as her lips parted to say something herself. 

“Your hair is different.” Stephen mimicked the shape of her short, black bob with his hands. “It looks nice.” 

“Thanks.” A smile passed fleetingly across her lips before her expression turned serious. “Are you okay, Stephen?” 

Stephen nodded, flashing a smile so warm that Alma knew she must have turned pink. “I’m okay.”

Someone cleared their voice behind her. “Director Simmons?”

Stephen raised his eyebrows, shocked, impressed, and proud all in equal measure. “Director.”

Alma ignored him and turned to her agent. “Yes, Moreno?”

“Emergency services are on scene, ma’am. Some civilians wounded, no casualties.”

“And one hell of a lot of property damage,” she commented, finally taking a second to look around at the trail of destruction that the creature had left in its wake. “Can’t wait for the paperwork on this one.” She sighed. “Thanks, Moreno. Can you bring this back to the truck and coordinate with first responders while I debrief with,” her eyes flitted to Stephen for less than a second, “Doctor Strange?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Moreno said, taking the Cannon with him as he left the two of them alone again. 

“Debrief, huh?” Stephen teased. “Is that what you’re calling it?” But this wasn’t exactly an excuse she had cooked up to talk to him more, even if it was what the little voice in the back of her head was begging for her to do.

Alma played it cool, brushing off his question with a sincere: “Well, we just had a visit from a cyclops cthulhu monster from another dimension, Stephen. It’s kind of my job to interview the parties involved about what the hell just happened.”

“Speaking of parties involved…” he began, his head turning to where the Cloak of Levitation had returned carrying a young girl like it was a magic carpet.

The girl started turning on her heel to run when she caught sight of Alma and an excited look of recognition lit up her face. Instead, she came barreling into Alma and threw her arms around her in a tight embrace.

“Alma, holy crap! You killed it! You saved me!”

Alma exchanged a confused look with Stephen, who shrugged and shook his head to say that he didn’t know this kid either. 

“You’re… welcome,” Alma stammered. “Sorry, do we know each other?” 

“Oh, well–” The girl sheepishly withdrew from their hug. “Yeah. And no. Kind of.”

A million questions bounced around Alma’s head, so she settled on the most basic one to start. “Who are you?”

“Yeah, I was gonna ask that same question,” Stephen chimed in. “More importantly, what did that creature want with you, kid?”

“And where are your parents?” Alma’s brow furrowed in concern. “Do you need us to call them for you?” 

The girl’s head whipped from Alma to Stephen and back again amid their barrage of questions.

“We’re not gonna hurt you, okay?” Alma assured her. “We’re just trying to understand what’s going on.”

“Look, giant teen-eating monsters aside, I have something important that’s bothering me.” Stephen took a step closer to the kid. “Why were you in my dream last night?”

The girl shook her head. “That wasn’t a dream. It was another part of the Multiverse.”

Alma and Stephen exchanged a look. S.W.O.R.D. had spent a little time researching other dimensions - other universes - but their knowledge about the Multiverse was still sorely lacking. Some of her colleagues didn’t even believe that such a thing could really exist. The chance to interview this girl could prove invaluable to their work and to mitigating future threats. 

“Do you guys have pizza in this universe?” the girl suddenly asked.

What a way to change the subject, Alma thought. Leave it to a kid to ask for pizza right after evading death by octopus monster. 

“Yeah, we have pizza.”

---

The girl sat across the table from Alma and Stephen, devouring slice after slice of pizza as though her meal was being timed. Alma’s fingers absent-mindedly drummed against the screen of her datapad as she sat watching the kid with a curious gaze. She couldn’t have been older than fifteen, maybe sixteen. She was shrouded in mystery, and yet no one in the restaurant would have suspected that she was any different than your average teenager just by looking at her.

“Slow down, kid. You’re gonna get a stomach ache.” Stephen spoke with a level of care in his voice that Alma found sweet.

“She said she was hungry, Stephen.”

“Yeah,” the girl agreed with Alma between bites. “And besides, I’m from another universe. You don’t know if my stomach even works the same as yours.”

“I don’t even know if you’re really from another universe like you keep saying you are.” Stephen tilted his head. “I’m still waiting to be enlightened.”

“Is your Stephen always this grumpy?” the kid turned her attention to Alma, who chuckled in response.

“He has his moments.”

The girl’s eyebrows raised. “Guess this is one of them.”

“Alright,” Stephen interrupted their conversation, causing the two ladies to exchange a little grin. “You know, I left a very nice wedding to save a smart-ass kid from being eaten by an octopus. Now, tell me–”

Alma’s head snapped to him. Christine’s wedding. They had planned on going together, initially. “Oh, you ended up going?”

“Did you guys get married?!” the girl interjected excitedly. 

“No. We’re not married,” Alma replied.

“No, we didn’t,” Stephen said in unison with her. “And yes, I did go.”

“Wait, you’re not married?” The girl sounded stunned, confused even. “You were married in every other universe I’ve been to.” 

An uncomfortable look passed between Stephen and Alma that the kid definitely noticed. 

“No, we’re–” Stephen cleared his throat. “–not together any more.”

The girl dropped the slice of pizza she was working on in shock. “What?” 

Stephen’s words cut through Alma’s heart, reopening the wounds she’d spent the last two months trying to heal. She’d made it through, mostly by pouring herself into her work. It was probably what had earned her the promotion to director. Things in her life were starting to feel normal again after so much change, so this verbal reminder of what once was and what could have been… oh, it hurt to hear.

“But–” the girl continued, her disappointment clear. “You’re always together. You’re, like… soulmates.” 

“Tell that to Stephen,” Alma said under her breath, low enough that she didn’t think either of them heard. But the way he turned to look at her told her otherwise. Instead of meeting his gaze, she focused her attention on her datapad.

“Sorry.” The kid looked a bit guilty for stirring up sore feelings between them. “So, uh… you wanted me to explain what’s going on.”

“Yes.” Stephen leaned closer, resting his forearms on the table. “Why was that thing trying to eat you?

“It wasn’t trying to eat me; it was trying to kidnap me and take me to this… demon who wanted to steal my power.” 

“Power. What power?”

The kid took a deep breath. “I can travel the Multiverse.”

“What?” Stephen blurted out.

Alma, who had been typing on her datapad, finally looked up. Her eyes reflected an equal amount of awe and concern. “How?”

“I don’t know. I can’t control it. It only happens when I’m really, really afraid. The last universe I was in–” She looked at Stephen “–the other you was trying to help me. But the demon caught up with us.” 

A sudden realization flashed across his features. “The fight from my dream.”

“I already told you,” the girl urged. “That wasn’t a dream. I can prove it…!”

Stephen suddenly rose to his feet, sending his chair scraping backwards across the tile floor. “Alright, pizza time’s over.”

“Wh– Stephen, I’m not done here.” Alma gestured to her datapad in annoyance. 

Stephen leaned down to whisper to her, coming close enough that she could feel his breath on her temple. The sensation sent a chill down her spine. “I have to take her to Kamar-Taj. Wong has to know about this. If this ‘demon’ is after her, it won’t stop just because we killed its minion.” 

When Alma tilted her head toward him, she briefly lost herself in his startlingly blue eyes. Blinking, she considered his idea. “You think he’ll have answers?” 

“Maybe. I hope so. If not, then I guess I’ll have to see who else might know what to do.”

“Such as?”

“Wanda Maximoff?”

Alma set her datapad down and turned fully to face him. “Stephen, no. Do you know what she did in Westview? 

“Yeah,” he shrugged, “mass kidnapping by way of sitcoms.”

“I was there.” She needed him to know how serious she was. “I saw it all. I don’t think that she can be trusted.”

“Alma. I have to try. Or the entire Multiverse could be at risk.”

"Damnit.” He was right. Rolling her eyes, she relented with a heavy sigh. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Don’t I always?” He lingered for a moment before standing upright again and swooshing around the table. “Alright, kid. Come on.”

“Wait–” Alma stood up as the girl began to follow Stephen, meeting the two of them near the door. “I don’t think we ever caught your name.”

“Oh… right.” The girl must have forgotten that they didn’t already know her like the other versions of them supposedly did. “I’m America. America Chavez.”

Alma smiled warmly. “America. It’s nice to meet you. Go with Stephen, now. He and the other sorcerers will keep you safe.”

“I hope so.” There was an air of doubt in America’s voice.

Before Stephen could reach for the door handle, Alma grabbed his forearm to stop him. When he looked down, she withdrew her hand as quickly as she would have if she had touched an open flame. 

“Anything else you learn from her - anything at all - you better keep me in the loop,” she said softly, but firmly.

“Aye aye, madame director.” Stephen winked. 

“I mean it.” Alma sighed and slipped one of her freshly-printed business cards into his hand. “Call my office.”

He took one look at the card and tried to hand it back to her. “I already have your number.” 

“Stephen.” 

Please don’t call my cell, her heart cried. She couldn’t bear to see the little red hearts next to his name on the call screen.

