#this might be a bit oc for him to cry in front of Charles but I think the adjustment period after his escape must have been pretty rough

[leahaart]

Soon after his escape, Edwin starts to learn about the things he’s missed.

[12-seconds-to-live]

(Un)Lost: Head in the game

Pairing: F12022/3!Grid! x Fem!Driver!oc

Warnings: DNF’s, angst, a little bit of love, episodes of anxiety, Seb’s retirement, harsh words.

Pierre Gasly was curious.

No.

Pierre Gasly is the first source of gossip.

To put you into context, after the chaos coming from every garage after finished the FP2, the frechman put himself, Yuki and Charles to take a decent look into Charlottle Robyn-Jones. Neither Yuki or Charles knew where he found binoculars. In front of the Williams hospitality is the Alpha Tauri, so it’s easy to them to get the perfect spot to know everything. Almost

“I don’t like doing this Pierre. Anybody can see us. I mean... I don’t want Carlos to lecture me” started Charles

“Nobody is going to see you my friend, however, nobody can figure it out that I’m even looking into Williams” 

“You’re stupid. Your face is almost at the front of the building” said Yuki rolling his eyes. “I’m going for a snack at the hotel. Bye”

“Bye Yukino. Well Charles... You and me now” As Pierre directed the binoculars something blue blocked his spy activities.

“Having fun, don’t you?”

“Oh hey Charlotte, just looking for Red Bull secrets, you know, they are so dominant”

“Dominant?” I crossed my arms

“Yeah, Max’s the current champion and everybody’s need to learn something about being good at every race” He stand up in front of me and looking for someone. Funny thing: Red Bull’s hospitality is on the other side of the paddock.

“Well, you better start looking into other teams secrets, Gasly. Not mine, you might get scared” I winked at Pierre and with my bag in my left shoulder, I walked to my motorhome.

“At least tell me one of them!”

After Bahrain madness, as many newspapers and almost every F1 fan acknowledge, Williams started with the right foot this season. Alex and I were as happy as ever, we cannot celebrate after the race due alcohol restrictions but back in London, Lily had to deal with the drunk buddies. At least she wasn’t mad with us for being in that state, a few days later she texted me how happy she is, ‘cause Alex is.

Anyway

Back to the important stuff. 

Right now, where a bit far of the season, 9 pm and I’m waiting for Carlos, Carlos Sainz, Grand Prix winner in Silverstone. I had the chance to share the podium with him and Max. A dream come to true for both of us. His media duties and celebrations with the team last most that expected and who can’t blame them. He boy deserves it. 

But, to the other main point here, the last few races has been incredible for Williams, right now we are in the top of the standings with Red Bull two points behind, in both drivers and constructors. For being my first season is great but at the same thing, it has a lot of pressure to acomplish a lot of things in my rookie season, don’t get me wrong, I’m the type who spend almost half and hour for different points of views of the fans. I’m a good driver, but I’m a woman, I’m too good for this team or I’m so bad for the sport that has been fully dominated for men who could find any excuse to take me out of my dream.

“Hey Char” I heard Lando calling me, he’s with one of his Quadrant hoodies and a bright smile on his face. “Carlos invited me to dinner, I know you’re waiting for him”

“Yeah, he’s a bit busy celebrating” I smiled to him

“You should be doing the same. P2 is a good result too”

“I know, but I prefer to focus on the races and have a better celebration at the end of the year” I started walking with him by my side “Also, my dad’s in Spain so It’s kinda weird to do it without him”

“Yeah. You have Carlos’s parents too, they were so happy watching you on the podium. Ana was crying by the way”

I blushed and laugh “Ana is my big sister, so I get it. My dad called me and he was crying” I stopped when we arrive in the main entrance “Did you saw Toto’s interview, he might be screaming right now”

“Not only him. Any team principal would find funny that a car that has to be below P15 could overtake two Mercedes at the same time” I laugh remembering the scene. I also waved to George, my bad.

“We are full of surprises, so, I guess that you’re going to be my chauffeur to the hotel?” Lando just look at me while he starting blushing and a small giggle come out his mouth.

“That’s ok with me” I opened the door to his McLaren at put my bag on my feet. As he start the engine and the car get to the exit a few fans we’re still waiting for our goodbyes. We waved at them and started our way to the hotel.

“So tell me more about you” Lando asked

“Wikipedia isn’t enough for you?” I giggled at him

“How do you...? I mean that’s not appropiate, better face to face”

“To my or Carlos face? I know you asked him” 

“He’s not loyal anymore” 

“I’ll tell you everything you want to know if you do something for me” I turned to look at him better with a gigantic smile

“No, no, you’re not going to drive my car”

“I don’t want that. I want to see Carlos’s face when his favourite song goes on repeat in the restaurant, like God’s will”

“Oh, I can do that”

All the way to the hotel went as calm as possible with music in the background and a nice view in our way to London. I said my goodbyes to get ready for the dinner with the Sainz. I decided for a nice baby blue dress and white heels, I put on some makeup and my hair in a really nice ponytail. 40 minutes later a message from Carlos was my alert to go to the lobby. The Spaniard hug me as soon as he saw me and with a smile on his face we go to his car, his parents, sisters and Caco where waiting for us in the restaurant and Lando will be arriving a few minutes late.

As we get to our table, Reyes, Carlos’s mom received me and told me how proud she is from us. I sat next to Carlos, leaving a spot for Lando.

“So, are you coming to Austria for the race?” I asked to Carlos parents

“We’re not sure, I have to sort out a few things for a rally exhibition in Madrid and your mother is coming with me” said Carlos sr. “What about your dad? Still busy with work?”

“He is but he arrives on friday to be with me and go try to organize our schedules for our vacations” 

“Are you going to Japan or are you going to Mallorca with us?

I take a sip of my water “Yuki helped me with information for the trip, so I guess that our vacations in Mallorca might be for christmas or we could...ouch” Carlos kicked me when he first verse of his “favourite” song smooth operator started on the speakers

“It wasn’t me! Don’t be an animal” I kicked him back

“Then who?... You muppet” He said looking at Lando who was laughing at his face

“Cool song, uh”

“Not funny”

Lando sit next to me, still smiling “Wikipedia isn’t enough”

As the night went on, Carlos family, Lando and I called the night an hour later. The two drivers and I went together to the hotel. Carlos was in the 4th floor so he leave Lando and I in the elevator.

“Are you tired?” 

“Not much, why?”

“I’m thinking that we can play 20 questions to get to know each other, no?” he said with a small pout on his lips

“Even if you’re not making a puppy face I would said yes, Norris”

In the 9th floor we leave the elevator to walk to my room, as we enter, we leave our shoes by the door. I put on my PJ’s while Lando sit on the bed

“Charlotte, favourite thing to do?” 

“Mmmm Lando. Spend time with my dad and my dog, we usually walk around El Retiro, it’s a famous park in Madrid” I answered sitting next to him

“Do you have a dog? Doesn’t seem like it”

“That’s another question and I do, it’s name is Coco and it’s a Golden Retriever” I smiled “My turn... mmm...best thing since you get into F1″

Meeting you was what Lando wanted to say “Be Carlos teammate”

“Funny, we could be a better duo. Charlos is superior”

“Don’t you dare” he started tickling my ribs, we laugh for a while and when when we recover our normal breathing I continued with the questions

“Biggest fear?”

“Being late” I saw confusion on his face “We are one of the 20 fastest people on the planet but late so say I love or say goodbyes. I’m pretty bad at goodbyes”

“I’m not good either, maybe we can remind each other, so no goodbyes, just see you later, like see you at the end”

“Agree, nothing like a free assistant. So, how do you see yourself after F1?” I show a tilted smile

“Married, with kids hopefully, big backyard, a calm life, I don’t know. I guess that’s what almost everybody wanted. You?”

“I would like to have kids and tell them that their mom is a world champion, Just to make their friends jealous” I let out a sigh “And be with someone that anywhere we go, we’ll feel that we are each others home, like a jigsaw piece”

“Feel what it means to be complete...”

“I guess... be loved as much as my dad still loves my mom. He still sings her favourite songs every valentine’s day or birthday”

“Remember any of those songs?” He asked

“Yeah, I’m not a good singer but he’s always like: I close my eyes and I see your face when I'm alone I long for your embrace and I've tried to find you many times but you have faded my eyes cos' you are you are you are one of a kind Find that missing part the part that completes my heart”

“He’s in love” I nod “Someone special will come, you’re an incredible driver and woman, so, be pacient. Every love is different, one’s just prepare you for something more real, all I know is that you’ll find your missing jigsaw piece too” He said as he grabed my hand and squeezed a bit. Why am I feeling butterflies?

“Thanks Lando, now I know  why you’re Carlos favourite”

“It’s all about my looks, don’t be fooled” We laugh and keep making questions until he had to go to his room to rest.

28/07/2022

HUNGARY GP @10:40

“Netflix, guys, you’re so lovely” It’s not too early in the morning, I came early to my motorhome to continue sleeping and just be ready for interviewes at 11. Well, here I am.

“Where is your phone Charlotte?”

“In my pocket, why?” I said raising an eyebrow

“Did you know that Sebastian Vettel has instagram?” I laugh. 

I almost forget it. After the Saudi Arabia GP y spend my flight back to UK with Sebastian, while I was asking for advice for future races, he just asked me to help him create an instagram account for an special video. I guess that retirement is really special. I was shocked and almost cried but he is so confident about his decision and nobody has the right to judge him, it’s not easy to be chasing you dream without the ones you love. 

