#she’s planning on taking the Sergeant’s exam

[bishopsbelova]

As far as I am concerned. Season 24 of svu ain’t canon (aside from the Rollisi wedding and baby) 🤷🏻‍♀️

[elixirfromthestars]

Hey Mel, I've been thinking about dad Bucky! Which one of your Bucky's do you think would be a girl dad?

Hello my lovely anon, do you understand how much I adore you for sending this in?? 😭🩷🩷 I want to give you the biggest hug because this immediately sparked something for me!! Please enjoy my moodboard and thoughts for my detective Bucky being a girl dad 🥹💖 And if you'd like to know more please let me know!! I had so much fun answering this!! 🥰

Contents -> detective bucky + lawyer reader, baby girl w/nickname Teddy 🥹🩷, mentions of life/work as a homicide detective, all the feels okay? like all of them

Detective!Bucky Barnes as a Girl Dad 🧸ྀི‎♡‧₊˚

Okay, so first of all, our precious Teddy was planned 100%. You’re one of the top prosecutors in New York, of course, your life is structured the most it can be and you knew you wanted to start a family with Bucky when the timing was right. Teddy came along after you were married and had moved into an apartment together. By this point, Bucky had moved up the ranks and passed his sergeant’s exam, allowing him more free time to be around and present.

When Teddy was born, best believe Bucky cried—you both did. She was just so cute and so tiny. You both marveled at how the two of you made someone so wonderful and so perfect. She looks like a mini version of you but with Bucky’s eyes and smile.

He honestly couldn’t wait to show her off to everyone. His desk at work is now covered in pictures of you and his baby girl. His lock screen? It’s a picture of you holding Teddy. You know that little pocket in a wallet where an ID should go? Yeah well, he has a polaroid picture of the three of you instead. He has those pictures there to remind him to be extra safe on the job since he now has you two waiting for him to come home safe and sound.

Teddy got her nickname not too long after she was born. She was a bit of a fussy baby and liked to cling to you or Bucky when she slept. With your careers, it wasn’t always possible to have Teddy with either of you 24/7. And then one day the teddy bear Bucky won you at the fair from your first date ended up in her crib. Teddy ended up keeping it close and hugging it the entire time she slept. Even as she started getting older, that bear went wherever she did. From the moment she fell in love with that bear, you decided everything Teddy owned had to be bear-themed.

All your friends and family love Teddy. Sam and Nat bicker all the time over who Teddy loves the most—Uncle Sam or Auntie Nat. You’d never tell them, but Teddy adores her Uncle Stevie the most. Whenever he visits, she won’t leave his arms which makes Bucky a little grumpy (which you always tease him over).

Bucky has always been protective of you (maybe sometimes a little overprotective) and that doesn’t change when Teddy comes along. If anything, he becomes even more protective of his girls—this man is a devoted husband and father. Dotting on you and Teddy whenever he gets the chance. Acts of service is 100% one of Bucky’s love languages and he’d do anything for you and Teddy. 

When the topic of daycare comes up, Bucky doesn’t want to hear it. He just can’t imagine anyone taking care of his baby girl better than you and him. No one else would take the time to cut Teddy’s food into the cutest of shapes—her favorite being stars, no one else would pick her up and play airplane with her when she gets fussy, no one else would sing twinkle twinkle little star with her for the millionth time just to see her happy, and there’s so much more others wouldn’t do for her that you and Bucky would. 

Daycare lasted a couple of days—Bucky just couldn’t do it. He was losing his mind wondering how she was doing. On the first drop off that man was damn near begging on his knees for you to change your mind. You were firm on your stance (neither of you could afford cutting back even more on work hours since you were saving up for a home). So as much as you hated being the one to do it, you had to be the one to put your foot down on the subject. That was until on what would be her last day at daycare, Teddy cried out Mommy with the utmost heartbroken voice as you were walking away and your heart just shattered. Needless to say, the daycare phase didn’t last long and instead you took the longer commute to drop off Teddy at Grandma Barnes’ brownstone. Bucky’s mom was over the moon at this decision because that woman adores her grandbaby. She spoils her rotten which sometimes backfires in the silliest of ways.

Being one of the top prosecutors in New York means you have many late nights. Bucky is always there to be supportive in any way he can be. Before Teddy, you used to work on cases together at home, but ever since she was born he has enforced a no work-at-home policy. He doesn’t want his baby girl hearing or witnessing anything from the homicide cases you and he work on. He wants to protect her from that world for as long as he can. 

Especially since he has worked on some cases that show him the worst of humanity. Now that he is a dad they hit him a little deeper. Whenever he works a case where a parent has lost their child, his chest feels tight the entire day and there’s a heaviness on his shoulders he can’t shake off. On those days he insists you two visit Teddy during your lunch break. And that night he holds Teddy just a little longer and a little tighter in his arms—like he’ll lose her if he lets go. After she falls asleep in his arms, he tucks her in her crib and goes looking for you. No matter what you’re doing Bucky coaxes you to drop everything and come to bed with him where he holds you just as tightly as you lay together. He promises over and over again that he’ll keep you and Teddy safe, whispered promises of how much he loves you both and how no harm will ever come to either of you between passionate kisses that seal the meaning of those promises into your very soul.

Bucky adores being a dad just as much as he adores being your husband. His life feels complete having you two in it and he'd be damned if he ever let anything or anyone ever jeopardize it (which in this line of work there have been a few close calls on both your ends that have tried, but those stories are for another day).

I honestly could go on and on all day over this, but for the sake of not going on for too long, I will end my little happy ramblings here 🥹🩷 Thank you again for sending in this request, I had so much fun with it!! 🩷🩷

[theflyindutchwoman]

SEASON 06 | What we know so far - Chenford Edition

This is merely an attempt to gather all the different spoilers from the past few weeks in one place. Please let me know if I missed anything or got something wrong.

// The Under Siege Storyline . 6.01 - Strike Back : in the aftermath of the assaults in the finale, the team must now try to understand why they were targeted and if there is a bigger plan in place.

// The Time-for-Lucy-to-get-promoted Storyline . 6.01 - Strike Back : Lucy is a bit on edge about taking the detective exam, so she asks to ride with Tim so that her onetime TO can give her a shift-long grilling like in the old days. One encounter with a literal clown might get her rethinking her logic. [x]

. I'm actually wondering if the encounter with a clown could be triggering for either one of them, in light of the recent attacks and the creepy doll masks. . There's a time jump of 6 weeks at some point in the episode : considering that in 5.19, the detective exam was two weeks away, I'm going to assume that this time jump happens towards the middle or the end of the episode (like in 4.01)… Unless of course, this detail has been forgotten / the exam was postponed due to the attacks (unlikely but why not).

// The Wedding Storyline . DANCE + KISS!!

. Shenanigans will happen at some point (might start in 6.01) - from the BTS videos, it appears that Tim will be wounded (doesn't seem to be too bad though)

// Lucy's Storyline . Lucy will be wounded / involved in a shooting that ends up with her staying at the hospital . Tim, Wesley and Sergeant Grey are with her at some point (officer-involved shooting?)

. She will also work alongside Angela to help Tim (not sure if it's related to the previous point or not). On the picture, she is wearing her badge but is out of uniform : she could be there as a detective or as Tim's handler if he's undercover (like in 4.07 and 4.22)… Or maybe something else entirely.

. If Tim is indeed undercover, one that lasts more than one day at that (which seems likely since he appears to be wearing different clothes), it could be interesting to see how Lucy deals with this role reversal.

// Tim's storyline . Per Eric's instagram post, Tim will spend some time out of uniform and without his badge. In light of the photos of him with Angela and Lucy at the Port of Los Angeles, he may be doing some undercover work, one that could be related to a human trafficking case (as suggested by the mattress in the container and the location).

// The LAPD Psychiatrist Storyline . It is unclear if this one relates to Tim and/or Lucy but it could be a very interesting arc for both or either of them.

[bimadabomily]

I want to post my thoughts about Chenford/hospital scene, because I've analyzed it a lot.

When I first watched it, I liked it though there was also a sense of longing for something there - then I came online and saw a lot of people upset that he told her he loves her, she is his priority, and she brought up her career instead of talking. So then I kind of deflated and watched it with a more angsty eye. But the more I keep watching it, I find I love it.

Now, I feel like I'm in the opposite space I was at the end of s6. I did not feel the vibes that came from the elevator scene in 610 (while I also appreciate it, if that makes sense). I felt very melancholy about that scene, while so many LOVED it. I feel like I'm on the other side this time.

First, going back to under the fire blanket, her "It doesn't matter!" Sure, I would've loved her to have said she loves him, too. I think it doesn't matter could have meant a lot of things: it doesn't matter because I don't want to admit we might die and this is a last confession, it doesn't matter because of course I love you and I was never the one who left, it doesn't matter because we're in this place now and can't do anything about it.

Now, onto the hospital - she opened up that conversation. She started it, and brought up her career, but as a vessel to sort of lead into something more. In the elevator in 706, Tim's one and only reason why it could never happen again was "I'm in your chain of command." Despite him telling her that he still loves her (of course!), she does not really know what HE WANTS. A lot of people say he's played all his cards, showed his hand - but HAS he? To me it's all been very ambiguous, starting from the elevator. What does he want, to repair their friendship, get back together - what? GRANTED, if she would engage in one of his openings to talk she might be able to find out more. But she brought up the sergeant's exam. The soft "Yeah? Yeah" exchange after she say she wants to take the exam? It had so much more meaning. And the first thing he says is, "Then I wouldn't be your supervisor anymore." That's more clarity than she's had in a while (though I do think he should SPELL IT OUT and tell her straight up what he wants so she could make an informed decision).

"That's a good point. I hadn't thought of that." Her little smile and that ironic tone indicates that she HAS. I almost wonder if she even started the whole convo and threw that out there to see what his response would be, to see if he'd bite if she has a solution to their chain of command issue, would he want more?

He immediately offers to help her study. Her little "Oh," is very... flirtatious? She does not rebuff his offer, which is huge progress from 704 when she wouldn't even let him order dinner. She hasn't let him in that much in a long time. Instead she accepts it by saying "It's not for a few more months, but wouldn't hurt to get a head start." If she was trying to tell him that they're not gonna happen, that did not do it.

She's telling him there's a few months before they could, potentially, do anything about their situation anyway and maybe in that time, things will continue to evolve. I don't think she's ready yet - and I can't blame her. What he did to her was huge. It wasn't just a little fight. He was the most important and trusted person in her LIFE, and he left her completely blindsided. I honestly think if they would have reconciled already, people would be upset that she gave in so quickly after that he did.

I also like that this time, there's a possible solution to their chain of command issue that she brought up, and they understand together - instead of getting back together and making rash choices for the other without communicating (desk job, five player trade) to figure it out in the aftermath. And if this is what she wants - and it works for them, too - it's great to have a plan that they are both on board with, no one has to feel guilty about the other making a sacrifice, no one has to try and protect the other from making a sacrifice for them, etc.

I also love it as a career path for her - I've never wanted her as a detective, because I feel somehow they often get sidelined (some eps I feel like they hardly use them) and with three it would be even harder.

