#oh hey look riley got laid for once yay

[kittlesandbugs]

FHR Prompt: Between the lines Pairing: Chargestep (lil Chargentstep) Warnings: None, mostly fluffy post-sex cuddles Word Count: ~650 Prompt: Prompt to write a gesture, a specific instance, a moment of tenderness, of softness, of emotional depth, of vulnerability. The warm fingertip trails across your skin, and you shiver slightly. You'd blame the cooling sweat across your back if he commented on it, but he doesn't do more than let out a little thoughtful hum. There's a deliberate path to his meandering that you recognize in the unusual pivots and hard turns. He's tracing your skin between your tattoos like it's a maze. 

You shift a little in his lap, drawing your face out of the hollow of his collarbone where you'd buried it as he took you apart. Craning your neck a little to peek up at him, and of course, he's already looking for your reaction. 

“Does that bother you?” he asks, finger stilling over one of the scars on the back of your shoulder that carves through the lines. 

After mulling it over for a moment, you shake your head, humming a negative as you press your lips to the steady pulse in his neck. 

“Only if it bothers you that you've been wetting your dick in a robot,” you tease, getting a very satisfying choked noise in response. 

“It's not my fault the sexiest robot in Los Diablos came onto me," he snarks back once he recovers, finger resuming its wandering through the delicate lines. His other hand on your hip gives you a tender squeeze as you scoff. “She's very difficult to say no to.”

You smirk as your own fingers roam around the ports at the base of his neck, following along his spine. The movie you'd been invited over to watch plays forgotten on the TV behind you, a subtle buzz as pleasant as his skull. At this point, it's a pretext when it's just the two of you.  Seven years is a long time to make up for. More if you’re honest, but he really doesn’t need that much encouragement. Now that he knows what you really are, you rarely turn down his advances. He's never turned down yours. And it's not your fault movies are so flat and boring compared to the telepathic depths you perceive reality in, anyway. 

“At least now I know I don't have to worry about Hollow Ground showing up on my doorstep with a shotgun," he chuckles and presses his lips to the top of your head. 

Your lips curl against his neck. It’s funny, but not in the way he thinks. 

And he doesn't need to know she's already working with your alter ego. Just like he doesn't need to know about your alter ego at all. Despite Argent's insistence to the contrary. If she's allowed her terrible secrets, you're allowed yours.

“Not her, no," you agree. Hollow Ground is no threat to you at all. The opposite, really. “Just…” 

You trail off, not wanting to entertain that thought. There is so much more on the line now. Freedoms that you no longer take for granted. People too, you can admit that in the sanctity of your own skull. It’s really only a matter of time before your luck runs out again and they find you. And they’ll do anything to tear you away and get you back in their cage. You don't realize your arms have tightened around him until his reciprocate. 

“Hey,” he murmurs, turning your face so he can look you in the eye with a sincerity in his deep brown eyes that makes your guts twist. “No one's taking you away ever again, okay? We won't let them. I promise.”

It would be so nice to let yourself believe he and Argent really could keep you safe. But they have no idea what they're really up against. Not like you do. The Farm would kill to have them in their possession too. 

“Don’t make promises you can't keep, idiot,” you mutter, tucking your face back into his shoulder. 

He huffs a laugh against your hair, the barb unable to pierce his unending confidence. “Don't underestimate us, idiot.”

[creativeskullcreations]

HTaHHQ episode 4: Unarmed part 1

Whoops, sorry, no new Outside chapter this week, or the next. Wanted to get this posted too so I could start getting more episodes written. Don't worry though, it will return next month! :D

"I don't see why we have to come here today. Can't you just do this at home?" Stacy complained as Mary led them into the Studio. It was a dark, stormy Saturday, perfect for staying inside. Instead, her and Danny had to go to "work" with Mary.

"Stacy, honey, I would love to just stay home but Nick's stupid edits to my script mean I have to come in. All of us writers have to." She sighed irritably.

"Yeah, but why can't Danny and I just stay home? I can watch him." She tried desperately.

"Because... it's illegal." Mary swept her unbrushed hair back. "Besides, I thought you liked Scout. You told me you wanted to spend the weekend with her."

"Yeah. At home. Not here." The thirteen year old deadpanned as Mary moved towards the offices. The woman sighed in response, reaching the end of her patience.

"Look, why don't you take your brother and go find her? It'll be a lot more interesting than what I'm doing."

"You mean tearing Nick a new one?" She asked, sounding interested. "Cause I want to watch that."

"You don't get to watch that. Go find Scout." Were the last words Mary said before towards the offices.