“I know, he’ll announcing his retirement at the end of the season”

“You don’t seem surprised”

“I already knew, I am sad, he’s been so important for the sport, he’ll be missed but at the same time I’m happy to spend his last season with him. When I see he around, I ask for advice, he’s a world champion after all”

“I like how you think” he write something on a paper “So far, your rookie season has been incredible, do you see yourself winning the championship?”

“I don’t want to say yes but we have to wait, everything is so umpredictable. But I hope so, that will be a great present for my mom”

“Oh...she’s proud, yes” I saw a tear falling for his eyes “Sorry”

“Don’t worry, I love to talk about her, she’s with me all the time”

31/07/2022

HUNGARY GP @14:00 

“Radio check”

“Hello? It’s me”

“I know Charlotte, I’m your engineer”

“You used to be funny, be ready, If I get on P1 I’m gonna spray the whole bottle on champagne on your face” 

He laughs “Get ready for the formation lap. 15 seconds”

“Welcome to the Hungarian GP, a very interesting front row with our rookie Charlotte Robyn-Jones and the seventh time world champion, Lewis Hamilton. Then both Red Bulls, Alex Albon, Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, Sebastian Vettel, Valteri Bottas, George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo, Mick Schumacher, Kevin Magnussen, Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon and Zhou Guanyu”

“Last race before summer vacation and then going back to the other half of the season to define the 2022 world champion. With heighest expectations for the rookie of Williams racing or the raining champion Max Verstappen, with just a few seconds for this race and it’s lights out and away we go”

With 57 of the 70 laps for this race and two safety cars later due colisions that make my teammate out of the race with Ocon, Checo and Stroll. I keep my position in P1 with Max not to far from me, but as the time passed I was getting a bit tired so I was pushing as much as ever to finish as quickly as ever.

“Verstappen 1.3 seconds behind”

“Copy. I think something happen to my water bag, at lap 41 it was empty”

“We have to check at the end of the race. Sorry Charlotte”

“Ok, at least I don't feel like going to the bathroom”

At lap 66 I saw how Max was a bit closer to me, considering that we pitted at the same time, he chasing for the cheese, aka me, was on.

“Charlotte, time to push, give them hell”

“Oh wow, new version of hammer time?”

“Don’t get me started kid”

“And the rookie do it again, what a reace. Charlotte Robyn-Jones in a very dominant Williams is a Gran Prix winner. What a season for her and her team. We see the gap she created with Verstappen, wow, only 0.09 seconds behind her and then Lewis Hamilton. We have to wait to the Belgium GP to see how the teams improve their cars ‘cause as far as I see, this is Williams year”

“Get ready Adam! You’re going to sleep with the essense of champions tonight!”

“Congrats Charlotte, what a race!” Multiple people cheering can be heard over the radio, all the members of the team happy as she get through the chekered flag.

“Love you team! This is for Alex too, this is our year!” 

I parked my car in front of the number 1 sign, I unbuckle the belts and get of the car, Max and Lewis give fist bumps, then I run to hug the members of the team. A very happy Carlos pat my back and said well done girasol. Lando, who just get off his car, run to me and hug me and we helped each other with our helmets, as I took off my balaclava, I dedicated him a winked

“Do you like the view of my rear wing?”

“I preffer the view I saw everytime you smile in the podium” For a moment I feel out of breath, he is the one. 

We smile at each other

“Hope to share it with you, to enjoy the same view” I cannot hear his answer ‘cause Ava pull my arm to do the interview before the podium celebrations so I waved to him. What’s this feeling? 

LATER WITH NETFLIX

“Do you have any conversations for next year? Your team principal said that Williams isn’t going to offer you another contract even if you win the championship. You have multiple options, Ricciardo, Gasly and Vettel’s seat”

“That’s a secret for Abu Dabi, too much gossip is not healthy guys”

“So...anything to say?”

“Want a hint?”

“Yes, please” I smiled looking to the camera

“Enchanté”

Hi! Thanks for the support on this story/series. English it’s not my first language but I try my best, anyway, enjoy, I got inspired and If you have requests for any driver, I’m open to them. I’m still organizing this story considering that I’m going full mode with Lando and trying to put together the main topic of this <<<something so sad>>>, as I said, enjoy and have a nice day/night :)

Taglist: @evans-dejong @omgsuperstarg @bibissparkles @hoely-maria @mochimommy2002 @noope306 @eugene-emt-roe​ @80sloverry​ @rens-daylight​

intro

part one

[official-weasley]

Bill's Secret - (The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley AU)

Warnings: Fluff 💙

Word count: 3,825

Characters: Charlie Weasley and my OC Nova from TICW which you can find here

Nova

“Okay, okay, let's try this again.” I heard Charlie say as I came back from getting our mail.

“You won't give up, will you?” I giggled.

He was kneeling in front of the sofa, helping Aoede to sit. She is almost six months old now and showed some interest in doing it and now Charlie has been giving it his all to be the first one to see her sit properly.

He missed her first smile and her first giggle. And the first time she rolled over on her own and the first time she crawled all due to work. Each time he came home and I told him about something new she did, he was sad and upset that he was missing on so many firsts.

Since we were planning to go to England for the first time since we moved into our new home, Charlie took a few more days off because he was determined to be the first one to see her do something new.

“Never,” Charlie said, clapping his hands to encourage Aoede.

“You do have to help her a little, you know?” I pressed my lips together, observing the scene.

“I know, but we keep falling to the side, don't we.” He booped Aoede's nose, pretending to be disappointed. “But daddy won't give up on you. No, he won't. He believes in his baby girl!” He said in a baby voice.

Charlie was making fun out of me and my mum whenever we talked to Aoede using a baby voice. He couldn't stop laughing when Bill did it the last time he came to visit us and he said that he would never talk to our children in such a funny voice but who's laughing now!

“Nice voice, Charles.” I laughed and sat down at the kitchen table and went through the envelopes.

“Oh, shush! You do it all the time.” Charlie tried defending himself, standing up.

“You said you will never talk in this voice.” I teased.

Aoede apparently found our conversation funny because she started giggling, looking up at Charlie.

“What you laughing for, huh?” Charlie kneeled back to her with the biggest grin on his face – Aoede's giggles were his favorite sound now.

While Charlie started clapping again, hoping this will be the day Aoede sits I give the letters in front of me my full attention.

There was one from my mum telling us how excited she is to see us again and that she got a whole week off to be with us. There was one from Molly asking when exactly we are coming and that our room is already ready. One was from Ginny as she told us all about the adventures she and Aoede will have as this will be the first time Charlie's younger siblings will see their niece and due to the number of letters we got from them all, we couldn't decide who was the most excited to spend time with her.

The last letter was from Bill and I looked to see what Charlie was doing before opening it. Bill had a secret which he only told me about 8 months ago and only because I cornered him, knowing something was going on and I knew he wanted to talk about it but was too shy.

He made me promise that I won't tell anyone – not ever Charlie – and now he sends me a letter here and there about it so I have to be careful not to let Charlie see anything.

“What? What is it?”

I read through Bill's letter and the news he shared with me shocked and excited me so much that I let out a loud gasp which alarmed Charlie.

“Oh, nothing.” I quickly folded the letter. “Let's just say, we are going to make one more stop when we come to England.” I couldn't stop a big smile from spreading all over my lips.

“That face doesn't say nothing.” Charlie picked up Aoede, his eyes narrowed.

“Who's the letter from? Is Penny finally pregnant?” He walked to me, trying to peek at what the letter says.

“No, it's not about Penny.” I sighed.

Penny and Andre have been trying to have another baby for a few years now but it just wasn't happening for them. They visited doctors all over Europe to find out what could be wrong since they didn't have any problems getting pregnant with Joanna. All had the same answer – just keep trying. So now, every time we get a letter from her we hope she brings good news.

“The letter is from Bill!” Charlie took the letter from me and tried opening it with one hand while holding Aoede with his other.

“Charlie, give it back!” I stood up, taking a deep breath.

If he reads that letter he is going to be so confused.

“Why don't you want me to read it?” He looked at me bemused, once I snatched the letter from him. “Are you sharing juicy secrets? Are you talking about feelings and his love life?” Charlie said dramatically.

“For a matter of fact, yes,” I said nonchalantly, waiting for his reaction.

“Hold up. Really?” Charlie forgot how to close his mouth, giving Aoede to me.

“For a while now.” I decided to tell him as slowly as possible.

“What's a while for you?” He eyed me suspiciously.

“A year.”

“A YEAR?!” Charlie's voice was so high-pitched that it made Aoede laugh. “He is in a relationship for a year? He was in a relationship when we got married?”

“They were just acquaintances back then, they started dating at the end of August but he told me when he was here for New Year's,” I explained.

“You have known for so long and you didn't tell me?” Charlie sounded offended. “Why not?”

“Because Bill asked me to.”

“Why?”

“Because he really likes this girl and he didn't want to jinx anything by telling too many people. I wouldn't know either if I didn't know him so well and figured it out on my own.” “How did you know?” Charlie pursed his lips, sitting down next to me, fully invested in Bill's little secret.

“It was written all over his face.” I giggled reminiscing on the moment.

We invited Bill to spend the New Year with us and as we were sitting outside – Charlie setting up the fireworks with Andrei that Fred and George left us from the wedding – Bill couldn't stop smiling and I knew something was up at once. At first, he was too shy to say anything but once he started talking about a girl he met at work he couldn't shut up about her.

I, of course, couldn't be happier. I always knew that he will find the right girl to settle down with, it was only a matter of time. And since he told Charlie about all the girls he dated through the years and kept this one a secret from everyone, I knew she was someone special.

“But I'm his brother. How did I not see it?” Charlie furrowed his brows. “Char, during my pregnancy a dragon could fly right above your head and you would miss it that's how excited you were for us to have a baby.” I giggled.