Finally, I am someone who HATES this breakup, was not looking forward to the angst/longing/etc. this season, and wanted them back together ASAP. So I am not saying this from a place of, "but I love this angst and am cool with this vibe." But I also resigned myself sometime last season to it taking most of this season AT LEAST. I never believed they'd be back together early on this season, so maybe it's easier for me to swallow the convo that shows it's going to take a bit longer, because I've been prepared for that and not counting on them being back together by now.

I haven't read anyone's thoughts here yet (just on Twitter) but idk wanted to throw my thoughts in because I thought a lot about it.

(Also, I do not believe this whole ex-sex era is over and they WILL have to slip up again before getting back together.)

[cynicalone94]

Choose My Next Story

Alright guys, after two painful years my heart has healed enough to do what I said I would never do. I still think I will never be able to write anything that acknowledges anything that happened in canon after 10x3 but I'm ready to write a season 10 fix-it fic. In fact my muse has latched onto two separate ideas - one diverging immediately following 9x22 and the other at the end of 10x3. I will likely write both at some point but I need all of your help deciding which to write first.

For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I will title the options as simply Bolivia and No Bolivia but if you're interested in more details I'll post a short excerpt from each below the cut.

Thanks for your help!

Bolivia

“Hey.” Adam says as he walks in the door. “Look who it is!”

“How were you in South America for over a year and you’re still as white as ever?” Kevin teases playfully. 

“Kevin.” Kim scolds. “You can’t just ask someone why they’re white.”

Jay chuckles, signaling a bartender. 

“I told them to hold the round until you guys got here so it was still cold.” he tells them, standing up and kissing his wife. “How was work?”

“Closed on the case.” Kim says. “Voight told us to wrap up paperwork tomorrow.”

Hailey steps aside and Kim moves in, wrapping her friend in a hug. 

“Welcome home, Sergeant.” she says happily. “It’s good to have you back.”

“Thanks.” he says quietly, hugging her back. “Sorry I didn’t get a chance to see you guys before I left. Things went pretty quick.”

“You’ve apologized a hundred times.” Adam says. “We get it. That case hit you hard, man.”

“Should have been looking out better.” Kevin says. “Realized how much you were struggling.”

“How are you feeling now?” Kim asks. “Did it help?”

“Yeah.” Jay says, letting Kevin pull him in for a hug as well. “It did. I feel more… centered I guess.”

“Then it’s all good, bro.” Kevin says, moving aside to give Adam his turn. 

When Adam steps back, they all sit down just in time for the bartender to bring over a round of beers. 

Hailey pushes her chair so close to Jay’s that she’s practically sitting in his lap and the three officers don’t even try to conceal their grins. 

“So what’s next?” Adam asks after a minute. “Is the Army sending you back to Bolivia or…”

“Nah.” Jay says. “I signed a short term contract with them for this. Eight months and then the five month extension I agreed to. They’d love it if I signed on for another contract but I’m not planning on it. I got what I needed, did what I wanted down there, I don’t feel a need to go back.”

“What now then?” Kim asks. 

“Continuing the ricochet.” Jay says with a shrug. “Back to the CPD. I talked to Superintendent O’Neil this afternoon and he’s approved it already.”

“Hell yeah.” Adam says. “Did you talk to Voight? Are you coming back to Intelligence?”

“No.” Jay says, shaking his head. 

“Voight said no?” Kevin asks. 

“I didn’t ask.” Jay says. “I can’t just bounce back to where I was before I left. Life doesn’t work that way. And I… I don’t know what it was but I lost myself in Intelligence, I can’t just do what I was doing and hope it doesn’t happen again.”

“Where then?” 

“Area Central Homicide.” Jay says. “Sergeant Wilson is retiring in the next couple of months and O’Neil wants me to take his place. I’ll start next week as a detective, getting my bearings back and learn the nuances of Area Central. Take the Sergeant’s Exam in two months.”

“No way bro.” Kevin says, tilting his head. “That’s awesome.”

“Long overdue.” Adam says. 

“You’re a natural leader, Jay.” Kim agrees. “They’ll be lucky to have you over there.”

“Thanks guys.”

Hailey raises her glass. 

“To Jay.”

“To Jay.” the team choruses. 

No Bolivia

“So.” Adam says. “Not that I’m complaining about you wining us but what’s up?”

“No wait.” Kevin says. “If this is you apologizing for being extra broody lately, you don’t need to. We’re all blaming Voight anyway. Adam even told him so yesterday.”

Jay raises an eyebrow. 

“That’s not the primary reason I asked you guys to join us tonight.” He says. “But before we get to that, I do want to apologize. Regardless of whose fault it is, and however much I appreciate whatever Adam said to Voight, I have been short with you guys lately and you don’t deserve that so I’m sorry.”

“We get it.” Kim says. “We don’t know exactly what happened between the two of you but we’re all in agreement that whatever it was, we’re on your side.”

“You don’t have to tell us.” Adam adds. “Unless you want to.”

“You don’t want to know the details.” Jay says, shaking his head. 

North may have been dealt with but its not impossible for the case to resurface someday with another agent. He doesn’t want the three of them getting drug into the cover up too. 

“I did something I’m not proud of to help him out of a jam.” He offers. “And in return he promised not to put me in that position again. And then he broke that promise during the Los Temidos wrap up.”

Hailey covers his hand with hers, silently reminding him that she’s here. 

“I don’t know if things would have ended any differently if he’d listened to me but I do know that he made me a promise, broke it and the result was someone dying. I’m just… having a hard time letting that go.” He finishes quietly. 

“Sorry man.” Kevin says. 

“Yeah.” Adam agrees. “That’s shitty.”

“No wonder you’ve been brooding.” Kim adds. 

“Yeah.” Jay says with a humorless laugh. “Anyway, the reason we’re here is so that I can tell you that you won’t have to deal with that much longer.”

“Jay, you -”

“The hell does that mean?” Adam cuts Kim off with suspicious eyes. “If Voight is kicking you off the team, I will kick his ass.”

“He’s not.” Jay says, an almost real smile on his face. “I am leaving but it’s my decision. Not his.”

Adam visibly backs down. 

“Makes sense, bro.” Kevin says. “I’d be sick of him too.”

“That’s not –” Jay stops, shaking his head. “Sergeant Wilson over at Area Central Homicide is retiring in a little over a month and a half. Superintendent O’Neil has asked me to take his position. I’ll be moving to Area Central next week to start learning the nuances of the department while I study for the Sergeant’s Exam.”

Three pairs of eyes bug out of their skulls. 

“And I do want, hell need, to get away from Voight. We can’t keep going on like this. It isn’t fair to you guys to have to deal with us sniping at each other and it puts you all in danger.” Jay adds with a sigh. 

“I’m still processing that you’re taking Area Central Homicide’s Sergeant position.” Kim says. “That’s a huge department with an insane caseload. A big ask for a brand new sergeant.”

“Did you hear what he’s just said though?” Adam asks. “He’s not leaving to get himself away from the shit, he’s leaving to protect us.”

“Which already makes him a better Sergeant than Voight.” Kevin says quietly. 

[bullet-prooflove]

Past Mistakes Part 9: Complicated - Mike Duarte x Reader

Tagging: @spooky-pomegranate @julieelliewrites @telepathay @nessamc​   @xmoonknightlyx​   @jayblackpanther​   @crazy4chickennuggets​   @annetje​   @mysoulisasunflower​    @littleone65 @thesandbeneathmytoes​    @storiesofsvu​  @kabloswrld @xoxabs88xox @katluke25 @mydarkestsecretlol  @bbyxoo @evee87  @adesertdaydream  @the-hinky-panda @kimm4710 @wooshwastaken @justreblogginfics @hearthockey @justreblogginfics @im-just-a-mississippi-girl @multilin21 @letty-olaya @rosaliedepp @storiesofsvu @guitita @smellsliketeensspiryt @legit9thlunaticwarrior @giuls-ver @witches-unruly-heart @melaniecraig80 @elizabeththebat

Part One: Try  

Part Two: Hope (NSFW)

Part Three: California

Part Four: Favours

Part Five: Choices

Part Six: Truth Hurts

Part Seven: Sharing

“You’re going after him.”

Mike almost couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth as he sat in Benson’s apartment, surrounded by the paraphernalia of her family life. No one had the balls to take on McGrath, but then again when he looked at Benson, she didn’t need them. He knew if they played this wrong this was career suicide for all of them, he was prepared to put everything on the line for you. However these two, Benson and Murphy, they didn’t know you. They didn’t know that you liked to sleep curled up in his arms because it made you feel safe, didn’t know that the left side of your mouth quirked up when you were trying to hide a smile, they didn’t know anything about you but here they were still going to bat for you because truly they believed it was the right thing to do.

“We are.” Benson confirmed before clasping her hands together. “But it’s complicated, everything she told you about the assault…”

“There’s no evidence.” Mike said, filling in the blanks. “Back then I should have realised, I saw the dress and…” He sucked in a deep breath trying to steady the tremble in his voice. It weighted on him that he had missed the signs, it left a bitterness on his tongue. “… it’s long gone in a landfill somewhere.”

“I’ve got Muncy trying to chase down the security footage from that night.” Benson told him.

Mike sagged back in the chair, raising his eyes to the ceiling.

“But three years is a long shot.”

He was a pragmatist at heart. What were the chances of someone keeping something like that? McGrath had probably taken care of it the morning after, brushed it under the rug like he did everything else.

“Do you think she’s strong enough for this?” Murphy asked him, leaning forward. “We’re gonna have a hell of a fight on our hands and when this comes out, it drags out everything. Your relationship will be in the spot light, the defence will claim it’s a pattern of behaviour, she’s ambitious, trying to climb the ladder…”

The look Mike gave the other man was murderous. To his credit Murphy didn’t flinch, he maintained eye contact before Mike spoke.

“We were going to get married in the fall after she passed her Sergeant’s exam.” Mike told Murphy, his heart splitting in two as he remembered the ring you used to wear on a chain around your neck. “It’s not a pattern of behaviour, we fell in love.” His voice was rough as he stared down at his hand, at the space where he had once imagined his own wedding ring would reside. He sighed. “I don’t know if she’s strong enough to do this. Everything he has done has been to break her and I don’t know how much more she can take.”

“Do you have somewhere safe for her to go once we extract her?” Benson asked him. “Somewhere she feels safe? Somewhere McGrath won’t be able to find her?”

Mike thought back to his original plan tonight. The two of you driving off into the sunset and all the way to L.A.

“Yea.” He said, thinking back to the plans he’d made with Chris Alonso. “We have friends who are willing to help.”

“With the evidence that she has collected, we have enough to take down the First Nationals including Ryan Rousseau but what SVU is interested in is the breeding farm, getting out those trafficked girls. That’s what Rousseau’s big tour around the states has been about, we thought they were recruiting but he’s been rolling out the model for his breeding farm, inviting leaders from other branches to see it in action so he can franchise it. They pay him, he provides the girls.” Benson informed Mike, her mouth twisting in distaste.

“I have an alias.” Murphy revealed. “It’s from my time on the West Coast. I’ve set up a meeting with Rousseau, I’ve told him I’m only in town tomorrow night. He’s looking for a partner to expand into Utah and Nevada and he thinks I have the connections. From what I gather the main players will all be there from the other charters. It’s his big chance to show everyone his enterprise.”