“Alright,” he breathed as he slipped the card into his pocket for safe keeping. “I’ll be in touch.” He nodded to America, who gave Alma another quick hug.

“Sorry, force of habit,” she chuckled before following Stephen out of the restaurant.

Alma sighed as though she had been holding her breath for the last hour and slumped into one of the chairs at their table. Her hand reached for the last slice of pizza. She’d earned it. 

[sarcasmandships]

how to save a life part 2︱spencer reid

word count: 8.7k

spencer reid x slight oc

spencer and veronica argue over him keeping their relationship from the team, but when spencer sustains a life-threatening gun shot wound it puts everything into perspective

angst + hurt/comfort with a n eventual happy ending 

this is not an x reader because i hate writing y/n in place of a character name and it often forces you into writing in second person which i also hate - however I have avoided giving specific descriptions of hair/eye/skin colour, height and body shape so feel free to imagine it like an x reader

this is also heavily inspired by greys anatomy and ive taken characters from the show to be side characters, however you do not need to have watched a single episode of greys to follow the story

warnings: spencer being shot, descriptions of blood, descriptions of surgery

read part one here! 

Veronica readjusted her dress for what felt like the 100th time that evening. The green, silk bodice was too restrictive; her feet ached from the stiletto heels April had picked out for her. She grabbed another glass of champagne from a passing waiter.

"That is for the guests!" April hissed, smacking her arm with her tiny clutch bag.

"And the hostages," Veronica said, raising her glass to an imaginary toast.

"Amen to that," Cristina agreed, taking a long sip of champagne from her own glass.

"You two are hopeless," April said, shaking her head before storming off.

"I like angry Kepner," Cristina chuckled.

"God, I can't breathe in this thing," Veronica gasped, pulling at the top of her dress again, "I think I've got a tension pneumothorax."

"Unfortunately, if I had a needle big enough to help you, I'd have stabbed myself in the eye hours ago," Cristina said, deadpan.

Veronica gave her a shaky laugh.

"Ooo, is that Kevin Gibbs?" Cristina said, suddenly filled with a burst of newfound energy as she spied a man at the next table, "oh, he is rich rich, I'm so getting a donation from him," she grinned before dashing off to take Kevin Gibbs' arm.

Veronica rolled her eyes as she watched Cristina twirl her hair and flutter her eyelashes; she was far too good at this. Veronica was left alone at the table, tired of pretending she was interested in anything these rich, old men had to say; she pulled her phone out to scroll through Twitter.

However, as she unlocked it, Spencer's name popped up on her screen, and her shrill ringtone cut through the low-level chatter and ambient music in the room. She hastily switched the phone to silent after receiving a few pointed glares but continued to stare blankly at the screen as it rang.

She did not want to speak to him.

But she had told him to keep in touch.

Via text, not a phone call.

But what if something was wrong.

Eventually, she clicked 'accept'.

"Spencer, I told you-"

"Hi, Veronica," the voice on the other end cracked, "it's Derek Morgan. We met earlier today..."

Veronica's blood ran cold as Derek spoke to her through the phone. She could hear the piercing wail of the sirens; it harmonised with Cristina's shrill laughter as she flirted with Kevin at the next table.

Blood was pounding in her ears. Her entire body was in free fall like she was being hurled down the drop of a rollercoaster that seemed to never end.

"... they're taking him to Stafford Grace Mercy West Hospital, meet us there when you can - I gotta go."

Derek hung up the phone.

Veronica stood frozen, her body trembling and mind spinning.

"Veronica!" Jackson snapped as he strutted towards her, "you're supposed to be getting donations, not standing in a corner drinking all the champagne…."

Veronica was staring straight at Jackson's face as he ranted, but she couldn't focus her eyes enough to see his furrowed brows or flared nostrils. Her mind was spinning at hyper speed, but everything around her moved in slow motion; she gripped onto the edge of the table.

"…are you even listening to me?" he snapped his fingers in front of Veronica's glazed eyes.

"Spencer was shot. In the chest, he's on the way to the hospital now," she said in a monotone, "I have to...I have to go...I..." Veronica clutched her head in her hands; the room would not stop spinning.

"Oh my god," Jackson gulped, "of course, go, go. Do you want me to come?"

Veronica stumbled away from him and towards the door. Why was the floor moving like that?

"No," she called back to him, "this is your event you can't leave, I just- I need to go," she turned on her heel and dashed out of the door.

The hospital was just up the street. Jackson had picked a venue close by so the doctors who didn't have the day off could get there quickly after work. Veronica pushed people out of the way as she staggered up the street; her feet didn't hurt anymore. Her whole body was just pins and needles.

She burst through the doors of the ER, in her floor-length, green dress and dazzling emerald necklace, with tears streaming down her face. Sections of her neatly pinned hair had broken free; she clutched her chest as she gasped for air. It was only a matter of time before someone called for a psychiatric consult.

With most of the other attendings at the gala, the interns and residents had swarmed like locusts to get their hands on a surgical case. Veronica pushed through the sea people, looking for someone she knew – why did all the residents look the same?

Veronica scanned the trauma rooms, hoping to catch sight of his messy hair. They were full of bloodied and beaten-up people, but none of them were Spencer. She had just stumbled through the double doors to the waiting area when she heard someone call her name.

"Veronica?"

She whipped her head around to see Derek Morgan standing in front of her. Several steps behind him, she noticed Penelope Garcia, who she recognised from this morning, and several other anxious FBI agents.

"Derek," she gasped, gripping onto his outreached hands, allowing herself to stabilise slightly, "w-what happened?"

"We were chasing down the unsub and Reid...he fell and just when he was getting back up, he got hit. It was bad luck. It caught him just above his vest."

"And he's in surgery now? I didn't see him in any of the trauma rooms?"

"They just took him up; come with us. You need to sit down," he said kindly, and Veronica allowed him to guide her over to the seats.

"Hi again," Garcia squeaked, but Veronica stared straight ahead and didn't answer her.

The others tried to introduce themselves, Aaron Hotchner, Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau, David Rossi. They were names she knew well from Spencer's last night rants about work, but she couldn't bring herself to look at any of them long enough to put a face to the name. Derek was trying to reassure her when Veronica caught sight of a familiar resident walking past with a tablet in her hand.

"Murphy!" she barked, "get over here."

Murphy's head snapped up, and she looked around rapidly to see where the voice had come from; when her eyes finally landed on Veronica, she looked at her quizzically but shuffled over.

"Dr Grey, I thought you were at the gala-"

"I need you to look up a patient for me, Spencer Reid - came in with a GSW to the chest and should be in surgery now."

"Dr Grey, what's going on?" Murphy said slowly, her eyes darting between Veronica and the team of agents behind her.

"Just do it, Murphy!" she ordered, and Spencer's teammates looked slightly taken aback.

"Okay, okay!" she said, typing rapidly on her tablet, "he's in surgery with Dr Hunt and Dr Altman for an exploratory thoracotomy...chest x-ray showed a GSW to the chest with the bullet lodged near the thoracic aorta...he was tachycardic and hypotensive when he came in, with substantial blood loss-"

Bile bubbled up in her throat, "what OR are they in?"

"Dr Grey, I can't-"

"What O.R, Murphy?" she snapped; she gripped the edge of the plastic chair to prevent herself from strangling the resident.

"OR one!"

"Okay... OR one. OR one has a gallery," Veronica mumbled to herself, she tapped her foot against the floor and her stiletto clacked against the linoleum.

"Dr Grey, you know you can't go up there when you aren't working-"

"Murphy, do you want a medical career?"

"Y-yes," she stammered.

"Then you'll get out of my way before I have the AMA strip your medical license," Veronica snapped; she stood up and gathered up the skirt of her dress as she began to power walk towards the elevator.

"Wait, where are you going?" Derek called after her.

"Spencer's in OR one, that OR has a viewing gallery... I'm going to watch his surgery," she said flatly before turning away and continuing along the hallway.

It wasn't until she was in the elevator and ready to push the OR floor button that she realised that Spencer's team was directly behind her.

"What are you guys doing?" she sighed as they piled into the elevator after her.

"He's one of us. We aren't gonna hang around a waiting room if we can be there with him," the blonde woman that Veronica thought was called Jennifer, retorted.

She was ready to argue. To protest that they weren't allowed in the gallery, that surgery wasn't for the faint-hearted. But then she looked at all their faces, desperate and distressed; they looked how she felt.

So, she closed her mouth and jabbed the button for the fifth floor.

The elevator seemed to take forever to reach the fifth floor. It stopped on three, and a huddle of surgical interns tried to cram in, but Veronica snapped at them before they had the chance.

"No. You get the next one," she glowered at them, and they could only give her nervous stammers and shaky head nods in response.

Veronica rolled her eyes at them as the doors crept shut again, with her arms folded tightly across her chest and tapped her foot against the floor.

"You seem to have a lot of authority here," Hotch commented.

"I'm an attending," she said bluntly, "they're interns - bottom of the surgical food chain, their only job is to stay out of our way and try not to kill anyone."

"That seems...harsh," Garcia whispered to Derek.