“True.” He finally gave up with a big smile over his lips. “So how's it going? Is he happy with this girl?”

“Since he wrote that he bought a wedding ring, I think so. What'd you reckon?”

“He did what?! Don't you think that's a little too fast? Where's the rush? They should get to know each other better. How does he know that she's the right one for him?” Charlie's voice was high-pitched again making it good entertainment for our daughter.

“Char, your Molly is showing,” I said with a smug expression on my face.

Charlie and his mum might not agree on many things – especially when it comes to Aoede – but sometimes when he's not thinking clearly he says the things Molly would usually say.

“Right, sorry.” He looked at me apologetically.

“It's alright. Get it all out now, because you are not saying those things in front of Bill.”

“You know I just don't want to see him get hurt again.” Charlie sighed.

“I know.”

I stood up, gave him Aoede, and walked to the hallway to the drawer where we kept letters. I put those from Bill talking about his girlfriend on a special pile and hid them behind the letters from my mum, knowing that Charlie would never look there if he got suspicious of me hiding something.

I put the letters on the table, took Aoede from him again, and nodded for him to start reading.

“Are you sure he wouldn't mind?” Charlie asked, already holding the first letter.

“In the letter he sent me today he said to tell you so that you won't be completely shocked when we go and visit them.” I giggled, getting comfy on the sofa with Aoede.

“Don't you dare make her sit,” Charlie observed what I was doing.

“I won't. I promise you'll be the first to see her sit properly.” I put my hand on my chest.

I played with Aoede, trying to make her giggle as many times as possible while Charlie was reading the letters.

“He sounds really happy with her.” Charlie finally spoke.

“I told you not to judge too quickly.” I motioned for him to join us.

“And he's dating Fleur Delacour!” He exclaimed. “She was nice at the tournament and the way she handled that dragon was amazing!”

“So do you approve?” I teased.

“I'll have to meet her but what I've read so far, I approve.” Charlie tried having a strict and serious voice.

—

“Alright, let's go through it again.” I opened the bag we had ready for Aoede.

“Her bottle?” Charlie started counting on his fingers.

“Check.”

“Her pacifier?”

“Check.”

“Her other pacifier because she keeps making the first one disappear?”

“Check.”

“The blanket she can't fall asleep without?”

“Check!”

“Baby wipes, diapers, tissues?”

“Check, check and...check!”

“Baby food?”

“I have a few bottles but we'll buy more in London.”

“Okay, then I think we have everything. Do you think we have everything, Aoede?” Charlie picked her up from the sofa next to the bag and tickled her belly, making Aoede reply to him with giggles.

We are both proud of how well we were handling parenthood. I am not going to lie, we were a bit sleep-deprived the first two months but after that, we have been doing pretty good. Charlie has been of immense help ever since Aoede has been born, making it easier for me and I am proud to say that we are quite a team when it comes to handling the baby.

Aoede has been an angel so far. Giggling and making bubbles more than crying which, I am sure, made things easier on us, and from what we have heard from other parents we are doing just fine for our first time.

Due to everyone in the Sanctuary being over the roof that someone had a baby, we can find someone to babysit whenever needed. Andrei is always the first in line when we ask and loves spending time with her, saying that they have the best conversations.

My mum likes to come and visit us whenever she gets a chance – which is at least once per week now as she would make any excuse to be with her granddaughter.

With so many people fighting over who will take care of her, Charlie and I can have some quality alone time – going on a date once a week and just enjoy being a married couple in love.

We took a plane ride for the first time in our lives. Neither Charlie and I wanted to apparate or use a Portkey with Aoede so flying with a plane was the next best thing. Charlie was already preparing himself to answer all the questions Arthur is going to ask him about our experience.

We had a pleasant flight. Both of us agree that we should do it more often. It might take longer than any magical transport but it was much safer for our daughter. My mum picked us up at the airport and we spend a week with her so that she could be with her granddaughter as much as possible.

Then we headed to the Burrow where Charlie's younger siblings took Aoede from us the second we said that they could play with her. Charlie was freaking out at first, running after them, following their every move making sure they are taking proper care of Aoede. But once he saw how gentle they were and that they mostly just sat around her and tickled her to hear her giggle and see her smile he calmed down.

As he predicted he had to tell Arthur about our flight in excruciating detail while I helped Molly in the kitchen and answered all the baby questions Ginny had. I loved how excited all of them were to be with their niece and for some reason it made Fred and George behave more.

Molly got the letter from Bill that he is coming in a few days and bringing someone with him and she desperately tried to get it out of me who it is. I knew that Bill wanted to tell them on his own so I stayed quiet, leaving Molly disappointed.

After a week at the Burrow, it was time for us to make one final stop before we would return to Romania. We needed 2 hours to say goodbye to Charlie's family as the twins hid Aoede from us to prevent us from leaving. Ginny tried her best to make her sweet, puppy eyes but she was too old now to make it work while Molly tried bribing us with cookies.

I understood that they missed us so much – us living so far away – and it warmed my heart to see how attached all of them got to Aoede. I wish we could stay longer but Charlie has to go back to work in a few days and he would never let us stay back in England – he was too protective of us to do so.

—

“Are you nervous?” I asked as we stepped out of the car my mum lent us.

“To meet Fleur or to ask him what we're here to ask him?” Charlie pressed his lips together.

“Both.” I chuckled.

“No,” Charlie shook his head, “I can't wait to see him cry though.” He giggled and knocked on the door.

“Here's my beautiful niece!” Bill exclaimed the second he opened the door.

“We are happy you are so delighted to see me and Nova,” Charlie said sarcastically.

“It's good to see you both too, but you can't beat Aoede's cuteness.” Bill hugged us both before giving me the biggest smile that let me know he wanted to hold Aoede.

He motioned with his hand to invite us inside and closed the door behind us.

“Nova, did you tell Charlie about...”

“I did.” I grinned, making Bill sigh in relief.

“She's in the living room,” Bill whispered, pointing with his finger.

“'ello. I am Fleur. So nice to finally meet you.” Fleur who was sitting on the sofa got up the second she saw us.

“Hi! My name is Nova and it's nice to finally meet you too. I have heard so much about you!” I smiled at her, making her blush.

I extended my hand for her to shake but she walked toward me with her arms opened and pulled me in a hug.

“And I remember you, Charlie. From the tournament.” She turned around, shaking his hand, not sure if he would return her hug as I did.

“Nice to see you again, Fleur.” Charlie bestowed her with a soft smile, his gaze switching between her and Bill.

“And zis must be your lovely daughter, Ayedee,” Fleur exclaimed, stepping closer to Bill to see her.

“Aoede.” Charlie corrected her, clearing his throat.

“Oh, I am zo zorry. My English iz not ze best yet.” Fleur smiled sheepishly, admiring Aoede.

“It's okay, you're not the first one to get her name wrong.” I chuckled.

I followed Fleur into the kitchen to help her prepare dinner, while Charlie stayed in the living room with Bill and our little girl.

The more I talked to Fleur the more I liked her. She was really sweet, just as Bill described her to me in his letters. She was kind and family-oriented just like Bill was, making them a perfect match. She kept asking me everything about us and Romania and Aoede and our experience with buying a house as they were looking to do the same once they marry.

It was useless to beat around the bush, pretending I don't know they got engaged since Bill told me and she told me how he proposed to her and how pleasantly surprised she was even though she wanted to marry Bill after their first date.

There was not a single doubt in my mind that she was the right girl for him as she showed just with the way she spoke about him just how much she not only loves but admires him.

“Need any help here?” Charlie leaned in the doorway with what looked like tears in his eyes, interrupting our conversation.

“Zank you, Charlie. We are managing just fine.” Fleur replied shyly.

»I zink Bill asked 'im to be 'is best man.« Fleur turned back to me as she saw my concerned and puzzled face why Charlie was on the verge of tears.

»Of course.« I giggled.

I knew what an honor that was for Charlie and since he only found out about Fleur a few weeks ago this must've been a pleasant surprise.

“You don't have to be intimidated by him, he's a big teddy bear,” I whispered to her after seeing she was nervously biting her lip.

“Bill said ze same zing,” Fleur sighed, “but it iz important to me for 'im and you to like me because you are William's best friends and closest family.”

“If it helps, I already like you.” I gave her a reassuring smile.

“Look at you sit all by yourself! You're such a big girl! Nova, I didn't know she could do this already!”

Before Fleur could say anything to my comment, Bill's baby voice made us look toward the living room.

“No, no, no! You did not!” Charlie rushed past us from the bathroom, pretty sure he forgot to flush, and went to the living room to see what was going on.

“Aoede,” he cried, “this is unbelievable. We have been trying for the past month and I just leave you alone with uncle Bill for one minute and you do it.”

“What is going on?” Fleur and I joined them.

“Look, Nova! She's sitting!” Charlie said with a shaky voice, extending both of his hands at Aoede.

“Oh, look at you! You are such a good girl!” I exclaimed, leaning to my daughter and gently brushing her cheek with my finger.

“Did I do something wrong?” Bill asked puzzled.

“Charlie is upset because he missed a lot of firsts due to being at work and he has been trying to get Aoede to sit on her own since his vacation and couldn't manage to do it and now he missed it,” I explained, feeling bad for Charlie.

“This was her first time?” Bill said in a whisper, tears in his eyes, proud that he was a part of this moment.

“Yeah, rub it in, why don't you.” Charlie scoffed, crossing his arms on his chest.

“Char, you'll get other firsts, I promise,” I said gently, hugging him from behind. “Don't be sad. Just look at how cute she is sitting.”

“She's adorable.” Charlie sniffed and kneeled next to Aoede to admire her new accomplishment.