Enterprise…

The term made Mike feel sick. Turning out girls like that, knocking them up so that could develop their own master race, making a profit from the fucking misery of it. It made Mike want to burn the whole fucking place to the ground.

“Once Declan is in and we have confirmation of the girls, we’ll be launching a joint raid with Hate Crimes on the breeding farm. We’ll be scooping every single one of them up including your girl. Here’s where it gets sticky. As soon as news of this raid hits, McGrath is going to know what’s happening and we need to move her as quickly and as quietly as possible.”

“McGrath has ties to WITSEC, so I’ve taken the liberty of transferring her over to Hate Crimes for the time being.” Murphy told Mike. “We have the budget and the space, if she wants to stay after all this my Chief is happy to make it permanent. She thinks with her knowledge of organisations like this, she’d be a good asset. Once we get her out, my Chief is going to push through the paperwork for medical leave due to her time undercover.”

“Can we trust her?” Mike asked him.

Murphy fixed him with an even gaze.

“My Chief would sooner set herself on fire than do anything to help McGrath.” Murphy told the other man. “There’s a lot of bad blood between the two of them, there always has been.”

“He’s going to be gunning for you.” Benson said quietly to Mike. “Every phone call you make, every time you step out of your apartment, he’s going to have eyes on you. Everything will have to  through Velasco, there can’t be any contact between the two of you.”

He’d seen it coming. He wasn’t stupid enough to think that he’d get the happy ending he wanted but hearing the words out loud still felt like a gut punch. His chest felt tight with anguish, because you were slipping through his fingers all over again. It was the right thing to do, he knew that, but it hurt like hell.

“It’s for the best.” Benson said in low tone, her hand coming to rest on his arm.

His eyes stung as he swallowed hard past the well of emotion that ached in his throat.

“Yea.” He said, his voice raw as he stared down at his ring finger once more. “I know.”

Love Mike Duarte? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

AAAHHHHH so much happened this episode o.o

I made a post about it but EMMY!!! SHE HAS A NAME 🥳🥳🥳 OR AT LEAST A NICKNAME XDD

Poor Wesley with all the kids lol - I was almost scared he'd end up with Genny's kids as well xD glad they're all okay though

And 😬 yeah keeping Nolan's secret from Angela lol xD but she was knocked out they have other things to talk about :) love to imagine the Wopez comfort that'll come after this <33 also poor Wesley and his glittered self lol (also "Uncle Wesley" 🥺🥺🥺🥰)

And speaking of, what Nolan saw 😳💀 why couldn't he just stick around in shock for a second longer 😭 I was hoping he wouldn't immediately tell Nyla so at least he went to Wesley but 😬😬😳😭 it's gonna be rough next episode 😬

Also we only saw Bailey for a minute but she was an icon :D glad she and John are doing better (not that we literally saw it but yk better than before lol). Also the flirting and pretending/joking not to know her, "I'm a married man" and all lol xD, lovelies <3 🥰

Yayy Celina!! She was doing great this episode :D the ending was o.o for her but luckily she herself wasn't hurt so xd just gonna have to deal with it

SETHHHH WHY DID YOU RIP IT UP 😭😭😭

YOU'VE BEEN ON THE JOB LIKE TWO MONTHS!! You could've said it slipped through the cracks and idk if you would've been fired but it's too late now. I thought it was just gonna be a detour moment but he forgot to tell them 😭 goshhh sirrr

That ending concerned hima and I don't know that Lucy believed him either xd, not that she ever really does

Poor Miles in that house :(( so glad he reached that guy though <33 🥰 I know he made a mistake earlier in the episode because I'd seen the description but was like wait maybe it said Tim's rookie put them in a bad position or whatever but nope o.o he did good though!!

THE CHENFORD SCENES Y'ALL 😳😳😳👀😭🥰😬

So much going on there xD also "I might say something hateful" LOL, they're crazy, I love them xD but hey we're admitting (mostly) that we still love each other 👀👀👀 okay :))) 👀 and taking the Sergeants exam!! Idk if that's the best thing for Lucy but I'd see why she'd want to :)) you have only been on the job for 6 years though lol. And that sounds like a lot but some of that was training xD you've been working full for like 3-4 (I would say 7 total but I remember that their training period was stretched out even though it wasn't two years). Anyway, so glad they're okay :')) didn't think they'd die or anything but that was a rough position to be in 😬 and how long they stayed there o.o 🥺 must have been terrifying, yeah (like Lucy said). Again glad they made it out only a bit scathed <33

THEY CAUGHT GLASSER 🥳🥳🥳🥰!! WHOOHOOOO :DDD!! OOF to Angela D: and to Nolan o.o and especially that victim guy :(( I didn't even realize Angela was knocked out till we saw her (and for a second I was like who is that lol) o.o especially because I was like we're in the point of view of the least experienced and poor guy was going through it xdd. But we got him 🥳🥳🥳 :'). And I'm glad his wife finally realized <33. Wild of him to train his son like that though 😬. I'm so glad they didn't lose Glasser again, and I'm so glad Nyla's taking some needed time off and letting someone else deal with it :'D. I get it because he attacked her and it was awful, and it would've been a bit more progress if she took a step back earlier than now, but this still good <3 still progress :'). I'm just glad he's in custody now lol <3 hopefully we won't have to deal with him much in the future xD (no need for like 10 escapes lol).

Relating to that but unrelated to the episode, I wouldn't be surprised if Oscar was just used as like information at some point after he'd even hiding a while, but I hope he plans something evil :D and even though I know he doesn't really have a grudge against them I hope it involves Wopez 🥰👀 :)). Wesley has been the most directly traumatized by him, I/he/they deserve it xD

And of course, the ending O.O UAAHHH 😭😭😬 I'm glad James was trying to convince her to get help and go to the police, and he probably would've explained to Nyla too, but uagh D:. As soon as I saw the car I was like ohh crap, get her back (like away from there), and then I when I saw the gun I was like "ohhh no. Oh no 😭. James is gonna get hit O.O 😭😭😭🥺💔" AND THEN HE DID 😭 UAAGGHHHK

FIRST SHOT AND EVERYTHING DDD:

Goshhh I hope he's okay 😭😭 he better be. I don't think they'd kill him in the middle of all he and Nyla's issues (not only because that sucks the juice out of it but like, why yk xd - though there could be juice in her not getting clarification on his non-cheating but eh, I doubt that/still doubt this - though if the girl also died no one would know it wasn't really o.o), but yaugh D: 😬🥺 and poor Celina having to see it :(( after what happened with Aaron too 😬�� :((

And that poor girl too :((! She doesn't deserve this D: hopefully Celina doesn't have to choose to save the witness or the friend 😬 (or anyone else down the line, since Celina doesn't know the girl now)

Anyway!! Super intense episode with a lot going on, I had a lot of fun watching it :D

See y'all next week :)) 🥰!!!

[lieutenanthowell]

And that half would be the bigger problem. But he wouldn't ask her to crack that whole doctor-patient confidentiality thing and tell him who skipped out; honestly, he could guess. Guin was sure, though, when it came to his itinerary. "I won't be." Busy, no. He wouldn't be busy. Could've been. Even if - his fingers twitched, as if to brush that trail of thought from the map. Disturb the earth, scatter the duff. Moving on.

Better to keep moving on. If you stopped too long, you'd freeze.

Could he sleep? Guin half-shrugged at that. Sleep. Never something he'd been much good at. Not like other people, it seemed, who could keep still through the noises of the night and the passing glare of traffic, the seeping off-yellow and cold white of every city he'd ever known, each as sleepless as the last. Here was closer, in some ways, to the nights he used to know; the ones he'd sunk into all over again, the past year. Not sleeping, exactly. Not dreaming, exactly. Not awake, exactly.

Awake enough. Her magpie-ing got a smirk. Sergeant First Class Guin Howell. Doctor Vera Nair. When that'd been his rank, that was how their names usually got read - next to each other. Nothing alphabetical about it, obviously. Just proximity. Junior Researcher Tom Dalton would be in there, too. Always.

It'd seemed that way, anyhow. But always - the only always that you could count on was that always was always a mistake. Couldn't believe in anything, count on anything, need anything, promise anything, like that. Not always. Always was a sheer path, the kind people fell down and broke something at the bottom of; something of theirs, or somebody else's. Guin passed the coffee. Pockets, yeah. Could always use more of those - God, how Tom had groused at the both of them, taking forever (allegedly) to inspect the quartermaster's offerings and pick their kit. All for more pockets, tighter seams, better waterproofing, quieter fabric... the details. Devil was in them, and all. He hadn't started on that banana bread yet. Just smelled it, the mellow sweetness. "You let me know if you've got absolutely nothing better to do. Mm?" Might happen. Might? Kidding himself. Odds were she'd have him picking out a lining within the week. Doctor Vera Nair.

Guin huffed, one of those sled-dog sounds of his; if they did count her as an armed anything, that was their mistake. Not because she wasn't capable enough to earn the title, but because the medic was the one who needed the goddamn escort. The medic had to make it. Or no one would. Especially in this mix. Off - he frowned, taking a thoughtful bite of his breakfast. "We're a clean-up crew. Guess the Committee figures the worst of the mess has already been made, by the time we show up anywhere..." His tone veered towards downright disrespectful as he hit what the Committee figured; ethically speaking, Themis felt about as sound as the rest of what they'd ever done: rickety, but a bridge he'd spent most of his life standing on, swaying with the weather. Still holding. Because it had to. Because the alternative was miles down, dark, and deep. A world without the Veil would be a more dangerous one. Which was saying something.

Grim as that'd gone, he'd dredged up another smile as Vera listed off her make-work and get-by plans. Swimming in a lake; oh, he could think of a few lakes. And that violin - Guin nodded gravely into his first go at the thermos, like he'd been put-upon by all her so-called practice and couldn't wait for her to figure those damn strings out. Like Vera and her violin weren't one of the most beautiful things he'd ever heard or seen.

But it didn't make a difference, to her, how fucking miserable her office might be. So long as her exam room had colour and soul, as her patients were comfortable. He sighed, steaming on the brisk-edged air. "I've got some kinda permission to head down there soon, so - I'll keep an eye out. See what there is." For her office. And exam room.

His projects? Christ. He stalled over a bite of banana bread, then licked the stickiness from his fingers. "Ah..." Guin laced those hands, cracked every bony knuckle. As if he was about to throw himself up a cliffside, a rough climb ahead. Tugging his cast-low stare out of the roots cradling the pair of them, he looked Vera in those doe-eyes of hers. "Couple apologies, looks like." Yeah. Of course he'd see her again. Someday. He'd known that, leaving. But, he'd made the mistake of expecting - expecting to be able to know when that'd be. To come back and get to someplace that felt like ready, so he'd... do it better than he was bound to, at least, if he tried unprepared. Hadn't meant for it to be like this: a surprise, unfamiliar ground. But it was. So. "Do you - wanna hear that, now?" Best to ask and see, yeah? If Vera'd rather just... have this, the clear and present, they could. And if she wanted her share of sorry, then God knew she was owed.

She made a face, disrespectfully acknowledging the wicked witch of the wizarding world one last time before pulling together her schedule. “Let’s see… Tomorrow I have patients till three and then office hours until five. Not that anyone is going to take me up on them this early. If that conference yesterday was any indication, more than half this group isn’t going to understand why they need a doctor at all.” Vera bit her lip.