"Fine." Stacy groaned as her stepmother went into her office. She grabbed Danny's arm with her left and led him in the direction of the Sound Stage. He followed her eagerly, just excited to be there at a time he normally wasn't.

Her intent was to find Daisy and have her let them into the elevator to go upstairs. If they couldn't find her, she was planning on using the vents to get into the playroom instead. She remembered the way, mostly, and it'd be easier than trying to work up the courage to ask someone else.

Unfortunately, Daisy was nowhere to be found. They looked all over the Sound Stage, checked her House Set, and then looked in the cafeteria. But, sadly, no Daisy. Which meant Stacy had to pick the lock on one of the prop closets to reach the vents.

"Hmm, two children where they're not supposed to be." Stacy froze mid break in as Danny ran over to the Puppet, who sighed and leaned down to ruffle his hair. "Yes yes, it's nice to see you too, Danny."

Stacy struggled to keep her voice even. "Uh, w-where's Daisy?" She stowed the picks back under her glove as she stood up and turned to face the scientist.

She wasn't the scariest looking Puppet(poor Nick held that title, even among the other staff). But, Stacy had always held a fear of doctors, dentists, anyone who wore scrubs and a lab coat basically. Which Riley did, unfortunately, and it made the girl more nervous than the others did.

Well, that, and the forums talking about how she must be doing unethical experiments to get a dog as big as the Rosco puppet. But Stacy was pretty sure that was for in the show, not real life. Probably.

Riley let out a huff of annoyance. "In the writer's room with our annoying brat of a brother. His edits to the script have caused her scenes to be quite a bother." She sighed. "What do you need her for, anyway? And why are you two here on this day?"

"... Mary's the head writer." Stacy told her, clenching her sleeves in her fists. "And it's, like, illegal to leave us home alone or something. I don't know."

"Ah, I see, but you only answered question number two." She pointed out in a matter-of-fact sort of way. "What for you, could Daisy do?"

Stacy thought that rhyme was a little bit of a stretch, with the wording and all. But, before she could respond Danny clapped his hands, and pointed towards the ceiling. "Scout!" He told her excitedly. "We're here to see Scout!"

"Ah, I understand now." She did not look happy about it either. Stacy wondered why. "Fine then, I'll call the elevator down."

She led the two kids to the elevator doors and inserted her own key-card, unlocking them. Stacy waited uncomfortably as it slowly descended, trying to keep between her brother and Riley. It was difficult, as he kept leaning around her to talk at the Puppet, who listened politely.

When the elevator arrived, Stacy pulled Danny into it with a quickly muttered "Thanks". It took everything in her to not button mash the floor number she wanted. She did her best not to stare at the Puppet as the doors closed, but it was difficult when she could feel her weird wooden eyes piercing into her soul.

When they reached the upper floor, Stacy practically dragged her brother out of the elevator. It started to go back down almost immediately, so she hurried to the playroom, rushing through Daisy's sewing room to get to it. She didn't knock, but did ease the door open slowly so as not to startle them. When she got it fully opened, Scout flung herself and landed on her face.

"Stacy!" She screamed, and the girl almost had to peel her off her face. She lifted the small Puppet up to let her rest on top of her head.

"Hi, Scout. Mom's here to deal with some... script issues, I guess, and she brought me and Danny." Danny waved, and Scout waved back. "So I brought some movies for us all to watch."

"Yay, movies!" Bonzai latched onto her backpack, working the zipper open so he could climb inside. Stacy put the bag on the floor and he burst out a second later, with a video in his hands. "Terminatooooor!" He yelled, and Canon facepalmed.

"Yeah, we can watch that one first." Stacy told them and grabbed the tape, going over to put it in the player. She put it in and turned on the TV, hitting play once it had booted up. They sat back to watch, most of the Puppets migrating to sit on the human children.

Surprisingly, they managed to watch in silence, though Stacy and Danny did have their own commentary in sign language. Only Scout really understood it, but she didn't understand much. She had only just started to learn, after all, and was looking at the signs backwards.

The movie ended, and Bonzai immediately dove back into the backpack with Bit. Together they searched for another action movie while Stacy rewound the Terminator.

"Hey, how come there are only baby movies in here?" Bit asked angrily, popping out of the bag with a tape in her arms.

"I'd hardly call Shrek or Spirited Away 'baby' movies." Stacy frowned, picking up the anime movie. "Mom wouldn't even let me watch this one until just last year."

"But they're cartoons, and cartoons are so boring!" Bonzai complained.

"What kind of cartoons are you watching?" She muttered as she took the film out of it's box and crouched by the player. Louder, she said "I promise, Spirited Away isn't boring. Anime is awesome."

"Mom never lets us watch anime. She says it's inappropriate for kids." Canon told her, and Stacy sighed.