After dinner and us celebrating their engagement, Charlie and I sat on the sofa, while Fleur and Bill were playing with Aoede on her blanket on the floor. We couldn't stop staring at them, they were so good with her. After about 15 minutes of Aoede's constant giggling, her eyes switching from Bill and Fleur as they played Peek-a-boo with her, Charlie and I exchanged looks and knew it was time to what Charlie called 'make Bill cry'.

“So,” Charlie cleared his throat, “we wanted to ask you both something.”

I looked at Charlie with my eyebrows raised as he said both.

“She's really nice, okay. You were right and I was wrong.” He playfully rolled his eyes at me.

“I told you you'll like her.” I giggled. “So, we're going with the both of them?”

“If you still want to. It was your idea.” Charlie planted a kiss on my forehead.

“I do and I am glad you agree with me.” I bestowed him with a soft smile before turning back to the trio on the floor.

“Sorry, did you say something to us?” Bill finally tore his eyes off his niece.

“Charlie said that we have to ask you something.” I chuckled.

“Okay.” Bill picked Aoede up, placing her in a sitting position on his lap, while she had her hand wrapped around Fleur's finger.

“We were wondering if you'll be Aoede's godparents?” Charlie asked softly.

“What?” Fleur gasped, her mouth open. “You mean Bill being 'er godfazer?”

“No, we want both of you.” I smiled at her.

“But you 'ave just met me,” Fleur said in shock.

“Not really,” I said, winking at Bill who told me more than enough about her in his letters for me to know that we are making the right decision and what I have seen tonight and her being so great with our baby girl, only made me more sure that she should be her godmother.

“I-” Bill didn't know what to say. “Really?” He breathed.

“Oh, come on. Are you really that surprised?” Charlie chuckled. “Who else would we trust her with if not you?”

“Are you sure?” Fleur asked.

“Yes.” Charlie and I said in unison.

“Oh, Charlie, Nova, we would be delighted!” Bill said with a shaky voice.

“Zis is such an 'onor. I don't know what to zay.” Fleur blinked fast a few times to stop her eyes from watering.

We stood up to join them on the floor and hugged them both, Aoede observing us, making a bubble with her mouth.

“Thank you for trusting Fleur so much,” He whispered to me as we hugged.

“She's perfect for you, Bill,” I whispered back, bestowing him with a smile.

“Wow...this...I...I can't believe I'm her godfather!” Bill stuttered after a few seconds of silence, a tear running down his cheek.

“I told you he will cry.” Charlie leaned to me, giggling, happy that his prediction came true.

[mackeydoodledoo]

I Wasn’t (Thinking)

Pairing: Sarah Reese x Rory Laine (Fem!Doctor)

Summary: You’re assigned to mentor Sarah Reese in her studies to become a doctor. You have a ball however, little did you know, you began falling in love with your 4th year student. When a Pathology worker interrupts your love fest for Reese, you immediately regretting not telling her how you feel about her sooner.

Warning: Hospital shooting, Blood/Blood mention

A/N: Okay I recently started watching Chicago Med as I watch the other two Chicago shows, I’m all for Sarah Reese! btw, Rory Laine is my OC for Chicago Med!!

------------------------------------------- As you file down some paperwork, you feel a hand gently caressing your back. As you look up it was your med-student trainee; Sarah Reese. The two of you had built a strong bond compared to her first day as your trainee. 

"You paged me doctor?" You knock on the door frame 

"Yes, our handful of 4th year students have arrived," he explains, "I'm assigning them to a doctor such as yourself. I'm having you mentor Sarah Reese." 

"Sounds like a plan doc," you answer 

[...] 

"Hi I'm Dr. Sarah Reese," she introduces herself, shaking your hand, "4th year med student." 

"Dr. Rory Laine," you introduce back, "Emergency Medicine." 

[...] 

"Reese, help the patient with their airway, they aren't breathing properly!" 

"Dr. Reese code blue!" 

Reese presses the code blue button right behind the patients bed as Dr. Choi began CPR, the two of you helping around as much as you can. 

[...] 

"Sarah? Hey hey, it's okay," you comfort her, "just let it all out. It's okay." 

You noticed how Reese was hard on herself. You wanted to be there. You HAD to be there.

In all that time you had spent with her, you didn't notice you began to fall in love with her in the process. It wasn't until Maggie pointed it out. 

"Girl, you're totally head over heels for Reese!" Maggie teases 

"What?! No!" You try to stop her, "I don't even think she's into girls... or even likes me back..." 

"Dr.?" Reese calls from behind you 

You turn around to face her, "What’s up Reese?" 

"I just wanted to ask you, if you wanted to get coffee right now?" She asks 

"I'd love to," you smile, following her

As you two had went to the coffee area, you made her coffee, she smiles as she happily begins to make yours. You turn around to look at the city scape. You inhale the crisp, fresh air. You turn to Sarah to check on how she was doing. You notice a guy standing right next to her. 

"Hey Dr. Reese, I just got paged," you lie, happily taking your Reese-made coffee, "You page me if you need me at all." 

You didn't like the guy. You've met him before, a little bit of a creep. He tried to make a move on you but you straight up told him that you were a lesbian. You weren't sure how to tell Reese, you adore her, you enjoy her presence, you strongly believe she is the best Med student you have ever partnered with. You couldn't do that to her.

"Earth to Laine," Sarah smiles, waving her hand into your face, pulling you out of your thoughts 

"Yeah?" You ask, sighing 

"I got my match back!" She smiles 

"Well don't keep your mentor waiting what was the result?" 

She opens the envelope and unfolds the paper and shows it to you. You were heartbroken... But you couldn't show her that. You wanted her to be happy after all. 

"Oh my gosh that's amazing, where you wanted to be yeah?" You force yourself to say, but you sigh, "You know, I’m going to tell you this. Of all med students I have mentored in my time here, you were the best med student I could ever work with. Good luck. Doctor Reese." 

You walk away, forcing yourself to smile until your back was turned to her. You didn't want her to see you cry. But you watched her date Joey, one of her Pathology colleagues. It pained you to watch it. Each time you were saving loves, doing paperwork. You did it all to get your mind off of her. But to no avail.

One night post shift, you were seated at the bar at Molly's. Notebook under your right hand, a drink in the other. 

"My favorite kid doctor looks sappy," Stella Kidd comes over 

"The girl-my former med partner is dating someone else... I like like her but.... I'm too late..." you sigh, scribbling something into your notebook 

"What do you have there?" Stella asks, taking the notebook 

You try to get it out of her hands, but you failed that task. 

“Oh how I wish I could have made my feelings known sooner. Maybe we could have been something. My colleague. My partner. The greatest one I have had. ED for me wasn't the same. I'd always call for your assistance however I look up to see nothing but an empty space.”

You watch Stella read out your sappy poem as you continue drinking. 

"How have you not told her yet?" She asks 

"I wasn't sure if she was into girls too, let alone me." You sigh, "Most important of all, I don't want her to run away if I tell her." 

"From the stories you tell me from your time at Med, you never sounded enthusiastic about any of them until you got an ED partner. Tell you what," Stella starts, "March right up to her apartment and talk to her. The most thorough conversation you can do." 

You sigh, but straightening yourself out. You slide Stella a hefty tip as you grab your jacket and run out of the bar; rushing over to Reese's. She asked for your help on a test she had to take and you went over there once to help her study for it. 

Once you reach her place you compose yourself and you gently knock on the door. Joey opens the door... 

"Laine." He says, coldly 

"Hi Thomas. Is Sarah here?" You ask, trying to look past him 

"In the bathroom," he says 

You try to brush past him but he stops in your direction. 

"What are you doing?" He asks 

"I need to talk to her," you only say before he places a hand on you to place you back into the hall 

You slap his hand away as you realize what he's doing. 

"Fine," you sigh, "Can you tell her at least, that I need to talk to her?" 

He nods, not saying anything else. You turn your back to him and leave. As you go down a decent amount of stairs, you stop... You slumped against the wall and looked up to the upper stairs. 

"I'm such an idiot!" You growl at yourself before finally leaving

You return back to Molly's as it begins looking thinner the last time you were there. 

"I'm guessing it didn't go well?" Stella asks, passing you a drink, "On me." 

"I couldn't talk to her," you say, slumping down onto the bar, “Joey refused to let me talk to her.”

“You want me to talk to him? Stella asks, “I could drill into his head like Chief Boden does while on shift.”

“No, not worth it, and I think Sarah will be mad at me if I let you,” You sigh, taking another sip of your drink, “Thanks Stella.”

"Hey Rors," Sarah calls 

You look up from a supply box you were supposedly invested in. 

"Here's the results you requested," she says, handing you the paperwork 

"Thanks Reese," you sigh 

"So- how's your new partner?" She asks 

As you begin walking to Treatment 7, Sarah follows you. 

"What new partner?" You ask, "There's no 'new partner' for me. I told Charles that I'd only work with you, should you come back." 

She smiles. You wish that moment lasted an entire lifetime. However you look toward the entrance and see a man with a gun.... You look over and realized it was aimed at... Sarah Reese.... 

"GET DOWN!!" you scream to the ED department 

As everyone else does so, you look over at Sarah. Panicking when you hear a shot ring out. 

"SARAH!" you scream as you push her into the empty treatment room right next to the two of you 

You accidentally knock into the supply box in front of treatment 4 and knock it over, sending you with it. You roll over it and slide across the floor, leaving a blood trail on it. You gasp for air, trying to reach for the same supply box you knocked over, wanting to cover your bullet wound immediately. When Sarah gains her consciousness, she launches herself over to you, trying to stop the bleeding. 