“But I can hang up my lab coat after that. If you’re not too busy, of course.” Vera looked at him with raised eyebrows and an easy smile. The easiest she could spare. It was her job to be observant, as it was his. What delights must be in store within his full schedule for him to try to hide the minor contusions darkening his lovely elf ears?  She could figure out the who, as well. The truth wasn’t exactly shrouded in mystery like an Agatha Christie novel. 

It stung. Yes. But, it didn’t change Vera’s feelings for Guin and she didn’t resent him for it. She’d married Tom, after all. Guin had left her and she’d married Tom. And Vera had truly loved Tom, although her love for Guin had never faded as she’d feared it would. As she’d feared it must. 

For a long while, she'd suffered deep confusion and guilt over it. Vera even tried to hide it from Tom, afraid of how it would hurt him, though she had broken down and told him before long. She loved him too much to keep secrets from him. All she'd ever known of romantic love was that it was meant for two alone, but that simply wasn't the case for Vera. No matter how hard she tried to move on, and she did try, she loved Guin and she loved Tom. Her heart held room enough for both. She had learned to accept that over the years. 

It was sweet of Guin to try and spare her the discomfort. Or maybe he’d wanted to spare himself the guilt. Likely a bit of both. It would have come out, though. His physical exam was mere hours away. Still, for a second Vera was able to pretend that the bruising wasn’t there. They hid themselves enough when he leaned into the darkness of the tree. 

Then, her mind unspun time in an instant, as it had been doing since she’d seen Guin last. As it had been doing for decades. Tom was alive and well. He’d never asked her to marry him. He’d never hesitated. He’d never told her none of it was her fault. She’d never given up. She’d never driven Guin away. He’d stayed. They were still in the woods near their cabin, playing house and waiting for Tom yawn obnoxiously out of the guest bedroom. The three of them. Safe. Together. 

Guilt slapped her across the face. These miserable spirals had been crystallizing in her mind all the more often since that night. Creating illusions of life with Guin and Tom, both alive and well, leading various lives with her. Each iteration left her feeling like she’d been stabbed. Vera leaned in to get a closer look at the fruit as if she hadn’t picked and polished them herself. Like she wasn’t already holding a bunch of grapes. But the move was practiced. Subtle. It gave her the time to force everything back.

A good night’s sleep would help. Just one night. One night without those dreams and she was certain she’d be keeping it together better than this. “Have you been able to sleep here?” It seemed like it might be too bright for him. He’d always needed true darkness. The dark of nature. Stars didn’t count, but a citied lack of them did. She gave him a slightly concerned glance, pulling herself back from the fruit. 

After bowing ever so humbly at the applause, Vera zipped the jacket back up with a reflexive slowing past the spot where Guin had once darned the delicate edge of the zipper. She huffed as he bit off his glove. That one never failed to amuse. “Sergeant First Class Guin Howell,” she rasped in a voice that was teasingly caught between Guin’s own and a sultry lounge singer who’d seen one too many cigarette breaks between sets. Tom had a name for that voice that never failed to turn her red. “Doctor Vera Nair.” Her own voice. She held out a hand, smiling warmly. “I’d be happy to reline yours, if you’d like. If I can get the material. You seem like a man who could use more pockets.”

“I’m torn. I want to ship out, but these researchers.” Vera didn't try to mask her worry. “Those introductions were unsettling. We’re supposed to be keeping them all safe during these missions, but everything from their lack of training to the actual ratio of researchers to protective detail is concerning. Even if they count me as an armed escort it’s…” She scanned the ground beyond the roots. “Something’s off.” 

Vera accepted the first sip of coffee. Blessed, blessed drink. Her beloved moka pot had made the trip as usual and its long-standing partnership with her thermos was reignited at last after a long year off. She held it out for Guin's turn. “A few projects, actually, other than exploring this entire area through games of hide and seek, apparently.” She grinned and ate a grape, nodding thoughtfully. “Swimming, ideally. It’s been ages since I swam in a lake. And I brought the violin with me. The good one. If there's time I'd like to actually learn to play.” Forty-one years of practice and Vera still sometimes pretended she was a novice.

“I’d like to explore some of the medical texts at the library here.” Some meant all. Better to be prepared when lives were on the line. “There’s a few procedures I’d like to explore at the medical center, too.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “And my exam room is going to frighten these patients. It’s stark, Guin. No windows. No color. No soul. My office, too, but only I’m going in there so it doesn’t make a difference.” After all these years, Vera could still make do with anything for herself. “Hopefully, the town has a thrift shop. Or a dollar store. Someone with a year-round garage sale. Anything. A dab of personality goes a long way in a doctor’s office. I want them to be comfortable.”

Realizing the answer would likely be unsatisfactory, she finished the last couple grapes and quickly hurried up with a chipper, “And what projects will you be pursuing?”

[study-coffee-chicago]

Masterlist

Here’s my updated masterlist, including links to some imagines not posted here on tumblr 

Halstead Sister! Imagines:

Undercover

In which something horrible happens to Y/N's best friend, Emma, so Y/N goes undercover to get her justice. She's under and everything's fine...until it's not fine at all.

Contract Killer

What if Hailey's story meeting Jay is a little different? And it's all because of one big bad decision and seeing Y/N.

Stupid Game

In which the football players like to play a sick game for homecoming and start to target Y/N...so Jordan Atwater convinces her to tell Jay. 

Small

Derek Keyes is back...I don’t think I need to say any more.

Three Strikes

In which bad luck comes in threes.

Drunk Face

Y/N calls Kim and Adam for help when she gets drunk and gets sick...and begs them not to tell her brothers.

Overprotective

Five scenarios in which Jay and Will are just the right amount of protective--okay, sometimes a little overprotective--of their little sister throughout her life.

October

Just the Halstead siblings plus Hailey doing stereotypical fall things together and reminisce on their childhood.

Cut Off

Jay and Will become worried when their sister hasn’t contacted them in months. So, when Will goes home for Thanksgiving and finds out why, him and Jay do everything in their power to find her, bring her home safely, and help her recover. 

Study Buddies

Jay’s studying for the sergeant’s exam and has no idea what he’s doing, so he enlists the help of his little sister.

To Family, Blood or Otherwise

Y/N Halstead runs a home for girls who have aged out of the foster system. But, when a new client comes in near Thanksgiving, she tells Y/N something and Y/N has to get Jay involved. ASAP.

December

The Halstead siblings and Halstead family doing sterotypical winter things, along with them reminiscing on their childhood winter/Christmas memories. (Includes Upstead as parents, too!)

Ars Longa, Vita Brevis

Will and Jay are noticing changes in their sister as she paints more and becomes more withdrawn. Can they save her before it’s too late?

Witness Protection? You’re Kidding

You decide to be nosey on Will’s wedding day and get wrapped up in FBI case.

Brady and Burdens

Jay goes undercover at Brady, a home for girls in the 21st district, and runs into someone who he definitely was not expecting to see there.

Hometown Hero

For Jay’s birthday, you have a huge surprise for him at a Blackhawks game...with a little help from Mouse.

Maybe

The Halstead siblings learn some shocking news about their pasts...and then have to deal with the aftermath.

Self-Care

You’re burned out. So, Jay and Hailey take it upon themselves to make sure that you are taking care of yourself.

Doing What You Would Do

You thought it would just be a normal night of babysitting Makayla, but you were so, so wrong.

Code Silver

A gunman is loose in the ED...and it just so happens to be a day that Dr. Will Halstead had to bring his little sister to work with him.

Dogsitting

Jay’s little sister is dogstting for few days for some friends. When she starts to have anxiety attacks, he comes to help.

A Rough Week

What starts off as a regular bout of the flu for the Halsteads, quickly turns into much more.

Nightshift NHL

Jay and Will Halstead’s sister has a pretty successful hockey podcast. She gets the opportunity of a lifetime with one of her favorite teams. But, in typical Halstead fashion, it doesn’t go as planned.

None of This is Your Fault

Jay told his little sister not to get involved with this boy, but you were over eighteen and could do what you want. Obviously, later you realize that you should’ve listened to Jay in the first place.

Mentally Healthy

After a fight and a breakdown, Jay and Will’s sister finally tells them about her struggles with eating and her body. And, in typical Halstead fashion, they do everything they can to get her help.

Appendicitis

Jay’s sister was barely eating and claimed it was due to period cramps. But, one rough night and a call to Will later, they know that it is way more serious than just period cramps.

I Can’t Believe You

Will and his younger sister haven’t had a good relationship for the past year and a half. When Jay and Hailey go undercover, she stays with Will, despite her many protests. But then a prized possession goes missing and the two siblings have to work together to get it back...and they might just mend their relationship in the process.

The Lake

The pond (or lake, whichever) near Jay Halstead’s house that he shares with his sister has significance. It started as a place where he and his brother, Will, would bring their sister to burn off some energy, then turned into a place where Jay found love, and then a place where there was almost loss.

Trifecta from Hell

Everything hits Jay and Will’s younger sister all at once and to say they’re worried, would be an understatement. So, they arrange to have eyes on her at all times until they figure out what’s going on.

Holiday Away

Jay and Will’s younger sister thinks she ruined Thanksgiving due to her anxiety, so they devise a plan so she won’t feel that way on Christmas.

Choices

The Halstead siblings’ dad is a mob boss...and well, with Jay’s profession, that goes about as well as anyone would expect.

Learning from the Best

Jay Halstead is a world class NHL player headed to his first All-Star game. And, he decides to bring his brother, wife, and little sister along for the ride. His one mission for the weekend? It’s not winning the All-Star Game or the skills competition, but rather spending time with his family in sunny Florida and teaching his litle sister how to ice skate.

You Got This, Kid

You’ve had one bad break after another with your grad school applications, anxiety, and everything in between. Luckily, your brothers (and Hailey) are there to help you every step of the way.

Witches AU

You loved being a witch...that was, until you made a stupid decision and got them taken away. What happens if you can’t get them back? 

Glasses

When you need to get glasses, your brothers think that it will be fine. But, they didn’t factor your love of soccer into the equation.

Lost

You get lost in the mall four days before Christmas and have to remember what Jay taught you to find your older brothers.

Seasons of PD/Seasons of Med mini-series 

(in which I took my favorite plot-lines from each season and re-wrote them as if Jay and Will had a little sister) {I’d recommend reading them in order, but they can be read separately}

Seasons of PD and Med: Season 0: The Backstory

Seasons of PD: Season 1: Lonnie Rodiger

Seasons of PD: Season 2: Will’s Back...and There’s a Bomb

Seasons of PD: Season 3: Jay’s Missing

Seasons of Med: Season 1: Glad I Didn’t Make it that Far

Seasons of Med: Season 2 and Seasons of PD: Season 4: Necessities, Love, & Care

Seasons of PD: Season 5: PTSD

Seasons of Med: Season 3: You Saved Her Life

Seasons of Med: Season 4 and Seasons of PD: Season 6: Of Loss and Letters

Seasons of Med: Season 5 & Seasons of PD: Season 7: Necrotizing Fasciitis Scare

Seasons of PD: Season 7: Don’t You ever Do That Again, You Hear Me?