"Well, she's wrong. Sailor Moon and Digimon and Pokemon are all for kids." She told the Puppets, with Danny nodding along beside her. "And there's a lot more than just that. I'll record some episodes to bring next time."

"Okay but we can't tell Mom." A pause as Canon raised her voice so her siblings could hear. "Nobody tell Mom Stacy's showing us anime."

"Okay!"

"Sure!"

"Whatever."

Were the three answers she got, which she called good enough for now. At least she knew nobody would tell Mom, if only for the promise of Forbidden Goods.

While they watched the movie, Stacy sat with her arms full of Handpuppets. It was like holding a litter of puppies, as they never stopped moving and sometimes crawled away to do other stuff. At one point, Bonzai pulled out a couple of magnets to play with. As he pulled them apart to let them fly back together, he was startled when they instead attached themselves to Stacy's right arm.

"Stacy's a terminator!" He shrieked, and immediately teleported away.

"What?! No I-!" She jolted when a small, stuffed bear hit her on the head. "Dude!"

"Bonzai, what the heck?!" Canon followed him onto the bookcase he'd hidden on top of.

"She's an evil robot! The magnets are sticking to her arm!" He cried, and when Stacy looked there were two small magnets caught on her. She pulled them off and tossed them aside while Canon tried to calm her brother down.

"Hey! Stacy's not a robot!" Scout angrily shouted up at her siblings.

"Then what is she?" Bit asked, having picked up a small stick. Scout opened her mouth, then snapped it shut.

"I... can't tell you that." She finally said. "But I swear she's not a robot."

A long pause of silence, and then Canon figured it out and smacked Bonzai off the bookshelf. "It's a prosthetic, you idiot!"

"Oh." Was all the fallen Puppet said as he laid limply where he'd landed. Canon face-palmed, followed by Bit, while Stitch went to check on their brother.

"Can we see it?" Bit asked excitedly, already trying to pull back her sleeve. Stacy yanked her arm up and away from the Puppet.

"No! You can't see it!" She snapped.

"Yeah, it's not that interesting anyways." Scout tried to help, very unhelpfully.

"You've seen it?! That's not fair!" Bit complained, and Bonzai Jumped over too.

"Yeah! You can't just show Scout! She's lame!" He insisted, to the human teen's unamused look.

"Scout's my favorite." Stacy told them bluntly, to two offended gasps while Scout cheered and then mocked them.

"Yeah, I'm her favorite! Who's lame now? Losers. Ow!" Canon smacked her head, turning on her eye lights.

"Don't be smug about it!" She scolded her younger sister, who grumbled and retreated to the top of Stacy's head.

"Hey, no hitting." Stacy tried to scold, then just gave a tired sigh. "Look. let's just go back to the movie, it's fine."

"No! I wanna see the robot arm!" Bonzai lunged for her, but Stacy yanked her arm away again and he landed on the carpet instead. "Come on! You showed it to Scout!"

"Yeah, and I'm not showing it to anybody else!" She retorted, while Danny picked up Bonzai. The puppet struggled against the five year old's hold, but ultimately failed to escape.

"I'm helping!" Danny pipped up happily as he sat back down to finish the movie.

"Yep. You are." His sister muttered. They managed about five more minutes of movie before Bonzai managed to escape Danny's grasp. He instantly went back over to her, draping himself over her arm.

"I still wanna see the arm." He said, and Stacy groaned as she fell back against the carpet, hands pressed against her face.

"Noooooo." She moaned out. "I. Don't. Wanna. Show you."

"Please! We all wanna see!" Bit piped up. Stacy uncovered her face and looked over at Stitch, who nodded. Her gaze turned to Canon, who looked away sheepishly.

"I mean, it's not like I don't want to see it..." She admitted quietly, and Stacy gave an irritated sigh.

"Fine! Fine. But you only get one look! And none of you get to ask me again!" She waited until they all nodded, before starting to roll up her sleeve, revealing just how long her glove really was. Carefully, she pulled it off, revealing gleaming silver metal that ended just above her elbow. The flesh that met the metal was scarred, rough and pale against the smooth brown that was the rest of her skin.

"Oooooh, so shiny..." Bonzai muttered. The four Puppets that hadn't seen it yet stared, transfixed, at the limb. Scout, who had also reacted that same way, just rolled her eyes.

"Weirdos." She muttered, though she also couldn't help but watch as Stacy flexed her hand and showed off the arm.

"It's really advanced, and really expensive." She told them. "And I'm supposed to go in for upgrades in a few months due to growth spurts."

"Why are you even hiding this? It makes you so much cooler than anyone else." Bit told her, and she shrugged, pulling the glove back on.