"Choi! Rhodes!!" Sarah calls out for, "Rory." 

She looks up and notices the shooter being handcuffed by the CPD. 

"Re-Sarah," you sigh looking up at her, "I just want you to know, that... If I don't make it-" 

"No no no, stay with me Rory, eyes on me okay? Eyes. On. Me." Sarah tries to comfort you as Rhodes and Choi lift your body into the empty room 

Many of your coworkers nearly cried as you were taken to the OR for suture and possible surgery, as Choi looked for the bullet. Worried you might need surgery for possible bullet lodged in your body. 

"Are you hurt?!" Joey comes running over to Sarah 

"No but- but Rory took the bullet.." Sarah cried as Joey pulls her into a hug

After crippling hours of adjusting to a hospital shooting and with you in the ICU, Rhodes game of from the room as Sarah immediately stands up. 

"Rory?" She asks Rhodes 

"Laine's stable, but she's unconscious. Not sure when she'll wake up," he gets to the point, "She really misses you over at ED. You should see her when she tries to do paperwork. Do you know how many 'bathroom breaks' she goes on? Just to cry? You should be there for her. She wouldn't just take a bullet for their colleague. Unless there was something else going on with her." 

Rhodes makes his leave from your ICU room as Sarah follows. However, Joey stops her. 

"What is it Joey?" She asks 

"Can we talk?" He asks 

"Okay," she sighs as he follows him 

"You and Laine had something," he concludes 

"What?" She asks, "I have no clue what you're talking about." 

"Oh come on you don't think I see a lesbian that likes you when I see one?!" He asks 

"Rory's a-?" She asks 

He nods. 

"We that doesn't phase me that she's one of the best doctors to have mentored me, her sensuality has nothing to do with how she mentors me and how she sees me." Reese states 

"She’s only jealous and she only took that bullet to-" 

"SHE TOOK THAT BULLET FOR ME!" Reese screams, supposedly for her whole department to hear, "It should have been me instead of her, but now... But now she's my patient!" 

"Come on Reese she's been avoiding you," Joey states, "If she hadn't tried to come over the other night we-" 

"She what?!" She asks him 

"She came over to see you," he says, sighing," I told her to leave." 

"You did what?!" She asks 

"I told her to leave," he says, "She's getting in-between our relationship."

"I don't need you to decide that for me," Sarah screams, "Laine told me herself; I was one of her best med students she's mentored. And if you see her as a 'threat' to our relationship, you can leave. So leave." 

"Reese-" 

"LEAVE!" She raises her voice 

So he makes his leave, Sarah looks around and notices people staring, she rushes into your ICU room where you were resting; your shoulder healing from the gunshot wound. 

"Rory.... Oh my God I'm so sorry." Reese whispers, "You goddamn took that bullet for me and for what? It should have been me instead. Me in the bed where you are...." 

Sarah leans over you and puts her forehead against yours. 

"Sarah Reese..." you manage to say, "You are so blind..." 

She lifts her head to see you with your eyes open, slightly smiling. 

"I am so goddamn into you Sarah," you sigh, leaning into Sarah's touch, "I just couldn't find the courage to tell you." 

"Well, I wish you would have told me sooner," Sarah smiles, "Because I would have thought about it." 

You smile as you try to sit up but feel Sarah's hand gently press your uninjured shoulder. 

"Not yet," she whispers, "I'll go get Dr. Manning and-" 

Before she could stand up she feels your hand on hers. 

"Stay, please," you sigh 

She sighs as well. She sits back down and continues checking on you.

As you stand up with the assistance from Sarah, you see everyone applauding for you. 

"Who coordinated this?" You ask, looking at Sarah 

"I did, you saved another Doctor Rory," Maggie smiles, "Give yourself some credit." 

"That I did and that I shall," you smile

By the end of shift you were in the break room getting your post-work clothes on, however when it came to your jacket, you forgot you still had some stitches on and you drew your left arm back. 

"Here let me," Reese says, as she puts your right arm through the jacket sleeve 

"Thanks Sarah," you say, "Have you ever been to Molly's?" 

"Can't say I have," she smiles 

"Do you want to grab dinner?" You ask, "on me." 

"I'd like that Rory," Sarah smiles, "I'd like that a lot." 

"Meet me at the entrance when you're ready," you say

When Sarah meets up with you, the two of you take your cars to Molly's. 

"Hey it's doctor Savior," Hermann teases 

"Ha ha very funny Hermann," you sigh as you hear Sarah laugh 

"What'll it be?" He asks 

"You know my usual," you smile 

"Just a water for me," Sarah says 

"Oh by the way Rory, you finally got your girlfriend to finally come in here huh?" Hermann teases again 

"W-what?!" You ask him, blushing, "Well, I mean she knows I like her." 

"Yes," Sarah calls 

You turn to her, looking at her like she's crazy 

"I'll be your girlfriend Rory," she smiles 

"Really?" You ask 

She nods. You wanted to kiss her. But you remembered you wanted to be smart about her. You wanted to wait until she was ready for you. 

"Hey after this do you want to go to my place?" You ask, "I want to show you something." 

"Okay," she smiles 

"We aren't rushing anything I promise you that," you smile as you sip your whiskey 

As you lead her into your apartment, your hands over her eyes. 

"Keep those pretty eyes closed," you whisper into her ear 

You pull out your phone and press a button to play Photograph by Ed Sheeran. 

"Open," you say as she does 

You watch her look at the photographs in awe. They were strong up along, what you call them; fairy lights, spread out in an orderly fashion hut not in order. 

"Did you take all of these?" She asks 

"Yeah," you smile, "Some I took on our first couple of weeks as partners. And..." 

You trail off as you turn around to grab something. She turns around as you're on one knee, acoustic guitar in arms. 

"I look like I’m about to propose to you but no, let's not rush into things," you smile, beginning to strum along to the song. 

So you can keep me, inside the pocket of your ripped jeans. Holding me close until our eyes meet. You won't ever be alone, wait for me to come home. Loving can heal, loving can mend your soul. And it's the only thing I know, know. I swear it will get easier. 

You continue looking up at her, strumming along to the song and looking into her eyes. You'd occasionally look away from her to look at your fret markers to know what note to play next. 

We keep this love in a photograph 

You reach up and pick a photograph off of your display and hand it to her. It was actually your favorite one; Herself and you were acting goofy in the bathroom. Her arm slung around your waist and yours around her shoulder. 

We made these memories for ourselves. Where our eyes are never closing, hearts were never broken, and time's forever standing still 

You sing the chorus again as you go back to playing for her. 

And if you hurt me, well, that's okay baby only words bleed. Inside these pages you just hold me and I won't ever let you go. When I'm away- 

You stand up, meeting Sarah's eyes, still singing to her 

Hearing you whisper through the phone; "Wait for me to come home" 

When you turn away from her to put your guitar down. But when you turn back to her; tears filled her eyes as she tries to viciously wipe them away. 

"Oh babe," you sigh, wiping her tears gently for her 

"You prepared all of this for me?" She asks 

"Actually, it was on the fly," you chuckle lightly 

"Oooh that’s even hotter. Adding that you're also a musician?" She laughs 

You laugh with her, "Before deciding to become an ED resident, I wanted to play music, sing it even! So I learned nearly all instruments. But I got bored.... But I still use my music skills for outside of Med, like this." 

"Can I stay here tonight?" She asks 

You nod, with a smile, "Of course you can." 

Noticing she didn't have any clothing, you rummage through yours and hand her one of your band hoodies and a pair of your shorts. 

"I don't know your shorts or pants size. Why would I need that for? But I hope it fits." You say, nervously 

You wait for her to come out of your bathroom. You were reading a book and you didn't hear your bathroom door open until you feel someone straddling you and taking your book away. 

"Impatient are you?" You joke 

She only looks down at your shoulder, the stitches. Oh.. Right.. I got shot at this morning... 

"Goodwin gave me a couple weeks off for it to heal," you say, "You can come over as much as you want. But if I'm not here, I'll leave a note at the door." 

She doesn't answer but hear the gunshot in her head. 

"Goddamnit Rory what were you thinking?!" She only asks 

You paused for a minute, trying to think on that moment earlier that day. 

"I wasn't" you answered, "when I know your life is in danger I don't think. I do it with no questions and no question of the consequences." 

"So... you did all of that for me?" She asks, gently stroking your injured shoulder. 

You nod, "I'd rather take a bullet for you than watch you become a memory." 

She doesn't answer but leans her head down for her lips to meet yours. You meet her halfway and kiss her. At first you believed that you were able to tell Sarah Reese how you felt. But with Joey Thomas that used to be in the way, you regretted not telling her sooner. But, taking the bullet to the shoulder instead was one way to tell her how you felt about her.

[littleredlie]

Derailed (S1P1)

Series Masterlist | Master Masterlist

Chicago Med x doctor!OC Morgan Fitzgerald is a doctor at Chicago Medical. On the day of Med’s reopening Morgan is in the middle of a tense situation as old friends from the past come back and form uneasy relationships with newer friends. Based off S1E1 of Chicago Med.

3.9k+ Words

Featuring: Morgan Fitzgerald, Will Halstead, Natalie Manning, April Sexton, Maggie Lockwood, Ethan Choi, Daniel Charles, Sarah Reese, Sharon Goodwin, Connor Rhodes Warning: This might be complete shit, I don’t know. I tried my hardest with the medical stuff, a lot might be inaccurate.  A/N: Let me know how you like it

The alarm clock that sat on the nightstand beside Morgan’s bed rang as it changed to 4:45 AM. At the sound, the weary woman’s eyes blink open with great difficulty. She does not move for a moment, letting the alarm to ring a bit more before slapping her hand against the off button. Pulling herself up, she peeks out the open window to her right, noticing that Chicago was slowly coming to life for the day. It was November now, she had to turn the heat in the apartment soon though her roommate has been telling her to do it since August, but it always got hot in Morgan’s room. She hears a train nearby rumbling along the tracks and she can see a light tinge of blue sitting on the horizon. She had been back in Chicago for three years, but the mornings still entranced her. When a bird flies past her window, Morgan takes it as a signal to start getting ready for work.