Seasons of PD: Season 8: Full-Circle Moment

Seasons of Med: Season 6: It’s Not Okay

Seasons of PD: Season 9: Ghosts of the Past

Seasons of Med: Season 7: Jay Being Jay

Seasons of PD: Season 10: A Piece of You, A Piece of Me

Stars on your Sleeve:

(Ranger! Jay + a side of Daddy! Jay) {aka where Jay finds a little girl in the desert}

Stars on your Sleeve

Stars on your Sleeve (part 2)

More Upstead-centric/Upstead as Parents Imagines

Royalty AU

The common trope of a damsel in distress and a prince saves her...but with a twist: the damsel has a little sister who needs saving more than her.

Christmas Sickness

Jay and Hailey have to deal with their three-year-old daughter getting sick in the middle of the night...on Christmas

Not in a Million Years (”Safe” Part 2)

Part two of safe where Jay and Hailey are learning more about--and freaking out about--their foster kid.

Pirate AU

Hailey and her younger sister are running from their dad. They sneak onto a pirate ship, thinking they’ll stow away there for a bit. But, things change when they meet the charming captain, Jay Halstead.

Titanic AU

Jay and his little sister are traveling on the Titanic. One night, he hears yelling, which leads to him meeting a woman named Hailey. But, will all three survive when the ship of dreams hits an iceberg a few days later?

AU-gust:

This is where I linked all the AUs I wrote for the month of August 2021.

1930s AU

It’s in the midst of the Great Depression and Prohibition in the United States and Jay Halstead is struggling to take care of him and his younger sister. But, then he meets Hailey Upton who is keeping a secret of her own...and later they realize that they can both help each other out. And, they may just fall in love in the process.

Stupid Game...But They’re All in High School This Time AU

Being a freshman in high school was never easy to begin with...but it was especially hard when the varsity football team played a stupid game where they treated girls at their school like objects. Let’s just say, Will and Jay get very overprotective when they find out that freshmen are included in the game this year. And then, Jay calls in the middle of the night and everything changes.

Country College (AU)

Jay and Will’s little sister is a freshman in college and goes to the same school in Tennessee as Jay. She moves into a house with Jay, Hailey, Adam, and Kim. Moonshine and hilarity ensue.

Who Would’ve Thought? A Government Teacher and an English Teacher (AU)

Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton have known each other for a few years as they both teach at the same high school. Jay’s daughter has been trying to set them up since she started high school, and it just hasn’t gone according to plan. But, one night she needs help and decides to call someone other than her dad, leading him to wonder just how much this other teacher cares for him and his daughter. 

Safe (AU)

Jay works at a home for troubled girls and Hailey’s a social worker. The two have been in relationship for a while now. When Hailey decides to adopt a fifteen-year-old girl with a rough past, Jay of course helps her out. But, then, she has to face one of her biggest triggers of all and Jay and Hailey are there to help her every step of the way. 

Royalty AU Part 2

Harper has to go to this stupid ball because according to Jay, she’s a stupid princess. She does not want to go at all. Part way through the ball the lights go out, and Jay and Hailey begin to wish that Harper wasn’t there at all.

Non-Halstead sister, but still self-insert fics

Found Family

You never really felt close with your parents; you felt closer with your babysitter, Hailey. You were even close enough to call her one night when you got really anxious. And, after that night, Hailey makes it her mission to make you feel loved and wanted...and like you have a family.

A few shorter Halstead! Sister Imagines (2k-4k words) posted on my Wattpad:

{posted these before I started posting imagines on Tumblr}:

Homework

Drunk Tank

Sick

Christmas

[theflyindutchwoman]

Let's talk about the elephant in the room (no, not that one) for a second : Lucy's promotion and the mess she appears to be in. It would seem that her path to becoming a detective will have some roadblocks - since apparently she can't have nice things. How big those are going to be… Well, that's the question.

The one silver lining - if we can call it that - is that so far, this arc aligns with a pattern from the show : pretty much everybody has had a setback of some sort before being promoted, whether it was from their own volition or not.

Angela - she passed the detective's exam, got the tap but messed up during a case and had to wait for almost 9-12 months before finally getting back on track.

Talia - she passed the detective's exam, got the tap… And last minute, decided to stay on patrol for a little while longer (1.10). In the end, she had to make the jump to ATF since her career in LAPD was basically toast (though this part was due to the actress leaving - not sure how they'd have resolved this issue had she stayed).

Nyla - her "promotion" was in the form of a golden ticket. Except she practically took a step back in her career : while her rank remained the same, becoming a training officer after being a detective in usually considered as a demotion more than a promotion. She had her reasons, but that wasn't the most typical trajectory. She had to wait for 2 years before being back to full-time detective.

Tim - he passed the sergeant's exam, got an immediate offer that would have cut back the waiting period but turned it down to stay training Lucy. He had to wait for a couple of months before becoming a sergeant. It is worth noting that his second promotion (Sergeant II - that he got when he joined Metro) was immediately and encountered no issue, but since this one didn't require any exam/interview, that might be why.

Nolan - he was supposed to take the FTO's exam but Union Guy blackballed him… Which was supposed to throw a wrench in his plan, but that only lasted one episode before he got a golden ticket… I almost didn't include this one on the list since his setback ended up being a non-issue…

Now the reason for holding back the former TOs was obvious : they were still needed in patrol to train the rookies. Hence why it took so long for some of them to get back on track. But now that everybody is moving forward, it's no longer necessary.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that hopefully this storyline for Lucy is just a way to a/ deal with the last loose end on the five-player trade arc (that was started by Nyla) and ; b/ continue this pattern of not having a straight forward path to promotion. And not a way to stop her undercover career or whatever nonsense that might be cooked. And hopefully, this issue is resolved quickly, with Lucy acing that test and interview and we won't have to wait season 12 before seeing her promoted to detective (or whatever she wants to be). She has always overcome any obstacles that came in her way, there's no reason she can't do it again... Let her be her badass self during that interview.

[blris96]

Where do you think Tim's head is at? With regards to Lucy?

Hi lovely anon!

Thank you for sending this in! This will serve as the counterpart to my ask about where Lucy's head is at! That other part of this duo can be found here.

I will preface this by stating that Tim is harder for me to get a read on than Lucy is, but, I'll try!

Tim is very much one of the "by the book, very rarely crosses the line" types. Type A in other words. He is former military and did not have a good home life with an abusive father. I wouldn't be surprised if Tim left home at 18 to join the Army. All of that shapes and goes into where Tim's brain might be at in terms of how he's handling this right now.

I don't think that Tim ever suspected that he was going to fall for his rookie. Granted, that's impossible to predict, but he definitely didn't go into this planning to fall in love.

When we first met Tim, he was going through a very rough patch with Isabel, her addiction and crossing the line. He was a surly grump who just wanted to do the job (with sometimes questionable ethics early on) and most likely didn't think about how he was affecting Lucy. Remember when he essentially left Lucy to fend for herself in a fight with the drug dealer and didn't let her call for backup at the biker bar even though he was putting both of their lives at risk? The Tim of today wouldn't even come close to doing that in my opinion.

But, he also wasn't expecting Lucy to get involved in his personal life so quickly. Especially not by his choice. Tim has always struck me as the type to want to have a choice. He didn't in the very beginning when it came to what he could prevent Lucy from seeing or not.

But, over time, he warmed up to her! Even early on, he started to thaw towards her. That's just continued through the seasons.

The audiobook is a good example of this. In that last scene, we saw him surprised that Lucy went essentially out of her way to call Isabel (that is very going out of the way, calling an ex of a friend) and to record him the audiobook. From what it sounded like, they kept adding books to the Sergeants exam. I wouldn't be surprised if Lucy recorded ALL of them for Tim. I think there is when the attraction started. He was fond of her, yes, but attracted to her started here in my opinion.

Day of Death is really when I think he woke up even more (not all, but more). Tim was essentially crying that it was his fault that Lucy was taken. He went no holds barred to find her. He even crossed a few lines (smashing a suspect's head against a steering wheel isn't good). I think he realized here that "he couldn't lose her", as in he wouldn't survive if Lucy didn't make it. If Lucy didn't make it (hypothetically), I would assume that Tim would hit rock bottom. That's how important she is to him. But, he couldn't do anything since she was still his rookie. Then we add the whole "fake" confession thing on top of it.

3x14 and 4x01 is where we really started to see the shift. Tim asked Lucy to save him a dance! By this point, I think he was fully aware of what he felt for Lucy. But, due to the whole "fake" confession thing, he's unsure of whether Lucy feels the same way.

4x01 was where things could have changed. But, we had Jackson's murder and Angela's kidnapping. Those affected things. Tim wanted to kiss her after the hug in 4x01. But, being the man of honor he is, he would see it as taking advantage of Lucy in my opinion. Due to everything (the "fake" confession, the kidnapping and murder and Lucy's grief), Tim brushed it off like Lucy most likely due to timing AND the fact that he doesn't know how she feels. Lucy has given him no indication that she has feelings for him.

Due to all these circumstances, Tim thinks that Lucy doesn't have feelings for him. He probably also has some remnants of "I can't feel this way for her, she was my rookie and is now my aide". But, what Tim hasn't realized yet is that running from your feelings is never a good idea.

Tim could very well think that he's not good enough for Lucy either. He could think that Lucy deserves better than him. Lucy in his eyes most likely comes off as pure sunshine who deserves to be happy. Remember those things above? It very well could be that Tim is wondering "it's impossible that she has feelings for me. I'm no one special. I'm an jaded cop that is ex military that has too much baggage. Plus, she pulled the confession prank" That could also play a part in why he is running right now. He doesn't think that Lucy is a possibility for him. Much like Lucy thinks that Tim isn’t a possibility for her.

Then we get to the realistic obstacles. Tim is her boss essentially. Tim has also been married before to another cop. He may be hesitant to even consider getting involved with another cop because of Isabel. There's also Lucy's career. Tim won't be affected much if he and Lucy figure it out. Lucy would be though. Tim might also be holding back as to spare her from the stigma. When they get together, it's basically a guarantee that some people outside their friend circle will question if Lucy slept her way through passing the FTO Program and slept her way into being Tim's aide. We know she didn't. Others might not be so kind. That could also be contributing to the running.

Due to the fact that he is running, we get to Ashley. Ashley is purely a distraction for him since in his mind, he's going to go look for second best because how could Lucy have feelings for him, there is all those obstacles and there's the fact that he thinks he might not be good enough for her. Ashley in his mind is a possibility. She's not a subordinate to him, she's not a cop, and there's a lot less strings with Ashley than there would be with Lucy. She's safe. He very well could be starting to realize that Ashley isn't the best choice for him, but he's being safe. But, Tim isn't going to stop living his life while Lucy figures out her feelings for him. That's unrealistic. So, he's going to try with Ashley even though it will fail.

For him, I think it would take Lucy actually confessing and meaning it to give him that final push and to take the risk. He won't make a move until Lucy does in my opinion. Once Lucy makes her move, then Tim will follow.

[fighterkimburgess]

Lover Chapter 14 - You Need To Calm Down

Summary: Chapter 14/18 - With Jay preparing for his Sergeant’s exam, Hailey takes the lead on a case involving the 27th, and decides once and for all to stop the crap from them. Series Masterlist Here

Words: 1.2k

Warnings: Canon typical case information, fade to black, truckstead makeouts

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Another day, another case dealing with Robbery Homicide. This time Intelligence was taking the lead, and Hailey had no qualms about putting her former team back in their place. She’d realised that she was damn good at her job, and she wouldn’t be in Intelligence if they didn’t believe she could do it. She ignored the shots they took at her, focusing on the case and what they could do to solve it and put this maniac behind bars.