Veronica whipped her head around, "a hospital like this doesn't work without a hierarchy; it's how we learn. If we don't treat them that way, then they get too confident. Would you rather have an intern perform Spencer's exploratory thoracotomy or two surgeons with years of experience who are chiefs of their respective departments?"

Garcia gaped at her, but the elevator doors creaked open, saving her from trying to respond to Veronica's scathing comment.

"The gallery is this way," Veronica grunted under her breath as she exited the elevator and crept up a short flight of stairs.

"That wasn't very nice; Garcia was only making an observation," JJ whispered to Emily as they followed Veronica.

"Who is this woman?" Emily responded, equally as confused as to why they were following this random woman around a hospital.

Derek turned round to face them, "she's Spencer's girlfriend-"

"Girlfriend!" Emily gasped, "did he ever mention a girlfriend to any of you?" she asked, looking between JJ and Derek.

"No, not once…." JJ frowned.

"He didn't tell me as much as he was forced to, that's why he's been acting so off recently, but I couldn't really get many details from him about her, so don't ask me anything - she's just worried about him like we are, she's on edge too."

Veronica burst into the gallery, which was thankfully empty. She pressed her forehead up against the viewing window and saw Spencer lying on the table. The glass was cool against her forehead, which seemed to somewhat soothe her pounding headache.

Spencer's face was draped, she couldn't see his eyes, but she could see his half of his rib cage. That unsettled her; she wasn't supposed to be able to see into her boyfriend's chest cavity. Veronica clung to the glass as she staggered to the intercom on the wall; she pushed the button that allowed them to hear what was being said in the OR.

"... there's a lot of bleeding here, more suction!" Dr Altman demanded.

"Right away, doctor."

Veronica flicked the switch that allowed her to be heard in the OR, "Owen," she said slowly, and he looked up at her in shock, "I need you to save him."

"Veronica, you're supposed to be at the fundraiser. What are you doing here?"

"Owen, listen to me," she pleaded, her voice cracking, "I need you to save him."

"Well, of course, I'm gonna try and save him, Veronica I don't understand-"

"Oh god," Dr Altman said as she suddenly realised what was happening, "Spencer Reid... he's your Spencer. I met him at Owen and Cristina's wedding; we talked so much about the Mechanical Complications of Acute Myocardial Infarction I thought he was a surgeon too…."

Veronica nodded silently.

Her Spencer.

She couldn't control the sob that wracked her body. She was vaguely aware of Garcia placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, so I need you to save him," she sniffed, "because if he dies, I will literally go out of my fucking mind, and I won't be much of a neurosurgeon from the psych floor."

"Veronica, you should be up here," Owen said as he forced another clamp into Spencer's chest, "how did you even know where he was?"

"Murphy told me," she said, "but it wasn't her fault, so don't go and yell at her; I told her I'd have her medical licence taken away."

Owen paused, "you can't do that, though."

"She doesn't know that! Please just save him. I need you to save him."

"I-" Dr Altman hesitated, "we'll do everything we can, V, I promise you."

"Thank you, Teddy," she whispered through her tears; she flicked the button off again so they wouldn't be distracted by her sobs.

Veronica collapsed into a chair in the middle of the front row and kicked her heels off. Spencer's team had shuffled into the rows behind her and sat, whispering quietly among themselves and clutching onto each other.

"V-veronica," Garcia finally spoke after around an hour of near silence, "I know you're a different kind of doctor, but what are they doing? I don't understand any of these medical terms. Can you explain it?"

Veronica twisted slowly in her seat to face her, revealing her mascara coated cheeks and puffy eyes. She nodded slowly.

"They're doing a surgery called an exploratory thoracotomy; they're trying to remove all the bullet fragments from his chest cavity. Their main concern is that the bullet hit very close to the thoracic aorta, which is a major vessel that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body."

"B-but it didn't hit his aorta, so that's good, right?"

"Right, cos' if it had, then he'd have bled out seconds after he was hit," Veronica paused to swallow the vomit creeping up her throat as she imagined Spencer's bloodless body lying in the morgue, "but the impact of the bullet creates shock waves when it enters the body. Considering the proximity to the thoracic aorta, it could weaken it and cause an aortic dissection."

"And that's bad?"

Veronica nodded gravely, "they're almost always fatal, the blood loss becomes too uncontrollable, and even the best surgeons, like Dr Altman and Dr Hunt, can't do anything," she turned back around to face the OR as a fresh set of tears threatened to spill over.

"Oh," was all Garcia could muster up.

"Those doctors, are they really the best?" Emily asked.

Veronica nodded, "Owen, Dr Hunt is head of trauma surgery, and Teddy, Dr Altman, is head of cardiothoracic surgery. They served together in Iraq; they've put soldiers half blown apart by bombs back together, if anyone can save Spencer - it's them," she reassured.

"Good to know..." Emily said in uncertainty, wrapping a comforting arm around JJ, who was silently sobbing into a tissue.

"What you need to understand is that every GSW is different, which is what makes them so difficult to fix, and when a bullet enters the body, it not only tears through structures, but the transfer of kinetic energy can cause damage to nearby tissues, like what I was saying about his thoracic aorta," she explained slowly, "that's why GSWs are so dangerous because the damaged area can ripple out around the entry wound."

"But you think he'll be okay, right?" JJ sniffed.

Veronica hesitated; she glanced back at Spencer's motionless body on the table. Her eyes scanning the monitors he was hooked up to, the constant stream of O neg he was being replenished with, the rip spreaders and clamps in his chest…

She felt sick again and had to turn away.

"I don't know. He hasn't been in surgery very long… it's just too early to say."

"There isn't anything more we can do for him now," Hotch spoke gravely, "he's in the hands of the people who are best trained to help him; we just need to trust that they are doing everything they can to save him."

Hotch's words had a sense of finality, and the room fell close to silent again with only Veronica, Garcia and JJ's sniffles and sobs echoing around the dimly lit room. Derek help Garcia's hand tightly in his own, JJ rested her head on Emily's shoulder, Hotch and Rossi sat next to each other, their faces stoic and stony. Veronica sat alone, tugging at the restrictive bodice of her dress every few seconds.

They sat like that for at least another two hours.

Suddenly, the monitors attached to Spencer began beeping rapidly, Veronica's heart seized, and she jumped to her feet to get a better view.

"What's happening to him?" Garcia whimpered; she clung onto Derek's arm as he also stood up and strained his neck to see.

"He's in DIC!" Teddy's voice echoed through the intercom, "push heparin," she ordered.

"Veronica, what's going on?" Derek asked; he tried to keep his voice steady, but it wavered slightly.

"He's in DIC, disseminated intravascular coagulation - it means that proteins in the blood that cause clotting go into overdrive, which actually causes excessive bleeding. If they don't control the blood loss, it's fatal."

"Lap pads! And more suction! I can't see a thing," Owen demanded as he packed Spencer's chest cavity to absorb the excess blood.

"And hang another unit of O neg, he's losing too much blood," Teddy added, "there was nothing in his medical history that indicated he was at risk of DIC...Veronica! Is he on blood thinners?"

Veronica dragged herself over to the intercom and pushed in on the button, "n-no, nothing like that, he takes zolpidem sometimes, but that wouldn't cause DIC..." she muttered.

Something clicked in her brain, and she spun round to face Derek, "you said he fell before he got shot."

Derek nodded, "that's right, the woman the unsub had abducted pushed past him to escape, and he fell down the full flight of stairs. That distracted me long enough for the unsub to get a shot in at him...."

"Teddy! He fell before he was shot, he fell down a flight of stairs, he could have a splenic injury or a laceration on the portal vein or hepatic artery- it wouldn't have been picked up on a chest x-ray. You have to do an ex-lap!"

"Veronica, we've already cracked his chest-" Owen began to protest.

"Pressures dropping, doctor!"

Veronica banged on the glass, "he'd rather be alive with two incisions than dead with one."

"Dr Hunt, you're the trauma surgeon this your call," Teddy said calmly, "but we need to do something and fast."

"We don't even know if he has a splenic injury! We can't take medical suggestions from our patient's hysterical girlfriend; that isn't how it works-"

"He's dying," Veronica wailed, "and he's going to die if you don't do something. If it were Cristina on my table, you would be begging me to do whatever it takes to save her. Teddy – you promised me you would do everything you could, and you're not doing anything! He's bleeding to death, and you aren't helping him," she sobbed against the glass.

Teddy and Owen exchanged a look.

"10 blade," Owen grimaced, and Veronica breathed a sigh of relief, "you better be right about this Grey – convert drapes for an ex-lap!"

"Oh God, I can't watch this," JJ said; she flopped back into her seat as Owen made a deep incision into Spencer's abdomen.

Despite dealing with horrific crime scenes daily, everyone else in the team had to follow JJ's lead as floods of blood gushed from the incision site. Garcia, who had screwed her eyes shut the minute the monitors started beeping, was rocking herself back and forth and mumbling under her breath.

"Okay, I need more suction! I'm seeing some damage to the hepatic artery," Teddy said, "can you ligate it from your side?"