Turning on the lamp, her small room becomes illuminated and the picture of her sister that sat on the nightstand beside the alarm clock came into view. It was taken during Morgan’s graduation from medical school about a month before their lives changed. Tearing her eyes away from the frame, she slips the bonnet off her head and places it on the vacant pillow to her left. The bun her hair was in unwraps into a ponytail, the ends of her braids tickling her upper back. Throwing the blue covers off her bare legs, Morgan slips her feet into the slippers beside her bed and trudges towards the bathroom at the end of the hallway. However, before she could get there, she noticed a light peering out from under her roommate’s door. She stops and softly knocks, pushing the door a little without waiting for a knock.

“Did you get any sleep last night?” Morgan’s eyes sweep over Hayden’s body and she is immediately given her answer. The reporter was slumped over her desk, papers scattered over her bed and on the floor. Hayden looks up to Morgan, her glasses sitting on top of her head and bags stacking under her eyes.

“I’m about to get a huge lead about a sex trafficking group operating around Garfield Park and Humboldt. People are going missing and I know that I’m getting near, I just need –”

“What you need is rest” Morgan interrupts her leaning on the doorframe. “You cannot keep pushing this hard or your body is gonna crash”

“But–”

“No buts.” Morgan pulls the pen out of her roommate’s hand. “Get some rest please, doctor’s orders.”

“You know you cannot keep using your occupation over me, you don’t see me saying investigative reporter’s orders.” Hayden leans back in her chair, arms folding over her chest, a soft smile on her lips.

“Well, when I go chasing sex traffickers in Central Chicago than you can pull that shit.” She smiles back. “I’m gonna go get ready for work, I don’t need the car today so I’ll leave the car keys on the counter.”

“It's reopening today right? After ya know.” Hayden shrugs. That night was rough, Morgan was running on fumes before the explosion and after the lockdown she was trying her best not to tip over.

“Yeah, it’s being televised,” the doctor forces a breath out. “I hope today’s easy, cause these last few months have not. I’ll see you later.” With that Morgan closes Hayden’s bedroom door and heads to the bathroom. Soon the shower head is pushing out water and steam is beginning to fog up the mirrors. The clock in the bathroom reads 4:57 and Morgan knows that she has to hurry if she wants to make it to the hospital by 5:45. She was glad that they found this apartment not too far from the hospital that she’d been working at for the past three years. 

When a shower cap is put over her braids, the dark skinned woman puts herself under the warm water, her shoulder muscles relaxing just a little. Almost instinctively, her hand grazes over the surgical scar that was just under her belly and it lingers. Pulling her hand away she focuses on the rest of her body until she is done. She dries herself and applies lotion quickly, wanting to bring the attention to her makeup. Morgan did not do much when it came to makeup, she’d put light foundation and do her eyebrows. She decided to leave her box braids in a high bun reinforced bu two scrunchies. With a towel wrapped around her body, Morgan heads to her room to get dressed. 

Her maroon scrubs and white lab coat were folded on top of the ottoman at the end of her bed. Slipping on a pair of black boxer briefs and a black sports bra, she knew that she had no one to impress. It’s been a bit of a dry spell since she broke up with her detective ex-boyfriend last spring. It wasn’t like it bothered her much, she was busy with work and had been focusing on her family. There wasn’t time to date (and she couldn’t deny that it took a bit of time to get over him). Glancing at the clock again, she sees that it was 5:20. The train station was about five minutes away, so she had to hurry. She’ll eat when she gets to the hospital. Throwing on her sneakers, jacket, scarf, and hat, Morgan then grabs her phone and her well prepared backpack. 

A chill danced down her spine the moment she stepped outside and made her way to the train station. She waves to the lady opening the flower store to her right as her steps reverberate off the concrete steps. Putting in the headphones connected to her phone, Morgan starts an audio book, her focus only on the words of the story and her destination.

It wasn’t long till she got there, recognizing familiar commuters and passing a few smiles to those who were willing to accept. The ride was uneventful, but Morgan was not focusing on everyone else. She was either listening to the book or her mind was wondering about the day that laid out in front of her. Working in an emergency department was unpredictable, it could be a day filled with easy answers and wins or it could be tragic, long, hard, stressful. Morgan’s been at Chicago Memorial for three years, finishing her residency for emergency medicine and then accepting an attending position. After graduating from University of Colorado’s M.D. program, she decided to come back home after 11 years and applied to a few hospitals in Chicago. Chicago Memorial was her first choice and when she got it, it was like she was starting over. That was until everything happened.

The train stops at her destination and the doctor shuffles off with a few others. Briskly, she makes her way to the hospital, arriving the same time as Dr. Will Halstead. Yanking the headphones from her ears, she walks up to him and nudges him slightly, bringing a small smile to his face.

“Ready for today?” She asks him and he looks down at her, nodding slightly.

“I was so excited I couldn’t sleep last night,” Morgan laughs at his tone and he laughs with her.

“Okay, let’s just get through the day.” Together they walk through the lobby where people are beginning to set up for a press conference. In the doctor’s lounge, Will diverts his attention to Natalie while Morgan heads to her locker. She hangs up her backpack on the hook, pulls out her white coat to put on, and pulls out her purple stethoscope, stuffing it into the left pocket of her white coat. She makes sure her pager is on before stuffing it into her right coat packet.

Soon doctors, nurses, reporters, administration and more are standing in the lobby listening to Mrs. Goodwin speak praising remarks for the mayor. There are cheers and claps resonating around the room and the air is light. It isn’t like that for too long. The second Goodwin cuts the ribbon for the new emergency department, various pagers and cell phones begin to ring. Morgan looks at Dr. Choi when he pulls out his pager and soon after hers begins to ring. She pulls it out and glances down to it, her eyebrows furrowing together. She sees the Mayor being ushered off before Maggie walks out through the automatic doors.

“CFD Plan 2, mass cas. Multiple trauma patients, minutes away.” She yells. “Let’s go!” She urges and medical personnel begin to push themselves through the doors. 

         ❦

All of sudden the emergency department is busy and there are sirens nearing the hospital. Maggie immediately begins delegating as paramedics pour through from the bay. Morgan is pushed to Trauma 1. 

A young teenage girl who’s clutching her arm to her chest sits on the gurney. Morgan peers down and sees her tibia poking out of her shin and knows that the girl is in pain.

“Let’s start a morphine drip!” Dr. Fitzgerald yells out, a nurse fulfilling her orders. “Transfer on my count, gently,” everyone surrounding the girl clutches at the sheet, preparing to move her onto the treatment table. “One, two, three,” with a soft thud the girl is finally on the table.

“Hi, I’m Dr. Fitzgerald, what’s your name sweetie?”

“Grace,” she breathes out, obviously having trouble breathing. “My name’s Grace.”

“Alright Grace, we’re doing everything we can to help you.” Morgan flashes a light in front of her eyes to see her pupil’s reaction. “Pupils are reactive to light, blood pressure and sats are normal, heart rate is increasing. She’s tachy, let’s push 3 of Ativan.” The room moves around Morgan as they tend to the patient who is crying in front of her. Morgan puts a nasal cannula on Grace’s face so that she could breathe easier. 

Moving to her head, Morgan takes off the collar and looks down. “Grace, I need you to do something for me real quick, okay?” Morgan nods and places her hands to each side of Grace’s head. “Alright, can you touch your chin to the chest?” Grace does so and Morgan then has her move her head side to side. “C-Spine’s clear. Doris, get me Xray and Ortho down here.”

“On it!” Doris leaves the room momentarily, before returning back to help. Morgan walks down to Grace’s feet and checks it’s pulse. 

“Need any help in here?” Dr. Halstead’s voice comes up from behind Morgan and she gives out a sigh of relief.

“Dr. Halstead, I need you to help me reset her tibia before it leads to any deficits.” She says to him, not taking her eyes off of Grace. “Where the hell is that xray?!”

“Should be here momentarily, they’re all used up,” Will heads to the side of Grace’s right leg and nods to Morgan.

“Hey Grace, this is going to hurt a lot, but we need to do this, okay?” Grace goes into panic mode and starts shaking her head, tears ferociously gliding down her face. 

“No, please no!”

“Grace, I understand how you might feel right now, but Dr. Halstead and I need to do this. I promise, it’ll take just a few seconds and then we can fix you up.” Without waiting for confirmation from the teenage girl, Morgan nods towards her colleague and together they work. Morgan pulls down on Grace’s leg, maneuvering the tibia back into her leg. Grace lets out a scream, tears moving down her face at a faster rate. “Alright, Grace, we’re all good now.” Xray finally walks in and everyone who is void of a lead apron, moves out of the way.

In the background Maggie reports another incoming, and it pulls the attention of the two doctors. “You got this from here?” Will looks down, aiming the question at Morgan.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. I’ll be there to help you when I get Grace up to the OR.” She nods and he places a gentle hand on her arm, her replying with a soft smile. Will walks away from her and she turns back to her patient. Morgan and Doris work on calming her down and prepping her for her trip upstairs. 

“What do you got for me?” Someone from surgery walks up behind Morgan, slightly starting her.