They’d been pulled in because CPD families were being attacked at gunpoint, robbed, and the non cop members of the families were being killed in cold blood. The brass were up in arms, and no cop in Chicago was sleeping easily. They all had one eye open, and with everything that was going on it was the first time Voight was glad his unit had coupled up.

Jay was working on his Sergeant’s exam so Hailey was taking the lead, the three newly minted detectives in the unit following her lead and helping with the paperwork. They ran the case like clockwork, refusing to let anyone from RH into the bullpen. Instead Kim or Kev would go with Vanessa to the 27th, passing over whatever information she deemed relevant. It all went through Voight, but Hailey knew he wanted this kept as in house as possible.

They’d finally worked out that every cop whose family had been killed was at one point or another a member of RH in the 27th, putting a chill down Hailey’s spine. She could be a target. Putting it out of her head she grabbed the files, taking Adam with her to go and tell them what they’d discovered.

In a move that shocked precisely none of Intelligence, the entire RH team was convinced she was overreacting.

“Look, Upton, you need to calm down. This isn’t some asshole looking for us. Why would it be? Detective Ruzek, you don’t actually agree with her, do you?” Her blood flared at the casual lack of use of her title, but she held her temper in check.

“Actually? I agree with Detective Upton. She’s a damn good one, and if she says y’all are in danger, then you’re in danger. Maybe you need to calm down and stop being so loud, and look at what the evidence is actually telling you? Or we can go to our Sarge and tell him that you’re ignoring what we’ve said, and it’s better for us to just keep this fully in house. It’s your call.”

She watched as the officers around the room stilled, hating that it took Adam to get that reaction but glad that he was there to back her up, that they’d remained friends through it all. Finally they agreed to the bait plan that she and Voight had come up with, and they went for it.

Kim and Adam were temporarily assigned to RH, the newly engaged pair posing as a young married cop couple who were so deeply in love and had an animatronic baby to sweeten the deal. Vanessa was UC as their live in nanny, and they hoped it’d give them the break they were looking for. Hailey wasn’t delighted that she’d had to put them under, but it should help. She hoped.

It was when Hailey and Kev were on a stakeout down the block from the house that the ring struck, and it was immediately called in. It took longer than she’d like for everything to wrap, but in the end the murderers were apprehended, and her team was safe. She and Kev brought them to the 21st, ignoring the demands from Devlin to go to the 27th. Instead she did as Voight instructed, leaving them in lockup while she waited for the ASA to arrive.

It took ten minutes for Devlin to arrive, screaming down the lobby of the precinct that he wanted Hailey’s badge and gun for disobeying a direct order, that she should be a beat cop and it was all she was good for. Voight put a hand on her shoulder as he went downstairs, and she followed, determined to not let anybody else fight her battles. She belonged in this unit. She deserved her spot. And no jumped up sergeant who’d never believed in her was going to take it from her.

When they arrived downstairs Devlin went into his speel about how she didn’t deserve her job and should never have been promoted, working himself up until he was red in the face. Finally Hailey had enough.

“Devlin, you need to calm down. You’re being too loud,” she said monotone, reusing his words on her from the week before. “This case had been given to Intelligence, and as a courtesy we kept the RH team from the 27th informed about what was happening. But this was an Intelligence case, with Intelligence members running it. Our assist was from SWAT, not RH. The only thing your team and your precinct had to do with it was you were the ones being targeted.” She watched as his face turned puce, but as he opened his mouth she cut in.

“This was our case, played by our rules. If you don’t like it that’s fine, but that’s how this happens. Stop making a show of yourself in a different precinct. Go home. Hug your kids. Be glad you’re not one of the officers with a dead family, and be grateful that we caught the assholes who did this to them.” She stared stonily at the taller man, whose gaze went from Voight to Platt and back again, expecting them to back him up against her. But instead they stayed quiet, staring at him until he had no choice but to leave the precinct.

Voight went straight back upstairs, but Hailey stood there to let herself deflate for a moment. It was one of the scariest things she had done - and she’d admitted she loved Jay. But she’d stood up for herself at last against the man who she had been so afraid of for so long, and it felt really good. As she turned to go upstairs Trudy stopped her.

“Goldilocks?” Hailey turned to look. “That was a beautiful takedown. I should have filmed it.” She smiled at the rare compliment from the desk sergeant before going back up. As soon as she made it to her desk Jay smiled at her, rubbing his foot against her own.

It was an hour later that Voight told them all to go home. It was late, they’d had a long day and the paperwork would be there in the morning. He’d wait for the ASA to appear. She and Jay linked hands as they walked out the back door of the precinct, getting into his truck. Once they were in there he cupped her head with his hands, pulling her in for a kiss. One kiss led to two which led to a make out session that quickly became heated in the cab of the truck, the world outside ignored. They were interrupted by Hailey’s phone buzzing with texts. When she separated and looked at it, it was Kim telling her that everyone could see them and they needed to stop.

Finally they made it back to Jay’s half packed up apartment, trading hungry kisses on the way to his door. As they got inside he pushed her against the wall, murmuring in her ear “That was the hottest thing I ever heard. You. Are. Amazing.”. And Hailey kissed him back, letting him lift her up and carry her to his bed.

Chapter 15>>

Taglist: @abbyscameron @amazingbutterflyes @chicagoames @blonde-freckles @morganupstead @brookerz122493 @mnt2live4more @redpoodlern @alkadri-layal @stephanie708 @tuxieboy101-blog @thelittlepterophyllum @planecrazylex @bluecrush129 @rawgiel @milahs @gsophie43 @angelsjedi @onechicago18

[ladyeliot]

Do it.

Request: @imerdwarf​  : Hi my dear friend ❤️ I was wondering if I could send in a small request? 🥺 a friends to lovers with Bucky - reader has loved him for a long time but he’s always with other girls and just feels like he doesn’t like her that way but it isn’t until she starts crying he learns the truth? 🥺 your writing is amazing and I’m glad to have found your blog ❤️

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader (40s)

Warning: Fluff, fluff, fluff and maybe sad.

Word count: 2243

Notes:  Sorry for my spelling and grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language, I am learning.

New York City, 1943

The clarity with which you heard the words that came out of the radio distressed you. There wasn't much good news coming from across the ocean, but you knew that's where you wanted to be. The courage of the many soldiers who passed through your hands encouraged and comforted you, they had hope, everything that was needed in those times. Your main task was to vaccinate and check that each and every soldier who went to war was in good physical condition. There were many times when you had to refuse their permission, and you watched as frustration set in.

But things changed when a loved one came before you to give your approval of their good physical health. Bucky Barnes was more than a Sergeant in the United States Army, he was your friend and confidant for a couple of years when Bucky showed up at the medical centre after becoming the third YMCA welterweight boxing champion. From that moment on you both discovered that you had many things in common, and perhaps it was because of that and the constant casual coincidences you had over the next few months that you became good friends.

"Done," the curtain that separated your cubicle from another nurse's cubicle opened, letting a smiling Bucky through.

You jumped up suddenly when you saw how he had snuck into that place, and the soldier you were poking at the top of his buttock was surprised too. But Bucky didn't seem to mind.

"What are you doing here?" you asked, offering the soldier cotton wool with alcohol.

"I've just had my destiny confirmed" Bucky picked up a series of confidential papers, which he shouldn't show you.

The soldier you were vaccinating reluctantly left by pulling up his trousers, and Bucky took the seat he had left on the stretcher. You took the papers he was offering you and discovered that first thing tomorrow morning he would be leaving for Europe. His departure took you somewhat by surprise, as you at least expected him not to leave until September, but he was determined. He was leaving tomorrow and you still hadn't received your assignment orders, even though your application had been sent for months.

"So you're leaving first thing tomorrow morning for London," you confirm by looking at the documents.

With every gesture on his face, Bucky showed that happiness and pride you were used to seeing in each of your patients. It was clear that there was nothing better than news like that to cheer up the American people, their courageous men and women fighting for their country.

"Well, what do you plan to do on your last night of freedom, Sergeant?" Your question had a specific purpose, to discover Bucky's priorities, among which you clearly knew was his best friend, Steve Rogers.

James took the papers again from your hands and got up from the stretcher practically in one jump.

"Enjoy this wonderful city and its pleasures," he said cheerfully. "Tonight I have a double date with Steve, we'll take Connie and Bonnie to Stark Expo and then dance.

You arched one eyebrow smiling at the plan he had just proposed, the smile was not really the best expression to show your feelings, but it was perfect to hide them. You were not prone to show your affection in front of the people you loved, maybe that's why you accepted to dedicate yourself to nursing, you preferred to show your affection with strangers. That and running away from your small town.

"So, a double date? That sounds wonderful."

As Bucky played with the papers in his hands you wondered whether you should say goodbye to him now, whether that would be the last time you would see him before he left first thing the next day, and whether you would not see him again until the war was over and everyone returned home, if he survived.

"So... is this goodbye?" you asked with a sour smile.

Just as Bucky was about to take the step and respond, the white curtain opened showing a young private waiting to be vaccinated. Bucky showing his stripes informed him to wait a moment.

"Of course, Sergeant."

Just as the private had disappeared again, Bucky resumed the conversation.

"I think so, this is goodbye," Bucky kept the papers. "Goodbyes... I'm not very good at them."

"Don't worry, Sergeant," you said, looking at his blue eyes as you leaned on the stretcher. "You just focus on being good at what matters, and come back safe and sound."

"Of course ma'am," Bucky gave you one last smile before disappearing through the curtain and informing the soldier that he could pass.

The rest of tomorrow you functioned as if you were part of an assembly line, soldiers and vaccines, vaccines and soldiers, your mind was lost elsewhere, wandering between various thoughts. Practically all your friendships were thousands of miles away from you, you only knew about them through a few lines that came to you with every correspondence at the beginning of the month. Your life was becoming a nuisance, and now he was leaving too. You wanted to be there, in the front line if necessary, to help, even if you regretted it every day later. That situation was frustrating.

With the sunset you started to pick up your belongings, there was nothing more you could do for today, just take off your uniform and go home to sit on the couch while you kept your mind distracted listening to the radio. The girls were going out that night to dance with a lieutenant and his mates, but you just needed a bit of calm.

The number five bus soon passed, and after crossing the Manhattan bridge you were on your way back to Brooklyn. You were living in a small rented flat in North Brooklyn, and every night when you arrived Mrs. Ferris would come over to say good night to you, although you knew that she just wanted to check that you didn't have a companion, as the rental contract forbade it.

"Good evening, Mrs. Ferris," you said as you walked up the stairs to the first floor. "Have a nice evening."

After having said your farewell, as always, you went into the house and prepared to open the window of the living room, just to listen to the atmosphere of the neighbourhood and to discover that you were not alone in that place. The radio news had finished and a Harry James song "I've Heard That Song Before" began to play, a song that made you think of Bucky and that at that very moment he would be dancing with Connie or Bonnie, or maybe both. You couldn't blame him for anything, in the first place he didn't know your feelings, and secondly first thing tomorrow morning he would be going off on the most dangerous adventure of his life, surely if you were in his position you would have done the same.