"Yeah, I think so, clamp!"

Veronica wished she could be like Spencer's team. She wished she didn't have a medical degree; she wished she didn't know every possible thing that could go wrong from this point forward. She wished she could close her eyes or at least tear them away from the scene that would plague her nightmares for years to come.

She could hardly believe it when his pressure finally stabilised; she embraced the smile that crept onto her face as she watched the readings on the monitor slowly begin to climb up.

"You can open your eyes now; they ligated the artery and stopped the bleeding, combined with the heparin that should be enough to keep him stable for now."

"For now?" JJ questioned.

"He's doing well; that injury could've been fatal, but he pulled through, and that's good; it's just that I don't want to tell you he's out of the woods when he's far from it."

"It's been hours," JJ said, "how much longer before we know if he'll be okay?"

Veronica shrugged, "probably a couple more hours; they need to make sure the wall of the thoracic aorta is strong enough before they close and remove all the bullet fragments; they need to take their time."

"You'll have to forgive us, Dr Grey," Hotch spoke quietly, "we don't have the patience for this kind of thing like you do."

"It's okay, and you can call me Veronica," she smiled nervously and picked at her nails.

This was what she'd wanted all along, to meet Spencer's team. But now, she was standing in front of them and couldn't think of a single thing to say. She had imagined this moment every night for months, but never in her wildest dreams did it go like this.

"Veronica then," he said stiffly, "so you said you're a neurosurgeon?"

"Yeah," she said, tearing her eyes away from the surgery in front of her to face him, "that's how Spencer and I met; he came to a lecture I gave on the Endoscopic Fenestration of Arachnoid Cysts Through Lateral Pontomesencephalic Membranotomy, cos' that's just the kind of things he does for fun," she snorted.

"Sounds like him," Hotch said, smiling fondly.

"I just can't believe he never told us about you," Emily commented, "and I can't believe we never figured it out; I mean, come on, guys, we're meant to be profilers."

Veronica gritted her teeth, "Yeah, me neither..."

"Veronica!" Jackson said, bursting through the door to the gallery, "I just got away from the gala; how's he doing?" he asked, rushing over to embrace her in a tight hug.

"He's stable for now; his temp has come up a lot since he got here, but he did go into DIC, and they had to convert to an ex-lap..."

"Owen and Teddy will be doing everything they can; he'll be okay."

She nodded, "I know...I just want it to be over; even if he was in the CCU, I could handle it, but he's lying open on an operating table, and I can't help him."

He rubbed circles on her back soothingly, "it'll be over soon. Can I get you anything?"

"Something to change into. I don't think I have any clothes in my locker, but just grab me some scrubs... I'd take a patient gown if it meant I could get out of this dress," she said, tugging again at the restrictive top.

"You got it," he said, breaking away from their hug, "April wanted to come and be with you, but Harriett's with the sitter and she had to-"

"Don't worry about it, just get me something to wear. I can't breathe in this thing."

"Yeah, I'm on it," he said, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead, "Cristina's on her way; she'll be here soon."

Jackson shuffled out of the gallery, giving a nod and a tight-lipped smile to the others as he passed them. Veronica retook a seat.

"That was Jackson," Veronica explained, noting the confused faces of the BAU team members, "Dr Jackson Avery, he works here too, but he was stuck at the gala - we were having this fundraiser for this hospital...stupid...."

"V! I just heard; why didn't you tell me?" Cristina burst into the gallery in a similar fashion to Jackson, "I had to hear from freaking Avery that your sexy FBI boyfriend got shot?" she berated as she sat down next to Veronica.

Veronica shrugged, "Jackson was there when I got the call. You were busy turning up the charm for that rich old sleaze."

Cristina shoved her lightly, "I'll have you know that rich old sleaze donated 1.5 million dollars to this hospital," she said smugly.

"Show off," Veronica grunted, folding her arms over her chest.

Cristina stood up to peer through the glass, "supervisory sexy agent, has Owen and Teddy working on him? You need to calm down and stop chewing your nails; he'll be fine."

Veronica rolled her eyes, "you need to stop calling my boyfriend supervisory sexy agent, or you'll be the one on the table."

"Aw, come on, I'm kidding! My husband is right down there...oh my god, my husband saves your boyfriend from a GSW? That'll be such a good story for me to tell your kids."

"Can we wait to see if he makes it off the table before we start discussing our hypothetical children?"

"Boring."

Jackson returned at that moment, "sorry, I didn't know your scrub size, so I just guessed. And you didn't have any shoes in your locker, so I stole some sneakers from April, you're the same size, and she won't mind - I also brought you some of her makeup wipes," he rambled, handing her the pile of clothes.

"Stealing shoes from your ex-wife now?" Cristina teased as Jackson sat down on the other side of Veronica, "I thought pretty boy Avery was rich enough to buy his own," she cooed.

Veronica stood up and slid the scrub pants on under her dress, and pulled the scrub top over the top. Cristina unzipped her dress, and she let out a deep breath as the pressure on her rib cage was released; she shimmied the dress off and threw it over an empty chair.

"Shut up, Yang," Jackson grunted.

"Children, behave," Veronica said warningly as she slipped on the socks and shoes she was borrowing from April.

Veronica sat back down and finished wiping off the makeup that hadn't been flushed away by her tears. Jackson gripped her hand tight in his, and she smiled appreciatively at him; Cristina gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"Guys, what if he dies?" she whispered as they watched Teddy and Owen work away on Spencer.

"He won't," Jackson protested, "he didn't code in the field, and the majority of GSW victims without penetrating vascular injuries survive if they get to a hospital on time."

"There is a bullet in his chest cavity! That is a penetrating injury," she blubbered.

"But it didn't directly damage his heart or any major arteries; yes, they could be weakened by force, but he's been in surgery for hours, and nothing has ruptured – plus after they close him up, we'll monitor him closely, and he will be okay," he said with a squeeze of her hand.

"Avery's right. It's far more likely he'll be a vegetable or something," Cristina shrugged.

"Yang! His best friends are right behind you," Jackson hissed.

"They are?" Cristina said, whipping her head around, "oh, hi."

Cristina gave them a wave, and they stared back dumbfounded.

"Who the hell are these people?" Emily hissed.

"I don't know, but they seem to think that Spence is gonna be okay, and that's all that matters to me," JJ answered.

"He could still die; people die from GSWs all the time. There could be complications, he could get an infection-"

"Look, Veronica, if the worst happens, then we can cross that bridge when we come to it, okay? And you know we'll all be here for you, no matter what," Jackson said, and Veronica smiled appreciatively at him.

"Thank you," she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Y'know, you should've married him when you had the chance - cos' if he dies and you were his wife, you'd get that life insurance. If he dies now, you'll just be poor and sad."

"Cristina!"

"No, it's okay," Veronica said with a slight smile, "it helps."

"God, talk about a dark sense of humour...."

"I think I'm just still drunk," Cristina shrugged.

"I think I'm hungover already; my head is killing me," Veronica groaned, massaging her temples.

"Want me to get you a banana bag?" Jackson asked.

"Yeah, why not."

Jackson stood up and made his way across the gallery and to the door; he turned back to face the BAU team members, "can I get anything for you guys? Coffee, water…I wouldn't recommend the food, but we got vending machines."

"No, thank you," Hotch answered politely, "anyone else?"

The rest of the team shook their heads or mumbled no thank-yous in response. Jackson gave them a sympathetic smile before leaving; JJ's stare was still firmly fixed on Veronica.

"What did she mean? You should've married him when you had the chance?" she asked.

"It means that supervisory sexy agent-"

"Cristina!"

"Fine, Spencer, asked V to marry him, and she said no cos' she can't let herself be happy."

"That isn't why I said no, and you know it."

"Well, no. But your real reason is stupid, so I'm gonna say it's your self-destructive tendencies instead. Do you know what I've give to never have to interact with Owen's dumb work friends? You're getting the best of both worlds here."

"You work in the same hospital! Owen's dumb work friends are your colleagues."

"Ugh, whatever."

"You turned Reid down because of us?" Rossi questioned, speaking for the first time since they had entered the gallery.

"It's a bit more complicated than that-"

"What's wrong with us? You didn't even meet us until today?" JJ snapped.

Veronica sighed and picked at her nails; her first interaction with Spencer's friends already wasn't going very well, and now she had to tread lightly as to not offend anyone.

"That's the problem; it took Spencer getting shot in the chest for us to meet because he refused to tell you about me; how could I marry someone when I'd never even met his friends? It's what we argue about more than anything else. We argued about it this morning actually...."

The blood drained away from Veronica's face as the events of the day flashed through her mind.

She turned to face Cristina, "oh God, we were arguing this morning about it, and again when I dropped his phone off at work - the last conversation we ever had was about that stupid argument. What if he dies thinking that I'm pissed off at him? I didn't even tell him I loved him before I stormed off," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Well, he's a profiler, right? Even if you didn't say it, he would be able to tell...."

"He's a genius, not a psychic, Cristina."