"Because I don't want them to know about it." Stacy said bluntly, letting her sleeve drop back down. "Now can we please go back to the movie? It's one of my favorites."

"Yeah, we can do that." Canon said, and then forced her siblings to turn back to the screen, which had been playing the movie the whole time. Giving a relieved sigh, Stacy did the same, settling in as she made sure her glove was on straight.

They watched the movie silently, the small Puppets getting way too into it in Stacy's opinion. But, at least they liked it, and that was all she really cared about. By the end of it, however, most of them were still riled up, including Danny, so Stacy put in Barbie Swan Lake instead.

"But that's a girls movie!" Bonzai complained, to which Stitch shushed him.

"You should give the movie a chance. The story is about a rather interesting dance." She told him, to which he groaned louder.

"Stacy can dance!" Danny piped up, to which Stacy internally sighed.

'Great word association there. Does everything have to come back to me?' She shook her head slightly, trying to keep from sounding resentful.

"You can?!" That was Scout, now staring up at her with wide eyes. "You never told me that!"

"That's because I can't do it anymore. The weight distribution is off with my arm." She told her.

"Can you still show us some moves? Please?" Five Puppets, and one younger brother, stared up at her, begging with surprisingly good puppy-dog-eyes. She could feel her resolve wavering,even as she focused on the TV.

"Ugh..." She hated being the oldest. Why did all the younger kids think she was cool? "Fine. I'll do a dance. But don't ask me for anything else today."

"Yay!" Everyone, including Danny, cheered, as Stacy moved to get ready. Lucky her, they were dancing on the movie, so she could just do what they were doing. It wasn't terribly complicated, as she'd been in a production of Swan Lake before, though not as Odette. The moves that were a little too complex, were easy to fake with a bit of effort.

It was easy to lose herself in it, just like she used to. Easy enough that she stopped looking at the screen, and simply did the dance from memory.

And thus, it was easy enough to misstep and slide on a piece of paper during a spin. A yell, and a loud, sharp thud as she landed, and things went black.

[katdvs]

Lucas Friar moved back to Texas at 17, now he’s running for Mayor of Rosewood Springs so best friend Zay and little sister Gigi decide he needs a little help from a political consultant. Riley Matthews found her calling, she found a fiancé, but she never expected to find herself here, of all places.

Cross-posted to FF.net | Soundtrack | Past Chapters

Author Note: Happy Solar Eclipse day!  Yay another knew chapter! Hope you enjoy, thank you to anyone still reading this you guys rock.

-look at me that way-

Riley giggled as Lucas carried her back to the bed, her hair damp but braided, fresh pajamas on to start the new day. He gently laid her down, a smile on his face as he stood back watching her get comfortable with the pillows behind her back and under her ankles. “Stop looking at me that way.” She warned with a smirk.

“What way?” His eyes stayed on her as he moved to the dresser to grab a purple V-neck t-shirt.

“You look at me sometimes like I hung the moon. Which I didn’t.”

He sat on the bed, holding the shirt in his hands, “I just look at you with all the love I have for you. Riley, I almost lost you. I was barely living before you came back in my life.”

She scooted close to him, letting her arms hang over his shoulders, “God, I am a lucky woman to have you love me.”

“I’m the lucky one” he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her as he kissed her slowly, trying to control himself.

“Do you two ever stop?” Zay shook his head as he looked at the newlyweds, “Put a shirt on Lucas.”

Lucas glared at his best friend as he pulled away from Riley, grabbing his shirt from the bed and letting the cotton stretch over his torso, “What the fuck Zay? You just ran off to New York, leaving the bar unattended, do you not realize what I have going on here?”

Zay held up the gift bag, “So you don’t want these adorable little baby tees I picked up for the twins.”

Lucas ran his hand over his hair, “I hadn’t told you, had I?” a slight pang of guilt washing over him.

“Nope, I found out from Maya, who was pissed at me for not telling her you two got hitched.” Zay gave Riley the bag, “Congratulations you two.”

“Thank you Zay, but why were you in New York?” Riley picked up the line of questioning.

“He came to get answers from me.” Farkle Minkus stood in the doorway of their bedroom, his head hung low as he studied his old friends.

“Farkle” Lucas was relieved and angry at the same time when he saw his old friend, “What is going on?”

“I heard that once we bought Riley out of IRSM, she broke up with Dave, came back here and the two of you ran off to get hitched in the Grand Canyon, and now you’re expecting twins. My plan worked faster than I expected.”

Riley was fighting every urge inside of her to get out of the bed and hobble over to Farkle until he answered her. “What plan?”