You stood silently by the window frame, listening to the sweet melody coming from the radio and contemplating all the windows lit in the buildings opposite. It took you longer than usual to realize that someone on the pavement, just below your window, was calling your attention, because you were transfixed by the Brooklyn night.

"What the hell are you doing here, Bucky?" The tone of surprise came in your words, but it was so faint that I probably wouldn't have heard you.

Bucky pointed to the front door of the building, emphasizing that he wanted you to let him in. You shook your head quickly, it was impossible for Bucky to get up to your house without Mrs. Ferris noticing. Your friend made a nagging gesture, but quickly indicated that you should go down to the street, where he was. With a charming smile he waited for your answer, and you no doubt pleased him by coming down quickly.

"I hope you're not late, Miss Y/S/N," Mrs. Ferris quickly opened the door. "And if you do, take off your shoes to go up the stairs."

"Of course, Mrs. Ferris, enjoy the evening."

With a little chuckle you opened the front door of the building and found Sergeant Barnes waiting for you at the entrance.

"What are you doing here?" you said with a scowl. "I thought you were in some bar in Queens dancing until dawn before a ship takes you to England."

"Well, let's say Steve has left and it's my turn to take care of the two ladies," he said, taking off his cap.

"Can't Sergeant Barnes handle two ladies?" Your mischief came out, if Mrs. Ferris had heard such a comment she would have kicked you to the curb, but Bucky was used to it.

Bucky did not respond, he just smiled and put his cap back on completing his uniform again.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" you asked when you realized that the conversation was limited.

"Please," he said, raising his hand to get you started.

You knew that neighbourhood perfectly, you had lived there since you moved to New York, and you had walked those streets day after day. As if you were taking an exam, you were trying to answer the question: Why did Bucky suddenly appear that night? Maybe it was true, Steve had left and didn't want to be with two young ladies. "Really?" you thought to yourself, it was James Barnes, he would have been thrilled with that situation.

"Have you received the answer to the relocation request today?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Not yet," you said with regret in your voice. "I hope to receive it next week, I wouldn't like to stay another month in New York.

The lampposts opened past you on your night out, there was practically no one there except those groups of young people who were returning to their homes.

"You're looking forward to going to the frontline," he said, placing his hands behind him and looking ahead.

"Aren’t you?" you smiled melancholyly, staring at him. "It's not me who's leaving tomorrow."

Bucky kept walking as he looked straight ahead.

"You know," you started. "Maybe it's stupid, but I feel like my work here is useless. I became a nurse three years ago to escape that Missouri town and see the world, and I enlisted in the army nursing corps to serve my country and do something worthwhile in my life. But I've been doing medical examinations on soldiers and giving injections for three years.”

You did not know at what moment you stopped, but you were in the middle of an alleyway illuminated only by a pair of street lights. Bucky was watching you carefully as you let your thoughts flow. 

"Practically everyone I know is struggling somewhere in the remote world, and I feel like I'm stuck and can't do anything to help," your mind went fast as your hands tried to express how you felt. "And tomorrow you're going thousands of miles away too and I'll still be here, getting up like I do every morning and giving medical check-ups to people who may not be with us for months.”

Your eyes became watery as you spoke. Finally you looked up from the floor and discovered that Bucky was looking serious as he listened to you, his expression made you nervous.

"I know, it's stupid," you quickly wiped away the tear that was going to fall down your throat by looking away and biting your tongue hard.

"No," Bucky denied with his face removing his cap. "Nothing you just said is stupid."

At the time you were a little embarrassed to have exposed how you felt, but your companion's reaction made you realise that he had hidden feelings too, and was not very likely to expose them either. Bucky raised his hand slowly, as if afraid of scaring you, and stroked your cheek. His caress made you shudder; it was so delicate that you closed your eyes to enjoy the time it lasted.

"You're looking forward to war," he whispered, staring into your eyes. "And I'm wishing you wouldn't."

You felt those words inside you too, they were a clear reflection of what you wanted, you didn't want him to go to the front tomorrow either.

"I'd kiss you right now," he whispered, focusing his gaze on your lips.

"Do it."

As if it were an order from a superior, Bucky accepted it and quickly shortened the distance between your lips. You had wanted to live that moment so many times and now it was happening, a few hours before his departure, and that was reflected in the need for that kiss. Your lips were opening up to each other, causing a more agitated breathing. It did not matter to you if someone was passing by or a curious person was watching through a window, it was your moment.

It was not until you parted that you discovered the fear you both felt within yourselves, the fear of not seeing each other again, and this was present in the kisses you gave each other until dawn.

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[buckypcrker]

mission as usual // i love y'all 3000 challenge

hi everyone! this is a submission for @pagesoflauren's i love y'all 3000 challenge. i saw this come up on my dash and figured i would do a prompt (or two, maybe). i haven't written anything in quite a bit, and the inspiration may as well have slapped me in the face. here is the link to her original post!

pairing: Clint Barton x James "Bucky" Barnes [WinterHawk]

warnings: hurt/comfort, possible fluff overload, typical canon violence

prompt: "Who did this to you?"

word count: 1.5k

Mission As Usual

After most Avengers missions the tower became chaotic. The brisk footfalls of new agents discussing upcoming missions. Stark's R&D engineers tweaking and updating weapons and transportation vehicles. The medical staff taking care of patients and preparing for those who would be coming from other missions.

You could say that the Avengers were a kind of group who believed in self-sacrifice — even if it was a subconscious effort — and the worst of the bunch had to be one-Clint Barton.

Clint had this streak of consecutive medical visits post-mission going — he was currently weighing in at 62, and that's not counting the various clumsy accidents he gets into in the tower.

But the only problem he truly faced was getting past his mother-hen of a boyfriend. Bucky meant well, truly. He just can't help it when he gets his Sargent voice going and telling Clint to "be more careful".

"He was like this with me when we were kids", Steve had laughed, "glad to see that hasn't changed."

The only difference is Steve Rogers was the most sickly kid in all of Brooklyn, hell, all of New York and Clint was just a huge, self-sacrificing klutz.

Missions with just himself and Natasha were rare nowadays. They hung out all the time in the tower regardless, but there was nothing quite as special when they got to team up against HYDRA or former members of the Red Room.

Half the time that they were out in the field they were back to back watching each other's six. Clint's bow always drawn tight with an arrow and Natasha's batons buzzing in her hands. No one worked quite as in sync as the two of them, well, unless you look at Steve and Sam Wilson.

Their mission this time was tracking down a rogue HYDRA agent who escaped their grasp during their last roll in the mud with the whole team. Seemed simple enough. In, out, get the guy, interrogate, and have time to catch a new episode of The Blacklist.

As most injuries to the Avengers happen, one minute Clint was in a Mexican stand off with the HYDRA agent, Natasha coming up from behind, and the next his face was slammed down onto the asphalt.

His ears were ringing, head throbbing. There's another one, he must've called backup. Clint slowly pushed himself up to his knee, blood trickling down his temple. He flung his head around, seeing his attacker coming back for another blow.

Clint ducked under his leg that was out to kick him and snatched a knife from his boot, swiping at the back of the man's knee. A hiss sounds above him as the agent joins Clint on his knees, slamming his knee hard into his stomach.

All of the air that was in his lungs rushes out, and he's sitting hunched over, suffocating, and trying to regain his breath. "I'm supposed to be watching Nat's six", he thinks.

He finally returns to his feet, wheezing but breathing better than he was. His and Nat's grunts are heard as they continue to fight the HYDRA agents. In due time, Clint knocks out the agent by kneeing him in the head and Nat had apprehended the other.

"Alright Squad Four come in for clean up." Nat says briskly into comms.

Two quinjets land, and suddenly the steps Clint needs to take to get to them seem so impossible. Thankfully, Natasha comes up next to him and helps him to bear his own weight. Bless her and her red head.

A few SHIELD agents rush out of the first quinjet armed and with handcuffs to apprehend the HYDRA agents. The second one that Nat leads him towards has a pilot and a few medical techs to give them a basic once over before Bruce and Dr. Cho can get to them at the tower.

The flight from their mission site to the tower pass by in a total blur. Clint is fading in and out of consciousness, his head is throbbing, and everything hurts.

"Mr. Barton, sorry to interrupt," one of the med techs signs, "your hearing aids were damaged during the fight, Mr. Stark is going to have to make some new ones for you."

"Aw hearing aids, no." Clint says slurred and he knows he's a bit loud due to not being able to hear himself.

Landing at the tower winds up being more of an affair than usual. With Clint's lack of hearing, he had no clue what was happening. Lips were impossible to read as hurried conversations occurred around him.

Of course, Bruce and Dr. Cho tried to gang up on him and force him onto a gurney, hell, at least a wheelchair to wheel him to an exam room. As the sharpshooter does, he makes a big stink with slurred words and glassy eyes.

Natasha had pushed him into a wheelchair anyway.

Clint really just wanted to crawl into a vent and hide until he felt better — and maybe pop a few ibuprofen tablets too. But there he was, post-checkup with Bruce, sitting on the counter in the communal kitchen.

As with most of Clint's now 63 consecutive medical visits, bandaids were on multiple parts of his face. He was also sporting some nice bruises on his stomach and temple where his head had been slammed into the ground.

He looked and felt like he was hit by a truck filled with 17 elephants, and then ran over by a train. Ok, maybe he was getting a bit dramatic now.

Nonetheless, he was sitting with Natasha, Tony, and Peter — this new spider-child that he swears Tony picked up off the street and he has to stop calling him 'Mr. Hawkeye, sir'. His injuries were on full display, only because after having to cut Clint's shirt off to give him that once over Bruce didn't even want to try and get a shirt back on the poor man.

"You know, I know I'm an asshole, but you look like shit, Legolas." Tony snarks as his hands move quickly.

"Thanks, Tony. You are so sweet to get me a glass of water." Clint pulled this master guilt-tripping look that always got to Tony and like their game always goes, the short man retrieved what Clint wanted.

And that sure put a large grin on his face. Ow, it hurt... damn bruises. It also helped when he saw Peter laughing and the shaking of Nat's head as she sipped from a wine glass.

Everything was finally settling down, and as he got sucked into a tough game of Angry Birds on his phone, he was stunned at the sudden movements in his periphery.

Looking up — and completely missing his shot with the bird that was simultaneously a bomb — he saw Bucky rushing at him, pressing into his space between his legs. Words were tumbling out of his mouth but Clint couldn't begin to comprehend them. Too much, too fast.

"Buck, no aids, they broke." Clint signs quickly.

He watches Bucky's face change from concerned and kicked puppy to an angry scowl and back in two seconds. His metal hand reaches to cup Clint's cheek, the archer immediately pressing into his hold.

"Who did this to you?" Bucky signs with his other hand, face serious.

"HYDRA agent. Thought there was one, turns out it was two." Clint sighs in exhaustion.

Clint watches as his boyfriend looks him over, grimacing at the bruising and the bandages covering him. He knows Bucky worries when he goes on missions without having him as a backup, and this just further proved that.