"She's right," Derek interjected, "before he lost consciousness, he told me to call you and tried to say something else; he kept saying tell her... he never got to finish, but I'm sure it was just that he loved you."

"He really said that?"

 Derek nodded, and a weight was lifted from Veronica's shoulders, although she quickly felt uneasy again when Jackson returned, IV kit and banana bag in hand.

 "Okay, I know you don't like needles, but it'll make you feel better, so give me your arm," he demanded.

 Veronica huffed and begrudgingly gave him her arm; she winced as he pushed the needle through her skin, "ow! I thought plastic surgeons were supposed to have a gentle touch."

 "Plastics is barely even a real speciality; Avery gives boob jobs on the daily – we do real surgeries and save lives."

 "Hey! I'm also a qualified ENT, and I practically run the burn unit-"

 "Guys," Veronica groaned, "can you have your little dick-measuring-contest another time? Maybe like when my boyfriend isn't lying open on an operating table?" she said, gently massaging the tender skin around her IV.

 "You said you liked my dark humour!"

 "Only when it's funny," she sat down again and massaged her temples "hey, I think they're nearly done," Veronica cheered.

 She dashed over to the intercom, "Are you guys closing him up?"

 Teddy nodded, "yeah, and then we'll be taking him up to the CCU. You should get some rest before he wakes up," she advised.

 "He's going to be okay, Veronica," Owen said; she couldn't see his face under his mask, but she could tell he was smiling.

 Veronica couldn't fight the grin spreading across her own face; Spencer was going to live. He was going to make it off the table. Now all she had to do was pray that he woke up because Veronica didn't know how she would cope if she never saw his eyes again.

 "He's really going to be okay?" JJ whispered; she held her hands up to her lips in a prayer formation as fresh tears spilt over onto her cheeks.

 Emily pulled her into a tight embrace and stroked her hair, "Hey, don't cry. The doctor said he's going to be okay."

 She nodded against Emily's chest, "I know, these are happy tears – it's just I've been sitting here for the past four hours wondering what I would tell Henry if his Uncle Spence died and now, he's going to be okay, and I'm crying more than when I thought he was going to die…stupid," she mumbled.

 "It's not stupid," Veronica offered kindly, "your body has been in panic mode and how that you're finally able to relax a bit, you get an emotional outburst that makes you cry – it's totally normal," she said, tentatively reaching out her hand to take JJ's.

 She nodded and gave Veronica's hand a squeeze, smiling at her for the first time since they had met. The mood in the room had shifted as the BAU members slowly began to accept that their teammate was going to live, and the nervous tension began to dissipate.

 "Teddy's going to close him up and then wheel him up to the CCU, Cristina are you staying or coming home?" Owen's voice echoed through the intercom.

"I'm staying obviously!" she said indignantly.

Veronica shook her head, "no, it's okay, you go home."

"V, I can't leave you here-"

"It's fine, Cristina. You're working in the morning, and you'll need to be here for rounds at 6am, and you won't be any use to anyone if you're sleep-deprived. So, go home. Besides, I've got Avery to keep me company."

Cristina gave her an appreciative smile and squeezed her hand one last time before she left the room. A wave of jealousy surged in Veronica's chest as Cristina disappeared from her line of sight; it wasn't her fault that she was going home with her husband whilst Spencer was being stitched back together. But that didn't make it hurt any less.

 "I'm so sorry, V," Jackson said, holding up his phone, "it's one of my burn patients, she's got an infection, and I think I'm the only sober attending after the gala…I can send a resident-"

 "No, no, it's okay," she smiled sadly, "go and help your patient; she needs you more than I do."

 "Page me if you need anything," he said, kissing her forehead gently before leaving her alone with the BAU team.

 She was in a room with seven other people, but she had never felt more alone. They were clutching onto each other, whispering amongst themselves and smiling; Veronica didn't have anyone.

She shuffled away from the displays of affection and picked up her dress and shoes, "I'm going to put this stuff in the attending's lounge, there's coffee in there if you want anything – and on-call room seven is always empty if any of you need to sleep. He won't be awake for a while; you should get some rest," she said, giving them a tight-lipped smile.

 "Thank you, Veronica," Derek said; he nodded over Garcia's head as he held her in his arms, "I don't think any of us will get much sleep until pretty boy wakes up, though."

 Veronica laughed, "pretty boy, I always thought he was exaggerating when he said you called him that. If you don't want to sleep, that's fine, but you can't stay in here – the interns like to hang out in here before pre-rounds, and they'll be here soon," she said before gripping onto her IV pole and swiftly exiting the gallery.

 Tears burned in her eyes as she made her way to the attending's lounge, grabbing a replacement banana bag from the nurse's station on her way; Spencer was going to be okay. He was going to wake up and have his team to comfort him, fetch him jello, keep him company through the recovery and bring homemade meals to his apartment. What else could she do for him that they couldn't?

 She burst into the attending's lounge and slammed the door shut behind her. She let out a heart-wrenching sob as she shoved the dress into her locker, growing frustrated and kicking it when the poufy, underlayers of the skirt wouldn't fit.

Maybe that's why he had never introduced her to the team because he already had seven people who loved him unconditionally and could give him all the love he needed. And Spencer didn't want her to know that; what could she do for him that they couldn't?

Veronica darted into the bathroom and held her own hair bag as she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl. Maybe she was just a fuck to Spencer, an outlet to release his frustrations after a hard day. Assuming he wasn't fucking any of his teammates, that was the only thing she was good for that they couldn't give.

 Derek said that his last words before he passed out were about her; he asked him to call her. He tried to give her a message – why did Veronica not share Derek's confidence that the message was I love you?

She flushed the toilet and washed her mouth out with water from the tap. Her headache was beginning to subside, but she still switched out her banana bag before she limped out of the bathroom, using the IV pole as a support.

Veronica threw herself onto the couch. She wanted to scream, or kick something else or rip her own hair out, but she simply didn't have the energy to do anything except shut her eyes and drift off to sleep. The image of Spencer's open chest cavity and the knowledge that his team were everything she was and more burned into her brain.

 ***

Spencer's brain was awake before his body was. He was acutely aware of people moving around his room, but their voices were muffled, and he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes to see who they were.

 There was a tight sensation in his throat, and suddenly, Spencer started gagging violently.

 "He's fighting the intubation!" a voice called out, "page Dr Altman."

 Dr Altman. He knew that name, he thought to himself. But his brain was still too hazy from the anaesthesia to think straight. Dr Altman…something to do with cardiothoracic surgery – probably one of his doctors. But where had they met before?

 He felt hands all over him, grabbing at his neck and face; there was a horrible scraping sensation in his throat, and then he could breathe freely again. He's fighting the intubation, the voice had said. That was good; that meant he was breathing on his own.

 However, he couldn't appreciate the joy of knowing he wouldn't be hooked to a ventilator for the rest of his life whilst his throat ached like that. The tube had been removed, but he still felt his gag reflex at the threshold of triggering.

 He really needed to get Veronica more credit for that.

 His limbs were heavy, he tried to at least wriggle his fingers, but they wouldn't move. The muffled voices which echoed around him were beginning to become clearer; he could make out what sounded to be JJ's voice by his head.

 Finally, his brain allowed his eyes to flicker open. But he immediately wanted to screw them shut again when the blinding fluorescent glare of the ceiling lights shone down on him.

"Oh my god," JJ gasped, "he's awake!"

 He couldn't move his head to see her, but her worried face quickly appeared in front of his, "Spencer? Spencer, can you hear me?" she asked frantically.

"Ow," he mumbled in response.

 "Thank God you're okay," she said, stroking his hair as tears streamed down her cheeks.

 "You gave us a scare, pretty boy."

 Spencer strained his eyes enough to see Derek standing in the corner; he leant against the wall with his arms folded tight across his chest, but Spencer could clearly see the grin he was fighting.

 "What happened?" he groaned, trying to readjust his body into a more comfortable position.

 "Hey, don't try and move," JJ scolded lightly, "the nurse said that you'll be groggy from the anaesthesia for a while," she took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently.

 "Did we get him? The unsub?"

 "Yeah, don't you worry about him, kid, he's going away for a long time," Derek reassured, "he got a shot in at you before we could take him down… I'm so sorry, kid, you fell, and it distracted me long enough for him to shot you before I could shoot him."

 "Hey, it's not your fault," JJ said, "it could've happened to any of us."

Spencer nodded in agreement but didn't try and speak again; his head was throbbing, and he closed her eyes again, the darkness providing some brief relief from the brilliant light above his head. But with every passing second, Spencer became increasingly aware of the dull aches in his chest and abdomen, the pain growing sharper with each intake of breath.

 "How many times did I get shot?" he groaned, "I can't remember anything…but my whole body hurts."

 JJ bit her lip as she continued to stroke his hair, "just once, Spence, but you fell down the stairs just before you got him and it injured…something, I don't know what – I can't remember what she said," JJ looked over to Derek for a prompt, but he shook his head in response.

 "Hey, don't look at me; I didn't understand a single word any of those doctors said," Derek shrugged, "Dr Altman is coming to check on you, though, kid. I'm sure she'll explain it all to you."