“She has an open fracture to her tibia, we cleaned the wound and maneuvered the bone back into her leg. Her arm has a closed fracture, due to her Xray I’d say she just needs a cast. Her leg, she’s definitely going to need surgery for realignment.” The surgeon, Dr. Lasonde, nods and both she and Morgan work to get Grace upstairs.

Soon Grace is on her way upstairs, her leg and arm placed into splints, and Morgan is throwing her gloves to the ground as she watches Lassonde push the gurney, a frightened Grace on top of it. Running a hand through her hair and giving a sigh out, she thanks the team around her before being rerouted to another person coming through the doors. 

          ❦

Later, as she works at the computer filling out paperwork for Grace, Morgan peers up and notices someone stepping out of Trauma 4 and talking to Mrs. Goodwin.

Connor?

Before Morgan can approach him another team of paramedics walk in with Jamie and Goodwin sends them into a treatment room. Morgan looks down and finishes typing up her charts. “Hey Sharon!” Morgan yells to grab the administrator’s attention and she stops, stepping  beside the curious doctor. “Was that Connor Rhodes?”

“Yeah, he’s the new trauma fellow. You know him?” She looks between the room he stepped in and Dr. Fitzgerald.

“Yeah, I do.” She says absentmindedly, “ Huh, I wonder why he didn’t tell me?” Morgan wonders for a moment before looking back down to the computer screen. “It’s fine, I don’t want to bother him while he’s with a patient.”

“I don’t have to worry about anything do I?” Sharon asks, hoping that drama wasn’t gonna arise between them.

“Oh, of course not! Connor and I have known each other since we were kids, he just didn’t tell me he was being transferred here. Don’t worry Sharon.” Goodwin nods and walks away from Morgan. Then Maggie walks up with a distraught, older white woman. “What can I do for you Mags?” MOrgan finally turns away from the computer and gives the duo her full attention.

“Dr. Fitzgerald, this is Grace’s mom, Candace.” Maggier introduces and Morgan smiles at the woman, holding out a hand for a handshake.

“Is my daughter okay?” Candace asks, fear in her eyes and Morgan does her best to calm her down.

“I can assure you that your daughter is okay. She had a closed fracture in her arm that just needed a cast and her leg had an open fracture. That’s a little more complicated, but she just needs her tibia realigned so she’s in surgery.”

“Surgery?”

“It shouldn’t be too long now, and I am willing to walk you up to wait for her.” Morgan places a gentle touch on Candace’s forearm and beckons her to follow. “Thank you, Maggie. I got her.” Maggie nods and continues her job as a charge nurse. 

As the doctor and patient make their way, Candace begins to ramble. “Grace wasn’t supposed to be on the train today, I was supposed to take her. This is all my fault.”

“Candace. Candace.” Morgan pulls the woman to a stop and looks her in the eye. “It is not your fault, these things just happen. But that’s not what Grace is worried about right now, I’m pretty sure that she just wants to see her mother.” Candace sniffles and reluctantly nods, letting the doctor take her to the waiting room outside Grace’s OR.

          ❦

After doing a few more rounds in the emergency department, Morgan sat herself in the doctor’s lounge, still not able to find time to talk to Connor. Morgan isn’t paying attention to the conversation happening between Natalie and Will, instead focusing on the charts of another one of her patients on the tablet in her hands. 

“You meet the new guy yet? Rhodes?” At her friend’s name leaving Natalie’s lips, Morgan’s head snaps up.

“You could say that.” Will answers back. “Likes to throw his weight around.” He leans back in his chair, his body still facing Natalie. “I don’t know, strikes me as a little arrogant.”

Natalie gives him a little look as she contemplates the words he just said to her. 

“Hey, I am not arrogant.” He scoffs at her, a teasing smile on his face. Morgan rolls her eyes and feels herself getting a little defensive over her old friend.

“No, no. Not at all.” Natalie says, sarcastically, to his remarks. “You just happen to know more than anyone else.” 

“Hey,” Morgan grasps the attention of her friends and colleagues. “I promise Connor isn’t always like that. It was just a stressful situation to be making introductions.” She  says, barely looking up to her colleagues.

“Woah, Connor?” Will questions at the familiarity that Morgan had with his name. He glances at her, waiting for an answer.

“Yeah, Dr. Rhodes. He’s an excellent doctor and he’s great to work with.”

“Have you ever worked with him?” Natalie asks, taking another sip from her water bottle.

“No, I haven’t. But I know him and I promise, he isn’t a dick.” With that Morgan makes her way out of the room, she smiles at Nat and doesn’t spare a look at Will.

          ❦

A few hours later,  Morgan makes her way up to see Grace. She’s up and talking to her mom, a smile on her face.  Morgan knocks at the entrance of the recovery room, peering her head in to take a view at her patient.

“Dr. Fitzgerald!” Candace exclaims, waving the young doctor in. 

“How’s everything going Grace? You look a lot better than when I first saw you.” Morgan glances over her vitals and chart before walking to the unoccupied side of the bed.

“Yeah, I’m doing better. The pain meds are really helping out.” She grins.

“That’s good. It looks like you’re okay for being discharged tomorrow morning. And I will try my hardest to come by and see you off.”

“Thank you Dr. Fitzgerald.” Candace reaches over and clasps Morgan’s hand. “For helping my daughter and for helping me.”

“It’s no problem, really.” She squeezes back before pulling away. “You two have a good night, and just let any of the nurses know if you need anything.” With that Morgan delivers one more smile and heads out of the room.

Now that it was the end of her shift Morgan decided to make finding Connor her number one goal.. She was ready to give up but finally spotted him standing outside a recovery room. She sneaks up beside him and peers in, Jamie is off of the ventilator and Dr. Charles sits beside him watching something on a tablet. Morgan had heard about the operation Jamie had and she could tell that he looked so much better.

“So, when were you gonna tell me that you were coming back to Chicago?” Connor jumps, whipping around to look at the owner of the voice.

“Morgan!” He chuckles out, pulling the doctor into his embrace. She hugs him back before pulling herself out and raising an eyebrow at him.

“So, were you just going to end up on our front doorstep hoping we were gonna take you in?” 

“No, I was going to surprise you. I just wanted to come back, ya know?”

“Yeah, I do. Welcome home Connor.” She gives him a small smile, looking at the one he was returning to her. “Hey, I heard about your comatose patient, sorry about that.”

“Yeah, it was tough, but he helped us save Jamie.”

“That’s good, Jamie’s a good kid. He deserves it.” They both look inside the room for a moment, before Morgan looks down at the watch sitting on her wrist. “Hey, there’s this diner that’s open 24 hours, wanna grab something to eat? Catch up and give you a bit of a rundown on how things are run here at Chicago Med.” 

Connor looks down at Morgan, her head still facing Jamie and Dr. Charles. “Yeah, sure. You buying?” She finally looks up at him with a scoff.

“Yeah right.” The fellow laughs at her and she leads him back to the doctor’s lounge in the ED. Stripping herself of her stethoscope, she places it in the locker, taking a glance of the family picture she had pinned up alongside the picture she had with Connor from her undergrad graduation.

“You hang that up in here?” He gawks at the picture, noticing how much the two of you had grown in the last 7 years.

“Yeah, I did. You are my best friend, besides Hayden of course.” Morgan hangs up the white coat on a hook in the cubby under the locker before continuing her answer,“but even when we were miles apart, you were always there for me.” She softly closes the locker.

“Huh.” He looks at Morgan, coming to the same realization about her.

“Let’s go, I am dying for their mashed potatoes.” He smiles and grabs his belongings before heading out of the lounge with his friend. On the way out the door, they pass Will.

She urges Connor to continue walking as she looks up at her other friend. “Hey Will, I’m sorry for getting all snappy at you earlier. Just got a little overprotective.” Morgan shrugs, placing her hands in her jacket pocket.

“It’s alright, I understand. I’m sorry for putting you in that position.” He nods, looking over the soft smile on her face. 

“You’re okay, Connor has his moments.” 

Will and Morgan were an enigma. They worked well together, everyone could agree on that. And outside of work, they proved to have a level of care for each other as well as always having each other’s backs. With the amount of affection they always seemed to portray to each other, everyone also wondered why they weren’t together. They made a good pair and the blinded love they had for each other was glaringly apparent to outsiders. The two doctors however, never saw it. Will was too hung up on his crush on Natalie and Morgan wasn’t looking for a relationship (the fact that she also dated his brother didn’t help). For now, they would be friends and if the universe allowed for something to happen, the universe would prevail.

“Want to grab something to eat?” Will asks, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his scrubs.

“Actually, I’m the welcoming committee for Dr. Rhodes so I’m taking him to the diner up the street.” Will nods, but dashes his eyes to where Connor is standing. “But tomorrow morning, I’m bringing coffee.” Morgan says, bringing a bigger smile on her face and chuckle to Will.

“Alright then, have a good night Morgan,” he says.

“Night Will, see you tomorrow.” She gives him a quick, small pat on his arm before turning away and walking up to Connor. They two old friends resume their conversation and Will watches the smile on Morgan’s face as she continues walking with the new doctor.

Part Two

[emily-strange]

Growing Pains...

Sooo I kicked off something that I’ve never written before haha I hope it’s okay!

Summary: Emmy has been with the gang since she was a little girl. Her mother moved on, leaving her to be raised by Dutch, Hosea and Susan. Arthur and John are her brothers (argue and she will fight you). Becoming a woman is hard when everyone still sees you as a child. Since the Blackwater mess she’s trying to find her feet while dealing with her new feelings for the gangs resident douchebag.

Tagging @strwxberrymilk @porkchop-ao3 @arthursgirl @angelsjudge and @scy77a but if you’d like to stop being tagged just let me know! :) Also if anyone else would like to be tagged just say the word xx

Pairing: Slow burn Micah x female OC.