He watches as Bucky turns to Tony and say something, but Clint doesn't bother to try and follow along to the conversation. He looks to Steve and Sam, both dressed in their running gear, the sweat on their brows, and they share a knowing look.

Clint was about to be put on bed arrest by one Bucky Barnes. So much to his plan of hiding out in the vents.

He watches Sam mouth 'Buck, overreacting again', and shakes his head with a fond smile. As much of a pain he was when Clint was hurt, he found it very endearing. At times when Clint had been injured way worse, Bucky had helped him into a warm bath to soothe his aches and pains, massaging his scalp, and rambling to him about his day.

Bucky taps Clint's knee twice, their signal to pay attention so they can see each other signing, he looks up into his steely blue eyes and catches a small smile on his face.

"How many now?" Bucky signs with a smirk.

"63, and counting!"

"Stop that Clint Frances."

"You did not just middle name me."

"Hm, whatcha gon' do about it doll?" Bucky smirks, signing something vaguely inappropriate as their friends had cleared out the room to give them privacy.

"Nothing. Although, I could use some good ole Bucky-bear cuddles." Clint smiled softly, looking at his boyfriend lovingly.

"Of course, I'm always going to take care of you. No matter what."

Even with Bucky's overprotective nature, Clint still couldn't help but blush at the affection from his boyfriend. He knew he still had to face the upcoming Sergeant speech, but in that moment, nothing else really mattered as he sat in Bucky's arms.

[rahleeyah]

Following on from here; what happens when Jennifer Mapplethorpe meets Olivia Benson:

Jen keeps her gaze straight ahead as she leads Detective Benson to the breakroom. Truthfully, she doesn't know what to make of these NYPD detectives. They've only just arrived, it's too soon to be making snap judgments, but Jen is a copper, and that means she has developed a certain knack for reading people. The Americans, there's something...grim, about them. They're both attractive, fit, early forties, maybe, but their eyes are hard. They're both wearing blue jeans, which Jen wasn't expecting - the state police have a dress code for detectives and it doesn't include blue jeans and t-shirts - and they both move like they've got guns at their hips, even though they won't be allowed to carry while they're here. They seem to know one another well; they move together, and Benson called her partner El, and Jen didn't miss the unspoken look that seemed to pass between them.

That's the part she doesn't understand. What passed between them when Benson volunteered to fetch the coffee. Jen gets the feeling that Benson isn't subordinate, isn't going to get the coffee bc she's the woman and that's her role. Something else motivated her to walk into the breakroom alone with Jen, and that's.. interesting.

The second they stepped off the lifts Benson's eyes found Jen and something...very strange happened, then. She'd found herself caught, for a moment, trapped by those big brown eyes, by the way they traveled over Jen, appreciatively. She isn't used to getting that look from women, and certainly not from a woman who looks like that. Benson is tall, and her hair is shiny and dark, and she looks like...not a model, not waif thin like that. She's curved like an hourglass and she moves with an easy confidence, and Jen can hardly take her eyes off her. It's never been like that for her, before; she's never been this shocked by another woman's beauty. But then, she's pretty sure she's never met anyone like Olivia Benson.

"it only makes one cup at a time," Jen tells her as she leads Benson over to the coffee maker. "Sorry."

"that's fine," Benson tells her with an easy smile. "I'm in no hurry. Show me what to do."

So Jen does, points her to the cups and the coffee and the tap, and then the first batch is percolating and there's nothing to do but wait.

"how was the flight?" Jen asks. She doesn't really know what else to say.

"long," Benson tells her dryly. "He's been in a shit mood since we boarded."

Jen nods. Stabler did look a bit out of sorts.

"how long have you been working together?"

Benson is leaning casually back against the counter, and the position she's assumed highlights the swell of her breasts, the curve of her hips, in a way that makes Jen nervous. It's almost like a challenge, Benson's beauty. Like she knows exactly how she looks, and rather than trying to hide it, she's daring Jen to do something about it.

"twelve years."

Jen looks up at her sharply; that's a hell of a long time. That's three times as long as Jen's been in homicide. That's longer than Bernice Waverley's marriage.

"is that normal in New York?" She asks. "I don't think anybody here has been working together that long."

Benson shifts a little, looks away. Almost, Jen thinks, like she feels guilty about something.

"no," Benson tells her. "most partners don't stay together that long. Especially in svu."

SVU, Jen has learned, means sex crimes. She can't imagine doing that job, day in, day out, and especially not with a brooding, aggressive-looking man standing beside her.

"you must get on well," Jen muses.

"we understand each other," Benson says with a shrug. "What about you, you been in homicide long?"

The first cup of coffee is done. Benson takes it off the machine, loads it up with sugar, sets it to the side, and preps the next cup. The movements of her hands are deft, easy. Christ, even the woman's hands are beautiful.

"about four years," Jen says. "I always wanted to be in homicide but it's not easy to get in. Everyone wants to be a homicide copper."

"everyone?" Benson asks, and Jen realizes her mistake too late. But there's a smile tugging at the corner of Benson's full lips, and it makes Jen feel comfortable and nervous at the same time.

"did you always want to be in svu?" Jen asks.

Benson looks away, again. She doesn't look guilty this time. There's a flash of something like grief in her eyes and she's trying to hide it, and Jen wishes she wouldn't. Jen wants to know what put that pain there.

"yeah," Benson says. "I can't imagine doing anything else."

What would it be like, Jen wonders, to have that kind of faith? To be that dedicated. Disinterested in advancement, focused only on the crusade. Jen loves her work of course she does, and she wants to help, but she's also not planning to stay in homicide forever. She's already studying for the sergeant's exam. She wants to move up the ranks. She wants to move her career forward. Benson, though...Benson is fighting a war. There's something admirable about that.

"must be hard," Jen says.

"some days it is," Benson allows soberly. "Some days..." Her voice trails off, and she gives her head a little shake, and her hair tumbles around her shoulders like a waterfall. "but I don't do it for me. Or not just for me. I do it for them. Someone has to."

She's a goddamn crusader.

The second cup of coffee is done and so Benson reaches for it. No sugar in that one. She picks up the mugs, and she and Jen go back to rejoin the boys together. When they reach the desks Benson hands Stabler the cup with all the sugar in it. She does it silently, and he takes it without looking at her. Their movements are reflexive, as if they are long accustomed to doing this dance together. She knows how he takes his coffee and they know how to interact without interrupting whatever's happening around them. He shifts to the left and Benson comes to a stop at his right, and their shoulders are almost touching. Jen watches, wondering if they know how they telegraph their connection to one another. How they seem drawn together, even when they're not addressing one another. Nick is explaining about the case they're investigating and Benson and Stabler are sipping their coffee, listening intently, and they've both got their heads cocked towards one another. His t shirt is black, drawn tight across his heavy shoulders, and hers is white, drawn tight across her breasts but following loose beneath them, and they've both got their sunglasses pushed back on their heads, and there's something almost symmetrical about them. Complimentary. Like they're a matched set.

"right, you lot," Wolfie calls out from behind them.

Stabler and Benson, their heads swivel to the left together, and then their bodies turn in perfect unison to face him. Like a dance. A dance they've done before. Jen wonders if they know they do that, too.

"Senior Sergeant Stanley Wolfe," he introduces himself, and Stabler reaches for his hand.

"Benson," he says, pointing to his partner. "and Stabler."

"welcome aboard," Wolfie says grimly. "Briefing room," he adds, addressing all of them. "Let's bring our new friends up to speed."

[annapogorilayas]

LoD season 4 rewatch Thoughts

there is surprisingly little complaining about the trajectory of the writing in this one lmao. this season was fun! the kate vs steve stuff has its own section at the end

jason watkins is such an underrated actor and it's a shame we only got him for one episode :(

everything about kate vs buckells is hilarious in light of recent events

i don't think it's ever made clear why tim tried to get hana to visit his flat/why he went to her flat to have sex with her? i think that's the only red herring this season that didn't quite make sense

kate worked with buckells and hilton at the same time back in S1, and yet she isn't worried at all about hilton recognising her when he walks into the office in 4x02... even though they had a whole conversation in 1x01 where he addresses her by name! there's no way he doesn't remember the woman who threw a fire extinguisher through a DCI's door?

again, the whole "buckells is a blundering fool" angle had not quite taken off yet. he's a bit flustered when ted confronts him in the alley, and he's clearly ~one of the lads~ but other than that there's nothing to suggest he's an idiot.

buckells clearly didn't get the memo about michael farmer being balaclava man. i'm not against show writers making it up as they go along (this essay makes a good case for not planning too far ahead), and i do think he was the one who left roz the "someone is watching you" note, but if hilton appointed him SIO of trapdoor to keep the investigation on michael farmer he doesn't do the best job - he keeps pointing out evidence that supports michael farmer's innocence!

steve and kate take a backseat in 4x04 and yet it's my favourite post-S3 episode! the scene where roz turns the interview on ted is one of my favourite interview scenes and definitely my favourite post-S3.

the nerve of ted and kate to drag buckells into his office for "blowing kate's undercover" when she's clearly just... bad at keeping her cover

i think the roz-tim murder plotline could've been more interesting if we hadn't seen their fight. like maybe if we'd just seen roz walking into tim's flat? then again i could be biased because i thought the ending to 4x01 was ridiculous

this season had its silly moments, and it was the start of the H storyline which i think was the downfall of the show, but overall it holds up better than i remember? almost all of the red herrings actually go somewhere/make sense in hindsight (except for the tim/hana thing). this was also the last season before the dialogue, particularly ted's, slid into self-parody. that being said, i think jamie's character could've been better developed.

the kate vs steve subplot

kate and steve spend the first two and a half episodes bickering. steve seems to have a problem with her promotion (why tho?), and she makes a jab at him about lindsay (fair enough, but it sort of came out of nowhere). it goes as far as steve accusing kate of colluding in the framing of michael farmer! it seems like it's heading somewhere, when i first watched i thought it would culminate in a massive come-to-jesus fight... and then kate brings him a lamb madras and suddenly they're fine, with no acknowledgement of why they were fighting or what the problem was?

i'm not sure if J*d wanted us to make a link between the sexism subplot and the bickering; did he want us to think that kate thinks steve is sexist? or that steve actually is sexist and can't handle his female partner being of equal rank to him, even though in the previous three seasons steve never pulls rank on kate and they treat each other like equals? in fact, if you watched S1-3 without knowing what ranks they are you probably wouldn't know that steve was kate's superior. and when he finds out she passed her inspector's exam, he is genuinely happy for her?

the scene where ted and steve meet in the pub to discuss his promotion (an opportunity he denied kate) reminded me of S1, where tony gates decides whether kate is fit to be on his team based on how well she fits in at a drink with the lads. (i don't think ted was wrong to not want to have a drink with kate - he does have a point about what people might think - but it was a dick move to then go with steve)

who deserved the promotion? on one hand, steve had much more experience as a sergeant than kate, who had probably only been sergeant for ~1 year; that's a perfectly legit reason to pick steve. i also don't think that identifying the caddy should make kate a slam dunk - solving one case doesn't necessarily make someone better leadership material. however, steve has done something to earn a bollocking off ted about once a season at this point (going rogue in S1, the nurse in S2, lindsay in S3) while as far as ted knows, kate is always on her best behaviour (he doesn't know about rich akers).

this line from the script made me chuckle. you and me both, steve.