 Dr Teddy Altman!

They met at Cristina and Owen's wedding; Spencer could tell she was in love with the groom and distracted her with a rant on Mechanical Complications of Acute Myocardial Infarction. She was Veronica's friend.

 Oh god, Veronica. She must be so worried – if Derek had even called her that was, she might be oblivious to his condition. Spencer was ready to open his mouth to as about her, but JJ was already speaking again before he had the chance.

 "…and our resident genius will definitely be able to understand better than us," she said, pressing a gentle kiss against his forehead, "I've never been so nervous as when we were sitting in that gallery, thank god those doctors fixed you up."

 "Wait, what gallery?" Spencer asked, opening his eyes to squint at her, her words distracting him long enough to forget to ask about Veronica.

 JJ paused and exchanged a look with Derek, "we hoped you wouldn't mind – we were in the OR gallery during your surgery, but we didn't actually see anything," she reassured, "none of us could actually bring ourselves to watch, but we just wanted to be there, in case anything happened to you."

 "Not that we'd have been much help," Derek chuckled, "but I got you to the hospital in one piece. I wasn't about to let you out of my sight until you were stable."

 Spencer nodded slowly, "how did you even get in there?" he mumbled.

"Veronica," Derek said, "you asked me to call her, and she came straight over, but she wasn't about to sit around in any waiting room, so she found out where you were…we just followed her up there."

 Spencer tugged on his blanket, "so…you met her then?"

 JJ nodded stiffly, "we did."

 "Oh. Suppose I did ask you to call her, I don't know what I expected…."

 "We didn't get a chance to talk much," Derek said carefully, "you were touch-and-go a bit in surgery, so it was a bit too tense for small talk."

 JJ moved away from him and sat back in the chair next to his bed; she picked at her nails, "I don't get why you never told us about her, Spence?"

Spencer didn't answer her. This was not how he wanted this conversation to go; in fact, he was hoping he'd never have to have this conversation at all. The rational part of his brain knew that was unrealistic, but the rational part of his brain didn't seem to exist when it came to protecting Veronica.

 He shrugged, "I didn't think you guys needed to know."

 Derek unfolded his arms and moved out of the corner, coming to rest at the end of Spencer's bed, "didn't need to know? You've been making excuses about this to me all day, kid. And I'm not buying the - you wanted to have something to yourself - bullshit anymore-"

 "You asked her to marry you," JJ said, her voice cracking slightly, "you wanted her to be your wife, but you didn't even tell us about her? Were you just going to get married without any of us there?"

 "She told you that?"

 Spencer had the strength to ball one of his fists; this was going horribly. The tension he had created in his hand spread up his arm and along to his chest. He grimaced as another sharp stab of pain rippled across his body.

 JJ shook her head, "no, her friend mentioned it, and we overheard. I don't get it, Spence, we're supposed to be like family, and she…we didn't get to talk, but she seems nice. And she's a doctor – she's smart like you, and she obviously loves you. Did you think we wouldn't like her?"

 "No, and she said no to me anyway, so it doesn't matter…."

 "She only said no because you wouldn't introduce her to us," Derek stated bluntly, "that's what she said when we asked her about it and considering I didn't even know she existed till this morning, I can't say that I blame her."

 "Guys, I will explain later, I promise," Spencer began as he tried to sit up in the bed, "but I need to talk to Veronica. Right now – where is she?"

 "She is in a patient room down the hall," Dr Altman said as she waltzed into the room and picked up Spencer's chart from the end of his bed, "nice to see you awake, Dr Reid."

 "A patient room – i-is she okay?" Spencer stammered.

 Teddy peered over the chart to look at his concerned face, "she'll be fine, she's just dehydrated and a bit hungover – we've got her on an IV. Besides, the couch in the attending's lounge is not the place you want to sleep unless you want to give yourself scoliosis."

 Spencer tried to move one of his legs, "I need to go see her, I need to explain everything, I-"

 "You need to lay back down," Teddy said as she moved over to his bedside and pressed her stethoscope against his chest, "I need to listen to your chest, take a deep breath for me-"

Spencer begrudgingly breathed in.

"-breath sounds are clear and equal, that's a good sign," Teddy said, hanging the stethoscope back around her neck, "and your latest round of labs are all within normal limits. Dr Hunt and I were able to remove all the bullet fragments during surgery, we were concerned that the impact could've weakened the wall of your thoracic aorta, but it seems unaffected."

 Spencer nodded, "okay."

“We had to convert to an exploratory laparotomy mid-surgery; you had some bleeding in your abdomen which we needed to repair; that's why you have two incision sites. They will likely leave scars, I'm afraid, but the abdominal bleeding triggered a condition called DIC and would have been fatal had we not caught the bleeders."

 Spencer's brain was spinning. He knew he had been in bad shape, but he really nearly died. He needed to talk to Veronica, and fast.

 "…it was actually Veronica who made the connection between your fall and the bleeding. She wasn't even operating, and she saved your life," Teddy smiled at him, "I just need to take a peek at your incision sites, and then I'll be out of your hair."

 Spencer winced as she lifted up his bandages to take a closer look.

 "Okay, they look all good and no signs of infection. You will need at least another day for observation; I'll get the nurse to administer your post-op antibiotics, so let her know if there's anything else you need."

 "He won't admit it, but he's in pain. Can he get any more morphine or something?" JJ asked, biting her nail.

 "What? No, I'm fine. I don't need any more painkillers; I'm all good!"

Teddy raised an eyebrow at him, "you just had major surgery, but you don't want more pain meds?" she asked sceptically, "you aren't maxed out on anything; I can order more-"

 "No," Spencer snapped, "I mean…no thank you, Dr Altman. They make me too disoriented, and I need to be clear-headed when I talk to Veronica," he said, adjusting his tone.

 Teddy gave him one last suspicious look before she moved back towards the door, "okay, no more pain meds. I'll let Veronica know you're awake," she said before exiting the room, closing the sliding glass door behind her.

 Spencer let out a deep sigh of relief and relaxed back into his pillows slightly. Even the brief conversation with Dr Altman had left him exhausted, so he wasn't sure how he would manage when the rest of the team flocked to his bedside to question him about his condition and Veronica.

 Veronica.

That was going to be a long conversation.

JJ and Derek stayed by his side as the nurse came in to administer his antibiotics, just as Dr Altman had said.

 "Hotch and Rossi had to go sort some things out with the arrest," Derek had informed him, "they said they'll stop by later when they can."

 "And Emily and Garcia are in the cafeteria, we've let them know you're awake, but we didn't want to overwhelm you with too many visitors at once," JJ explained, "and Garcia really needed some sugar. She's been freaking out, Emily's trying to get her to eat something," she chuckled.

 "I feel bad I caused all this stress…." Spencer mumbled.

 "Course we're worried about you, Spence; we're a family. But you didn't cause us stress; it's not your fault," JJ reassured; she leaned closer to Spencer to grip his hand in hers.

"Exactly, it's the unsub's fault. You didn't choose to get shot," Derek added; he shuffled over to the bed from his corner and took hold of Spencer's other hand.

 The three of them sat in comfortable and heartfelt silence for a few moments with their hands intertwined until they were interrupted by a hesitant voice in the doorway.

"Uh, sorry, I did mean to interrupt. I'll come back later…."

part 3 coming soon

sorry there’s not too much spencer in this part, i promise there will be more in part 3 when veronica and spencer have their confrontation 

if you enjoyed this please consider leaving a comment as it really keeps me motivated, and reblogging! i really appreciate likes but on the tumblr reblogs are the only way to get my work out there x

tagging anyone who commented on part 1, message me/ comment if you want to be tagged for part 3:

@dilaurantisbitch

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2020 - archived

[18+ advised ] This is going to be long af. I’m going to do my best to put everything - all my writing on this blog, in one goddamn place, but I make no promises, so forgive me in advance. Below the cut is everything I’ve written and posted, for every single wrestler I’ve written for so far.  If its’ not linked, then I haven’t posted it yet or it’s a placeholder. If it’s bolded/has an m out beside it, it is most definitely mature and only meant for a mature (18+) audience. If there’s an asterisk (*) out beside the title, it belongs to or is part of something else that I have on the blog.