Farkle gulped as he heard the determined, angry tone of her voice, “Project Baby Bird, that’s what Smackle and I called it.”

“Hey Buddy” Lucas put his hands on Farkle’s shoulders, looking into his blue eyes, “Details, we need details.”

“I don’t think this is a good idea.” Eddie looked over to Topanga as they entered the concrete building.

“I need to do this, I need to look in the eyes of the woman who tried to kill my daughter and ask her why.”

He sighed as he followed her through security, he was surprised this was being allowed. He also knew when not to argue with Topanga Matthews, no reason to start a battle he was going to lose. He sat outside while she went to sit at the phone banks.

Topanga could smell bleach mixed with something foul, as though whatever they had tried to clean was more powerful. She felt her body shudder with disgust as she sat at the designated cubicle. A few minutes later Dixie Carmichael was brought out and sat on the other side of the glass.

She picked up the phone receiver, watching as the young woman followed her lead. “Dixie, I’m Topanga Matthews.”

“Why are you here?”

“I wanted to really get a good look at the woman who tried to murder my daughter.”

Dixie leaned back in her seat, a slight smirk on her lips as she stared at Topanga, “Innocent until proven guilty.”

Topanga narrowed her eyes, just as she did Dixie sat straight up like a chill had gone through her spine, “Trust me Ms. Carmichael, I know my way around a courtroom. You’re going to spend a lot of time in prison for this, I’ve seen the evidence, and now that I’ve seen you, I know a jury will find you guilty, no matter what tricks you pull in the courtroom like the other day.”

Dixie gulped, “Lucas loves me.”

“No, he doesn’t. He loves Riley, that’s why they’re married, that’s why they’re having twins. Do those other two charges make sense now?” Topanga watched as realization poured over the woman, “I hope you’ll do the right thing Dixie.”

Dixie didn’t speak, she just hung up the receiver and called for the guard.

Topanga hung hers back up and rose from the seat, going back to the hall where Eddie was sitting. “If she doesn’t accept the plea-bargain they’re presenting her with she’s an idiot.”

“What did you say to her?” Eddie jumped to his feet, keeping his briefcase in his hand as he followed Topanga down the hall.

She spun on her heel to look at her former intern, “That I wanted to get a good look at the woman who tried to murder my daughter. I also explained the two additional charges were for the children that Riley and Lucas will be having in the spring.”

Eddie nodded, “Okay then, well I hope it works. I don’t think Riley, Gigi, or Lucas should be subjected to a trial.”

“I don’t either.” Topanga took a deep breath of the Texas air once they were outside, “Now, did you get those contracts set up for the resort project?”

“Oh yes, those are ready to go as soon as Riley looks them over.” Eddie placed his briefcase on top of the car as he fished the electronic key from his pocket. “Riley is going to be fine Topanga, she’s got your strength.”

“Thank you, I just wish none of this had happened.”

Eddie nodded before opening the door for her, then grabbing his briefcase and stashing it in the backseat before claiming his own.

“You’re doing wonderfully Gigi.” The nurse told her as she returned to her room, “You should be ready to go home tomorrow.”

“Really, that soon?” Gigi was stunned as she sat in the chair near her bed, she’d just finished a walk around the hallways, she was exhausted, but at least she could move again.

“You’re doing really well.” The nurse marked a few things on the chart, “Rest now, lunch will be in a little while.”

“Thank you.” Gigi sat back, enjoying the silence for a few minutes. She hadn’t really been alone for long the last few days. Medical staff, her family, Deacon all buzzed around her.

For the next half-an-hour or so she enjoyed being alone as she read one of the books Deacon had brought her, she set it down after a little while and started to finally set up her phone, thankful almost everything had been stored to the cloud.

“Hello Honey” Bonnie’s voice sent a shiver down Gigi’s spine as she looked up.

“Mom, I wasn’t expecting you.” Gigi felt her mother’s kiss on her cheek, the residue of red lipstick she was sure left an imprint.

Bonnie pulled up the spare chair, “Well, Riley forced us into a mobile home and out of the house. Then your brother told me to go away, so I thought since your father is off working at the resort we could start going through these.”

That was the moment Gigi saw the pile of bridal magazines her mother was pulling out, “Mom, we haven’t set a date really. Everything is up in the air because of the accident.”

“It’s never too early to figure out what you want. Besides you are not running off to the Grand Canyon like your brother and Riley.” Bonnie huffed.

Gigi sighed, “Mom, before we do this, I need to ask you something.”

“Okay sweetheart, what is it?”

“Are you back in Texas so that you can start cheating on Dad again with Mayor Harris?”