If you want to be on the taglist for my writing, you can find that [here]. If you want to know what I write / how often I write and stuff like that, my faq/about post is [here]

adam hangman page | take you home | spring | mature.

adam hangman page | baby fever | winter| mature.

adam hangman page | darlin | summer | mature. 

baron corbin | right now | winter | mature.

darby allin | the sound of silence | spring | mature.

drew mcintyre | somebody watching me | spring | mature.

drew mcintyre | alpha | winter | mature.

ethan carter iii | worship you | winter | mature.

jon moxley | duality| summer | mature.

jon moxley | allnighter | summer | mature.

jungle boy | touch myself | winter | mature.

jungle boy | unnamed as of yet | summer | mature.

kevin owens | morning | summer | mature.

kyle o’reilly | backseats and phone calls | spring | mature.

kyle o’reilly | the quiet game | winter | mature.

mjf | dessert first | winter | mature.

mjf | sweet | summer | mature.

mjf | morningafter | summer | mature.

roman reigns | alpha | winter | mature.

sammy guevara | dirty dancer | winter | suggestive.

sammy guevara | cheater | summer | mature.

trent beretta | blackout | summer | mature.

trent beretta | sneaky | fall | mature.

adam hangman page | whatcha gonna do by hinder | angst / comfort.

adam hangman page | push my buttons [ suggestive] | 

adam hangman page | i’m erasing myself from the narrative | i’m putting myself back into the narrative | may you always be satisfied | the story of tonight. 

adam hangman page | second one to know |  dancing around an open fire | | 

adam hangman page | dreaming of a wedding dress | | 

adam hangman page | the love boat || | 

adam hangman page | sweet cherry pie || that dress is begging to come off [ virgin oc; mature af } 

adam hangman page | | honey on my table suggestive | motion of the ocean - cruise romance au, mature | 

adam hangman page | alone among the couples | 

adam hangman page | im yours - alphaverse au | won’t you stay with me alphaverse au |  bathtub mermaid - alphaverse au/suggestive | 

adam hangman page | she’s a nutcracker | 

adam hangman page | virginia on my mind, angst | fuck you and the horse you rode in on [ an au of what ifs second chapter, holy shit mature]  | | punishment pretty please, goes with wildside/whatifs holy shit mature | pour some sugar on me, mature | | 

baron corbin | everything you can do i can do better | 

baron corbin | follow me | prince not so charming | 

baron corbin | love on the rocks | 

curtis axel | | | boop [  mature ] | be kind rewind [ roommates au, mature ]| 

curtis axel | discount chocolate day | | 

drew gulak thoughts of yesterdays | august rush | lost in your eyes [ suggestive.]

drew gulak | he loves me, he loves you not [ miiild suggestive, alphaverse] | | leave her wild [ suggestive alphaverse..kinda] | 

drew gulak |once upon a dream [ soulmate au] |  starcrossed lovers and other strangers [ suggestive ] |

drew gulak | valentines day episode | 

drew mcintyre | marionette | | just between me and you | 

drew mcintyre | burnt homemade chocolates [ conclusion to my alphaverse short fic, suggestive and fluffy ] | 

edge x ofc x christian | seeds of unrest | 

elias samson | couples costume contest | 

elias samson | waiting on your friends to leave 

ethan carter III | winners remorse | rewrite history [ a retelling of w.r] | |

finn balor | after an endless dream | 

jay white | graveyard smash | punch drunk princess [ vampire au; mature] | it should’ve been you [human version of vampire au]

jeff hardy  | it all started with glow paint [ suggestive; bordering mature ] | 

jeff hardy | do i look lonely |  my lips are up here [suggestive]

jon moxley | hurt me so good | if I loved you less I could talk about it more | can’t find a better man [mature].

jon moxley | bloody valentine | 

jon moxley | your days are numbered | spared but not forgiven | nature adores a virgin [mature]

jon moxley | all the guys want cheerleaders | ps i lo- | no more almosts | warm desert wind | | dark as night [ roommates au / suggestive ] | 

jon moxley | siren song [ soulmate/pirate and siren au | 

jungle boy | sweet boy | 

kyle o’reilly | can I see through you | | death of a bachelor | 

mjf | did you just grab yourself on tv | 

mjf | candy hearts taste like chalk | 

pete dunne | you jump i jump jack | | you can’t win | I’m melting

pete dunne |bitter bite alphaverse au |  aftershocks suggestive |

roderick strong |  trying not to smile | 

roderick strong | kisses like cruelty [suggestive,borderline mature] | | | 

roderick strong | walking the line | put ‘em up | 

roman reigns | patchwork heart | 

roman reigns | slow roasted | 

roman reigns | anorgasmia | 

sami zayn | farmers market | moonbeams on pumpkins

sami zayn | heart and soul |

sami zayn | reflecting light | 

zack ryder | rough rider 

12 Days Of Christmas Masterlist 2020

My entries for the 12 Days of Christmas on both my writing blogs can be found on this post right here.  [ merry christmas clicky ]

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Christmas

New Years

Valentines Day

Other Holidays / Special Occasions

ORIGINAL CHARACTERS I HAVE / USE TO WRITE

original character, Adeline x | 

original character, Kasey x | 

original character, Violet x | 

WRESTLERS ONLY DOWN BELOW

adam hangman page x [m] | x - soft hangman | x -hangman does halloween | x hangman on your first date [ fluffy,suggestive]|  x [soft] | adopting a dog | enemies to lovers | roommates to lovers | softly mature | more halloween hangman | 

buddy murphy x [ mature, sex life] | 

cash wheeler x [ suggestive ] | 

chuck taylor x [soft]| x more soft | 

damien priest x [ mature ] | 

darby allin x[soft] | x [mature] | 

drew gulak x | 

drew mcintyre x [ mature ] | 

eddie kingston x | x | x mature | enemies to lovers | 

elite x celebrating Halloween with the Elite | 

ethan carter iii x [m] | 

finn balor x [ m] | x [m] | 

heath slater x | 

jeff hardy x[m] | sick female!SO [pms mentioned briefly] | 

jon moxley x [m] | x [m] | 

jungle boy x[food/cooking] | x [ actual! jungle boy in love ] | fall softness | 

kenny omega x [ suggestive ] | x | x [halloween] | 

kevin owens x [m] | 

kyle o’reilly x [ mature - werewolf!kyle ] | 

luchasaurus x[mature+soft] | 

marko stunt  x soft and mature | x mature | x soft | x daddy kink of sorts |

matt jackson x [m] | x more m | enemiest to lovers -suggestive | 

nick jackson x [suggestive] | losing a basketball game to you | x mature/soft mix | 

orange cassidy x [lowkey m] | 

Pac x [suggestive fluff] | 

pentagon jr x mature | 

pete dunne x [ mature ] | 

prince devitt x mature | 

ecw era raven x [soft ] | x [m] | x[halloween] | 

roderick strong x [ adopting a kid with ] | 

roman reigns x!HeelRoman, slight nsfw | 

sami callihan x [ music preferences ] | 

trent beretta x [lowkey m] | x [ soft ] | x [ more soft ] | 

tyler breeze x [ enemies to lovers, polyamory hinted at | 

undertaker x [ gender neutral baker / biker taker SO] | 

wardlow x [ m ] | x [m] | x [ soft] | x[ halloween] | x mature | x Christmas with Wardlow | 

AEW;

- adam hangman page [ f s v ] | o i d | c m x | k l | 

- cash wheeler [ i l s ] | [ m o r ] | c s u | 

- chuck taylor [ j m w ] | [ a d l ] | [ c  v ] | i k w | n u x | 

- darby allin [  k o t ] 

- jack evans [ b t h ] | 

- jon moxley [ a k r ] | 

- jungle boy [ d m o ] | 

- matt jackson [ k q w ] |  [ b d e ] | f i o | u y | c j v | 

- mjf [ s k v ] | b m u | 

- nick jackson [ a b g ] | [ m o ] | c i o | 

- orange cassidy [ f h x ] | [ o ] | [ i p v ] | [ k w ]

- pac [ d m x ] | [ i p u ] | [ f o s ] | 

- santana [ a o q ] | 

- trent beretta [ j m u ] | 

- wardlow [ d j w ] | [ k u ] | [ b m r ] | [ a o v ] | c i p | 

WWE NXT;

- chad gable [ b o u ] | 

- damien priest [ d i v ] | 

- drew mcintyre [ b e d ] | i p w | 

- jinder mahal [ g i w ] | 

- roman reigns [ c u m ] | 

- timothy thatcher [ c j y ] | f k | d | 

- tyler breeze [ l x y ] | d j u | 

TNA;

- heath miller [ b e d ] | 

NJPW;

- jay white [ d f k ] | k u m | b j w | 

AEW;

WWE / NXT;

AEW;

WWE / NXT; 

[pumaskulls]

happy pride month from my bastard kids

[cawcawp]

My Muses! An ever updating and changing  masterlist

Just a warning this will constantly be edited and updated so make sure to check back often! I rp on discord only.