Bonnie let her fingers turn the pages of a magazine and she set the spread out for Gigi to see, “That was a mistake I made when I was scared, in need of your father’s attention, lost as to who I was.”

“Explain it to me Mom, I think I need to understand.” Gigi closed the magazine as her green eyes studied her mother.

Bonnie ran the tips of her fingers through her blond hair, “I married your father when we were young, not much older than you. We had Lucas, we raised him, then we had you, and raised you. When we came back to Texas life was, well I had less to do. I lost myself for a few years Gigi, and part of that was the affair I had with Harris. It wasn’t long, but the ramifications are still there like the ripple of a pebble tossed in the water.”

Gigi listened to her mother, it never occurred to her that she’d been lost, confused in anyway. “Did you love Harris?”

“No, it was never about love.” Bonnie closed her eyes, “I acted out to get your Father to see me as a woman again. He was so busy with work, you didn’t need me around anymore, Lucas was gone to school. Harris, as much of an ass that man is, that’s probably partly why it was him, he was willing to give me the attention I craved.”

“So, it was all about attention? You weren’t in love with two men?”

“No, I’ve always loved your Father. When he found out, we had a rough few months, we went to counseling, we worked on ourselves, and who we were together. When he got transferred to London, we took that as a fresh start.” Bonnie tried to figure out what Gigi really wanted to know, “Honey, is their someone besides Deacon?”

Gigi kept her eyes on the door, “Zay, I chased after him, he turned me down, I started to see Deacon, but then I fooled around with Zay a couple of times.”

Bonnie put her hand up, not wanting to know more, “And then I in a moment of anger called you the slut of Rosewood Springs.”

Gigi nodded as she felt her mother wrap her arms around her, “You’re not, neither of us are. But don’t be with Deacon because you think you have to be.”

“I want to be with Deacon, I do. I know I can’t live without him.”

“Then Zay is your past.”

“He hasn’t even been to see me.” Gigi sighed.

Bonnie clucked her tongue, “He ran off to New York, left your brother, father and Cory Matthews to run the bar last night.”

Gigi’s eyes were wide, “Oh no, I don’t want to know do I?”

“You haven’t seen the videos on social media yet?”

“Do I want to?”

“No, you don’t” Bonnie gave her daughter a smile, “You are a strong young woman, I know we’re not close like we once were, but that’s my fault. We’re here, we’re not going anywhere so you’ll have to get used to it. And when you get released, you’ll have me taking care of you.”

“Thank you, Mom.” Gigi didn’t know what to say, but was thankful when the Lunch tray came in a moment later, after she was settled in with her food she looked at her mother again, “It’s not really a Mobile home is it?”

Bonnie sighed, “It’s a very nice luxury RV, they got one to put Cory and Topanga in as well.”

“The house is a bit crowded.” Gigi sighed, “But I guess when I marry Deacon, it won’t be as much.”

Bonnie pushed a lock of hair away from her daughter’s eyes, “We’ll you eat up, I’m going to run to the cafeteria and get a lunch of my own, and when I get back we’ll watch Days of our Lives. I think we could use a decent escape for an hour or so.”

“That sounds good Mom.” Gigi watched her leave, hoping that maybe this would be the start of a better relationship.

“Explain Project Baby Bird or whatever you called it, now.” Riley’s voice sent a chill through all three men.

Farkle gulped as his ran his hand through his hair and took a step forward, tugging on his tie, “So um, we um, kind of all knew you were coming down here to work with Lucas. Like we kind of maybe made sure it was you.”

“I figured that part, so keep going.” Her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes narrowing.

He cleared his throat, feeling all the eyes on him. “So, I mean we knew that you were totally falling back in love with Lucas or whatever, but that as soon as you had an excuse to run away, you would.”

“Farkle, what did you do buddy?” Lucas had a feeling he’d already put the pieces together.

“Well, Smackle and I were looking for a change, she really was up to be nominated to a committee but it fell through, and then this whole seat opened up late, and next thing I knew I was running.” He saw the look he was getting from Riley, “Right, so, it felt like it was the right time to get out of the company. We knew you would want to take it over yourself, we knew you would use the company as an excuse to leave Lucas if you got scared.”

“So, you made sure the baby bird could fly, and nothing would hold her back from leaving?” Riley raised an eyebrow at her oldest friend.

“Yeah, we kind of pushed you out so you couldn’t come back. We knew you would eventually break up with Dave, I didn’t think it would be like two hours later, but I also knew you would come back to Lucas.”

Riley threw one pillow and then another at him, “Why didn’t you at least tell Maya or Zay, why did you guys stop talking to us?”

Farkle almost fell over when one of the pillows hit him right in the face. “Because, we wanted you mad at us, so you would stay away and we didn’t want them to mess it up and tell you why we did what we did.”

“I’m still mad at you, but I get why you did what you did, and I thank you for that.” She looked over to Lucas, “Because I did get to marry the man I love, we’re having twins. And if you hadn’t pushed me out, I probably would’ve gotten scared and ran back to New York.”

“You guys moved way faster than we calculated. We figured you would just now be admitting how you felt. I’m glad you two figured it out.” Farkle sighed, “I wish I could stay but I have to get back to New York, you know I have an election to win and all.”

Riley looked over to Lucas, “So do we, you’ve got to kick it into gear buddy if you’re going to win.”

“Well I’m going to take Farkle back to the airport, and then go open the bar.” Zay looked over to Lucas, “By the way, you had your Dad’s bartend last night?”

“Yeah and they made a killing tips thanks to their shenanigans. Don’t worry I’m sure someone will tag you on one of the videos floating around.” Lucas led them out of the room, “And you, she was really hurt by all of that. But thank you for pushing her out of the nest.”

Eddie parked the car in front of the house and helped Topanga out before he grabbed his briefcase. He was a few steps behind her when he looked towards the porch swing, sitting their lost in whatever she was reading on her phone was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on.

“Eddie?” Topanga stopped at the door, it was then she looked over, “Can I help you miss?”

“I’m Gloria May, a friend of Riley and Lucas, I’m just waiting for Zay and Farkle, to drive him back to the airport.” She rose from her seat, crossing to introduce herself, “You must be Riley’s mother, I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Yes, I’m Topanga and this is Eddie, the attorney handling all the civil stuff for Riley and Lucas.” She paused for a moment, “Wait did you say Farkle is here?”

“Yeah, Zay dragged him down to Texas to explain the whole buyout thing. He keeps calling it Project Baby Bird.”

Topanga nodded as she looked towards the stairs seeing the three men coming down.

“Gloria May was it? It’s nice to meet you.” Eddie shook her hand, feeling an energy sweep through him he hadn’t felt in far too many years, he even felt a blush on his cheeks.

“You should get some water, Eddie, you must not be used to our Rosewood Springs heat.” Gloria May sucked in her lips as she smiled.

“Yes, water, right. Have a good day.” He didn’t know or understand what had happened, he never acted like that in front of a woman, but this one was different, he was sure of it.

The boys came out, “Hey Gloria May” Lucas gave her a hug, “Riley’s upstairs, I bet she would love some company that’s not a relative.”

“I was going to go with Zay to the airport, I don’t have my car.”

“I can give you a lift back into town if you want.” Eddie called out from the kitchen.

“That would be nice, yeah.” Gloria May looked to the boys, “Nice to meet you Farkle, Zay I’ll help you with the bar later.”

Before anyone could argue she was up the stairs to visit with Riley, and the boys were saying goodbye, Lucas extending an invitation to Farkle for him and Smackle to visit once Riley got the resort open before they left for the airport and Lucas left to go into the office.

Cory helped Grady carry in the printer that had just been delivered, “Are you sure we should set up the office?”

“Yeah, give them less to worry about, besides they can always rearrange it.” Grady shrugged as he looked at all the boxes they had brought up, scratching his head as he inventoried it all. Riley had thankfully made detailed lists of what was arriving for what offices, but now seeing it all he realized this might be a bit more of a challenge.

“I’m calling” Cory pulled out his phone as he scrolled for his daughter’s number.

Grady snatched it away, “No you’re not. We start with the desk and then work around it.” He looked at the three boxes of parts, “We’ll be done by supper time.”

“Yeah this can’t be too difficult” Cory shrugged as he started to open a box and remove the materials, tossing the directions towards a pile of construction trash.

Grady moved the rest of the boxes into a corner so they would be out of the way, before he took the trash that had been thrown about and started putting it into a large garbage bag and hauled it out to the dumpster out front.

Cory stood over all the materials, organized by size, shape, scratching his head. “Do you know what this is supposed to look like?”

“Don’t we have instructions?”

“I don’t see any, is there a picture on the box?” Grady dragged the one piece of cardboard he hadn’t hauled out over, revealing the bright colored photograph of the desk put together. “Well, I guess these are our directions, let’s get to work.”

Neither Cory or Grady knew how much time had passed when Lucas came in, the sky outside was growing dark, “What did you two do?”

Grady looked over to his son, “We put Riley’s desk together, we just have to move it into place.”

“Yeah, help us out Lucas.” Cory motioned for him to pick up the long end.

“Did Riley ask you to do this?” He knew the answer was no.

“Gotta get it put together son so that the office can be set up for her.” Grady signaled for them to lift and they moved the desk so that Riley could look out the window while working, see how things were going on the resort grounds. “What are you doing here boy?”