Canon Characters

**If a character has two asterisks it means I’m looking forwards to playing them

Sabrina-  Sabrina the Teenage witch/The chilling adventures of Sabrina Ambrose- The chilling adventures of sabrina **Chuck- Pushing daisies Ned- Pushing daisies

**Katara-ATLA

Sokka-ATLA

Toph-ATLA Aang-ATLA

Zuko-ATLA

**Lena Duchannes- Beautiful Creatures

**Marceline-Adventure Time

PB-Adventure time

**Sirens-Pirates of the Carribbean 

Hermione Granger-HP

Ron Weasley-HP

**Weasley Twins-HP

Harry-HP

Violet- AHS Murder House

Black Cat-Marvel Kamala Khan-Marvel

(I play more Marvel characters but they are unlisted) Superman-DC Flash-DC

Poison Ivy-DC

Harley Quinn-DC

Supergirl-DC

Starfire-DC

Terra- DC Caitlin Snow- DC

Jinx- DC **Ace of clubs (Royal Flush gang)-DC

Raven-DC Zee-DC (I play more dc characters but they are unlisted)

Blake Belladonna- RWBY Yang Xiao Long-Rwby

Nora-Rwby

Ruby Rose-RWBY

**Ramona Flowers- Scott Pilgrim

Kim Pine-Scott Pilgrim

**Wallace Wells-Scott Pilgrim

Literally any character from The Magicians Literally anyone from stranger things Nathan- Misfits Kelly-Misfits Mei Hatsume- BNHA **Eri (Aged up) -BNHA Jiro-BNHA Denki-BNHA Uraraka-BNHA Ibara-BNHA Nejire-BNHA Tamaki-BNHA Saiko-BNHA Enigma-BNHA **Entrapta- She-Ra

Adora-She-Ra

**Catra-She-Ra Perfuma- She-Ra Frosta-She-Ra Double Trouble She-Ra **Jett-Valorant Killjoy-Valorant Phoenix-Valorant Killjoy-Valorant Sage-Valorant Viper-Valorant Raze-Valorant **Five- The Umbrella Academy

Klaus- The Umbrella Academy

Ben- The Umbrella Academy

***Joan of Arc -Clone High

Cleo -Clone High

**Suzie- DBD Julie-DBD Meg-DBD Rin (The Spirit)- DBD Nea-DBD The Huntress-DBD Ghostface-Scream Steve- Stranger Things Mike-Stranger Things Nancy- Stranger Things Eleven-Stranger things **Literally anyone from Julie and the Phantoms

Fandom Ocs

MARVEL/DC/DARK HORSE/BNHA/SUPERHERO

**Noelle Greenbaum-Murphy

**Darwin Blake

**Tamashi Mortus-Yurei **Gamari Tsukino Suzui Kitari **Cheshire Otokyu Shiamasu Assorted BNHA ocs

Assorted BNHA ocs part two

Mars Erivas Devon Aeroni Justin Fletcher (TRIGGER WARNING DEATH)

Star Wars Pele Elidi, A young engineer with a sparky attitude and a thirst for knowledge.

ATLA

**Huo, pre-war a fire bender who takes the place of avatar Roku in canon Harry Potter Anasi Percy Jackson

Espina Tierra

Kassandra Pythia Assorted Ocs Julie and the Phantoms **Carly Kane- A medium and guitarist who got a weird feeling watching Julie and the phantoms perform. Historicals Victorian Pirate: Lyria (mermaid) 80s: Thomas Eris Saturn

[traviscanuckny-follows]

Brought To Light

Rating: T 

Warnings: Non-Graphic Violence

Fandom: The Wayhaven Chronicles

Ship: Adam du Mortain/Aria Langford (OC)

Summary: When a mission to test Aria’s skills outside of Wayhaven goes sideways, Adam is left sidelined while Aria takes on a pod of sirens on her own. Watching her fight while he’s fighting off their song leaves him vulnerable to some...feelings coming to light. 

Commission for @gloynporslen

Word Count: 1000

Buy me a ko-fi! (Commission Details Also Available)

They’re so loud.

Adam can feel power in the sirens’ song, enough to lure any human to their doom, but not enough to control something as ancient as him, at least not on their own. But then, they’re certainly not on their own - he counts at least six voices echoing in his head, lazy, looping and unnaturally soothing, and though they’ve been unable compel him to do their will thus far, he’s keenly aware that one slip up could give them the leverage they need. 

His instincts tell him to get up the cliff and handle the creatures himself, of how the fight would have been over before they could touch him if he would just let go. But he refuses, because his concern wasn’t for the sirens, nor himself, but for her.

For Aria.

It had been her idea that lured the Siren’s above water, onto the rocky cliff face where they now fought, one that even Adam could admit was a stroke of brilliance - not that he’d ever admit it outloud. Still, even her clever planning could not have prepared them for the strength of their combined song, and while Aria’s mutation had effectively rendered it useless against her, it gave them all the more reason to focus on him. 

One whispers of how infuriating Aria had been from the moment they’d met outside the warehouse, eyes defiant as she asked what the hell was going on. He sends it back with a growl, and a reminder that he’d been begrudgingly impressed despite the foolishness of her actions. 

Another reminds him of their fights in her office, knuckles white as they gripped the desk, a sarcastic grin on her face as she pointed out that they clearly didn’t have as much control as he let on, given that Murphy was yet to be captured - a tender spot she’d found far too quickly, and had no issue exploiting. Yet, as infuriating as it had been at the time, it took some degree of skill to get under his skin, prodding right where it hurt.

Part of him wants to kick himself for speaking so fondly of the detective but he forces himself to rationalize it as protecting them, if only to avoid further distractions. A third voice chimes that she’s just a human, and not worth the trouble of saving, but with a burst of mental strength more commonly associated with Nate, he snaps back:

She’s not just a human. She’s Aria and that’s enough.

He’s surprised when the whispers morph into a strangled scream in response, until he realizes it wasn’t his doing at all. The brief moment of clarity that follows allows him to take in the fight he’s missed.

Aria jerks her arm away from the siren’s side as she collapses to the ground, convulsing before going still. Taking advantage of the distraction, she lands a hard blow to the nearest one’s exposed throat, finishing the job with a Volt to the ribs. The water seems to amplify the effect, and she goes down just as quickly as her sister. Feeling their grip on him loosen, he goes to rejoin the fight only to realize that wouldn’t be an option. His head feels fuzzy, his body heavy, and somewhere in his sluggish thoughts, he recalls Nate mentioning that some sirens have shown a new ability. As their song ends, their thralls’ bodies go lax, drowning them in the process. Though largely ineffective due to his nature, it still renders him unable to fight.

As she takes down her third and fourth opponent in quick succession, he feels a pang of pride. Perhaps it is untoward of him to be thinking of such things, but they’re the only thoughts he can pull from the hazy fog in his mind, which grows as she takes down a fifth. 

He watches with rapt attention as she circles the final siren, who appears caught between fear and fury at the sight of her fallen sisters. In contrast, Aria is entirely calm, save the rapid rise and fall of her chest - a reminder that she’s still human. When the siren finally attacks with a shriek that leaves his ears ringing, he barely recovers fast enough to watch Aria dodge, using the siren’s own momentum to slam her into the cliff face, jamming the Volt into her back before she can recover. Without bothering to make sure the sirens are down, she rushes over to him.

“You had better be okay, because I refuse to drag an agent sized rag doll back to the warehouse.” The harsh words come out between harsher breaths, yet the only response he can put together is one of pride.

“I can’t imagine you having that much trouble. After all, you did just manage to take out six sirens on your own.”

She blinks. Once, then again, clearly not expecting that kind of response. After a moment’s hesitation, she manages a chuckle and shakes her head, moving to stand. “Can vampires get concussions? Because I think you must have one.” 

He catches her wrist, and his next words come out without thinking. “You single handedly took down an entire pod of sirens on their own turf, with next to no combat training, just your wits and a volt gun. That’s impressive, and a long way from where you started. Well done.”

Her cheeks have gone bright pink, and she seems to be debating something in her own head. Eventually she submits, and slips her wrist through his hand, stopping to wrap her fingers around his own. “I’m going to make sure they’re taken care of while you come to...and hope you don’t remember saying that when you do, for both of our sakes.” She smiles, squeezes once, twice, then turns away. 

Backdropped by the midday sun, she seems to glow and he thinks back to their first meeting, how much has changed since then. He knows his growing feelings are untoward...

But perhaps they aren’t entirely unwelcome.

[kendelias]

🎶 for Murphy?

into the unknown by panic! at the disco

everyone i've ever loved is here within these walls / i'm sorry, secret siren, but i'm blocking out your calls / i've had my adventure, i don't need something new / i'm afraid of what I'm risking if i follow you 

send me 🎶 + an oc/ship for a song!!

[elizabethrzg]

Heya! Just a quick reminder and announcement type thing. I do art requests and Art memes! And id love to do more! So if you have a request for any of the following fandoms, that is SFW, I’ll draw it! I’m also willing to do OCs!

Here are the fandoms I’ll take requests for:

Aphmau

Be More Chill

Six The Musical

Star Vs The Forces Of Evil

Ace Attorney

Gravity Falls

Steven Universe

The Good Place

Mage & Demon Queen

unOrdinary

Everywhere & Nowhere

Acception

Boyfriend of the Undead

Odd Girl Out

Winter Moon

The Four of Them

Edith

LUMINE

Freaking Romance

Siren’s Lament

I Love Yoo

Castle Swimmer

#Blessed

Where Tangents Meet

The Good Place

Ducktales 2017

A Series Of Unfortunate Events

Miraculous

All The Wrong Questions

Milo Murphys Law

Phineas & Ferb

Inanimate Insanity

The Loud House

Life is Strange

Undertale

Danny Phantom

Yandere Sim