“Well neither of you were home when Mom and Topanga expected you, they were afraid you went to bartend again. Come on, let’s go home.” He watched as they both looked to see their phones had been on silent and they had a dozen or so missed calls before leading them out of the office.

“Riley’s done good with this place so far.” Cory told his son-in-law.

“She sure has, it’ll be amazing once she gets it open in February.”

“You know if you hurt her, I’ll kill you.” Cory stopped on the stairs in front of Lucas.

“And I’ll let you sir, but I have no intention of hurting her. I love her, and I would be lost without her.”

“Good answer my boy, now let’s go home before our wives kill us.” Grady slapped them both on the back before they continued down the stairs and out into the cool Texas evening.

“This is the best burger in town.” Gloria May put the basket down in front of Eddie before taking a seat at the table. “Isn’t your wife wondering where you are?”

Eddie looked down at his left hand before showing her, “Not married, where’s your husband, Zay was his name, right?”

Gloria May laughed, “Oh gosh no, Zay is just a friend, we’re not married. I’m divorced though,”

“So, what is it you do?” He studied her as he fixed the burger, tossing the onions onto a napkin.

She felt a slight blush in her cheeks as she let her eyes wander over him, appreciating the way his suit fit over his obviously muscular body. “I write for the local paper, I do some freelance stuff, I’ve been helping Zay out here. And you’re some hot shot lawyer.”

He smiled, “Best in the state, at least according to all the votes they do each year. Topanga is always trying to lure me back to New York.”

“That would be a shame, what’s kept you here in Texas?” she pulled the straw out of her water glass a little before sliding it back in, watching the way he gently bit his lip.

“You know, I’ve just felt as though Texas was where I was meant to be. Besides New York can be very lonely, Texas is very welcoming.”

“We do try to be friendly down here.” She tilted her head to the side, letting her hair cascade down. “So how long do you think you’ll be in Rosewood Springs?”

Eddie sighed, “I go back to Austin in the morning, but I’ll be handling all of the legal stuff the resort, so I might be around a bit.”

Gloria May licked her lips, leaned forward just a little, “Well, I hope I get to see you the next time you’re in town.”

“I’ll make sure to drop by.” He glanced up just then to see Zay glaring at them, “Does he know you two are just friends?”

“He’s the one in love with another woman, so yeah he knows.” She turned just in time to see the final flicker of jealousy on Zay’s face, and she wondered just why that was. “Well, I should get back to helping out. Things are a little out of order after last night. I’ll um, see you around Eddie.”

“Thank you, Gloria May, you can count on that.” He watched her leave, again catching a look from her friend behind the bar.

Riley was waiting at the top of the stairs, balancing on her crutches as Lucas came up. “Do I want to know what they were doing at the resort so late?”

Lucas took in the sight of her, she’d removed the braid so now her hair cascaded down in soft waves, “You should be in bed, not moving around on crutches.”

“It’s that bad, oh no, tell me they didn’t change the paint colors, or worse like pulling the animal heads from storage.”

“No, and no.” He guided her away from the stairs and back to the bed room, “I know you’re getting antsy being in bed, but remember it’s for them. All our Dad’s did was put your desk together. They want to set the office up for you. I promise I will help you arrange it the way you like in a week and a half.”

Riley sat on the bed, propping her crutches up to the side of the bed, “That’s sweet of them, and I think they want to feel useful. Mom and Bonnie have kind of taken over the house stuff, which I’m going to have to rearrange when I can, but they all want to help, we’re very lucky.”

“We are.” Lucas pushed his shoes off and pulled off his t-shirt, “Your Mom will be gone in two weeks, so will your Dad, then we’ll figure out what to do with my parents.”

“I’m still not sure your Mom even likes me.” Riley confessed as she watched her husband.

Lucas crawled onto the bed, cupping her face in his hands, “My Mom adores you, she just might not realize it yet. I think she feels displaced, they come back from London expecting to find their son and daughter, instead they find their son with his wife, and two babies on the way.”

“Okay, true that could be a lot to throw them, plus everything with the accident, Gigi, whatever had her so angry in the first place.”

“Misinformation that we don’t need to worry about.” He kissed her forehead, “You stay here, I’m going down to the kitchen, I’m going to bring you some dessert and grab me some dinner, and we’ll watch that show you like with the Mountie and the School Teacher okay?”

“That sounds perfect.” Riley watched as he left before she grabbed the remote and pulled up the show on the TV, she closed her eyes for a moment, a sense of peace washing over her, she couldn’t pinpoint why but at that moment she knew things were going to be okay.