Warnings: Swearing, comments alluding to abuse, sexual themes and a racial slur.

Chapter 15

“So as far as first shootout’s go, I’d say it went pretty well.” I declare to Arthur through gritted teeth.

“Yeaah went real well. Despite the fact yer now have’a new hole in yer leg.” Arthur replies without a modicum of humour.

“I can NOT believe you let this young lady run into a firefight, Mr Morgan. I expected this from the likes of Mr Bell but not you!” Miss Grimshaw chimes in while she wraps up my left thigh. The bullet was a through and through so I managed to avoid any sort of “surgery” and the slug was of a small caliber, so really, all in all, it could’ve been so much worse.

“I’m fine Sus-AN”I yelp after one very firm tug of the bandage, “Was that necessary!?”

Miss Grimshaw doesn’t answer me but gathers her supplies and with one last stern look, storms from the tent shaking her head and muttering under her breath.

Arthur laughs and shakes his head.

I maneuver my leg so it’s a bit more comfortable on my cot and Arthur sits on a crate next to me.

“You’re covered in blood by the way.” I state as I start to feel the effects of the whiskey coursing through my veins.

He huffs at me and replies, “Yea, well that happn’s when yer lugging people about with blood comin’ outta them.”

And then in my hazy state I remember.

“Lenny’ll be okay right?” I ask in a whisper.

“Ooh yeaa I was only jokin’ sweetheart. His wounds’a no worse than yers, just happens ta be in his shootin’ arm. He’ll live.” Arthur reassures with a hand on my cheek, “Now you sleep.”

“Tell everyone I owe them a drink okay?” I say back, feeling my eyes start to drop closed, “I did good dn’t I Art?” I slur.

All I register before I fall asleep is Arthur quietly chuckling and kissing my forehead.

We storm the ranch, guns blazing.

The rush running through me is unreal.

I’ve never been in a shootout and you know what, it’s not something I fancy doing again.

“Stay behind me.” Arthur growls as we push forward. There aren’t a lot of men but they appear to be well stocked with weapons, so we’re all planted in one spot pretty quickly. I’m with Arthur and Charles while the others are spread out alone.

From not too far away, as I duck down after firing a shot, I can see Micah smirking at me from behind a wagon. He winks at me and I find his ability to remain jovial at a time like this almost impressive.

The sound of a soft voice saying “Knock knock” jerks me awake.

“Hey, can I come in?” Sadie asks from tent entrance.

I struggle to sit up and rub at my eyes while saying “sure”. She comes in and takes Arthur’s spot on the crate next to my cot. It takes me a second to register where I am. Drinking half a bottle of whiskey in one go will do that to you. Even if it’s starting to wear off.

“You ‘kay?” she asks me quietly and it’s then I register the dull ache in my leg. Not too painful yet, but a horrible promise of what’s to come.

“Not bad….you alright?” I can see that she’s changed from her previous clothes and her hairs wet. She must’ve gotten blood on her as well. Either from me or Lenny.

“Oh, you know me.” Sadie replies but she seems a bit distant.

“Sadie. What’s wrong?” I ask quietly. Sadie looks at me but avoids direct eye-contact until I reach out for her arm asking a silent, “What’s wrong?”

“You know I ain’t good with feelin’s since Jakey….I….I’ve tried ta shut ‘em off as it were.” Sadie starts and I can see unshed tears in her eyes, “But I wan’ed ta say that….I wan’ed to tell ya….that I’m proud. Of you. Very proud.”

Suddenly the emotions of the night, along with the ache in my thigh, come crashing down upon me and my own unshed tears start to fall.

There’s a break in the gunfire and everyone takes the opportunity to rush forward towards the house. I see Micah bashing some guy in the face while Sadie uses her knife to slit another guys throat.

I’ve not sure I’ve ever seen something so brutal. But really what did I expect? I just need to remind myself that these “men” deserve everything they get.

“I want at least one Arthur” I say loudly to him as Charles breaks off from the two of us. We’re crouching and shuffling forward quickly, trying to stay out of anyone’s line of sight.

Then all of a sudden, we hear it. A scream and John’s shout.

“LENNY’S HIT!” he yells over to us.

“GET’IM OUTTA HERE MARSTON!” Arthur shouts back and as I look forward, I see the smoke and barrel of a gun pointing out of an upstairs window.

A barrel that now points at my brother.

“ARTHUR” I scream to gain his attention and then aim my gun. I pull the trigger and after a few seconds, a man comes tumbling down to splat onto the ground in front of us.

Arthur clears his throat and looks back at me smirking, “Well….I’d say ya got one.”

“Well if that weren’t just the sexiest thing.” Micah shouts over to us, causing every other man around to snarl. However, they have no time to dwell on him because soon guns start firing again.

“Sadie” I murmur while holding her hand with my spare one, “I didn’t even really do anything. I got one guy.” I laugh, trying to ease the tension, but Sadie shakes her head.

“That’s not….you got us there….imagine if you hadn’t….” She says quietly squeezing my hand. All I can manage is a nod.

After what feels like forever the guns stop and the sick bastards are dead.

My gang start looting bodies and rifling through draws and cupboards while I look around….and maybe kick the odd body now and then. The place is disgusting. Absolutely vile.

I walk through the open plan kitchen/livingroom but trip after I stand on a particularly springy floorboard (that my feet weren’t expecting) that’s covered by an old faded rug. Annoyingly I trip straight into Micah’s arms who revels in my clumsiness. As usual.

“Woah now Miss. This ain’t the time ta be gettin’ frisky…..I mean we can but big brother over there might take some offence.” He drawls into my ear playfully and I push him back, knowing he’s just trying to get a rise out of Arthur.

I start to move the rug and mumble under my breath so he can hear, “Why couldn’t it have been Charles.”, causing Micah to fake his hurt in an over reacted clench of his heart.

“You wound me.” He gasps and despite myself, I laugh.

“Help me with this will you?” I ask and he makes a snide remark about “getting Charles to help” but ultimately relents when seeing my unamused face.

We pull back the rug to reveal a trap door.

“Looky looky” Micah whistles to himself and tugs up the heavy wood, which opens to a basement.

“Okay you wait here.” I say while I take a step forward but Micah puts his hand out in front of me.

“I don’t think so Missy. You won’t see a damn thing down there.” He scoffs and I motion to a lamp that’s been, luckily, undisturbed by the gunfire.

“Hand me that then.” I ask and he rolls his eyes, but does as I ask.

“Just don’t break a nail or nuthin’” he scoffs to himself and I just flip him off.

I slowly make my way down into the basemen and when I touch the floor I yell,

“Micah!! Get my brothers!”

Sadie squeezes my hand before kissing it.

“You did good. Be proud. We are.” She says quietly to me and I smile. I really smile.

“Thank you, Sadie.” I whisper through my emotional haze and she gets up slowly, making her way to the entrance of the tent. She stops before she exits and looks at me for a moment.

“Look. When you’re ready. Come see me okay? We’ll talk.”

I nod, knowing exactly what she means. Arthur did want me to talk to someone.

After Sadie leaves, I settle back down onto the cot and close my eyes. Willing myself to sleep away the increasing pain in my thigh.

When I descend the final step, I shine the lantern around as the smell from the basement makes me gag. What I see makes me cry out for Micah.

“Micah!! Get my brothers!” I yell and watch as the three young girls in front of me cower away on the furthest wall, “Fucking hell.” I whisper to myself and move to approach them.

“You’re okay. You’re safe now.” I try telling them but they huddle impossibly closer together and push themselves further back onto the wall. I think for a second that I should yell for Sadie. My gut reaction was my brothers but that’s just out of habit. I think this will need a woman’s help.

However, before I can yell for anyone else, I feel the cold, hard barrel of a gun pressed behind my head.

“You killed my men” comes a revolting voice behind me.

“Technically, I only killed one…” I reply but completely shut up once the barrel pushes painfully into my temple, “….okay so not the time for being a smartass, got it.”

“Emmy?” Arthur yells down into the basement but stops his movement at the hatch once he catches sight of the gun against my head.

“Yeah, I’m here….and um, I’ve made a friend.” I joke humourlessly as the man guides me up the basement stairs. Once we’re at the top I see that Arthur and John have brought Lenny inside as the others look around. He’s sat on a shot up sofa while my brother’s stand with their hands up and away from their guns.

“Just shoot him!” I shout at them. I’ll be damned if one of these assholes get away.

“Emmy, shut the fuck up.” John growls quietly and the little sister in me wants to hit him so bad. But the gun to my head keeps me firmly in place.

“Now this’s how it’s gonna go down. Imma get to one’ve ma horses with ya little lady here. We’re gonna ride off and once I know ya ain’t followin’, I’ll letta go. ‘kay?” the man snarls and from his breath alone I can tell he’s vermin.

Everyone takes a breath and you just know they’re waiting for Arthur.

“Now, that ain’t gonna happen friend.” He says sternly while keeping his hands away from his holster.

Suddenly the door blasts open and Micah, along with Sadie and Charles come barging in asking what’s taking so long. They instantly freeze and for once I see pure confusion on his face. He also looks at Arthur for the solution. Even if he’d never admit it.

“Who’s dumb idea was this anyway?” I hiss rhetorically but Micah just has to answers.

“Yours” he replies and even though I have a gun to my head, I roll my eyes, “Yes thank you Micah.”

Micah shrugs and Arthur gives everyone in the room a death glare.

“Everyone shut the hell up! And hands where I cn see em’! You too darky.” The man shouts and motions to Lenny.

“Do I look like I can fire a gun right now!?” Lenny snaps back holding his bloody upper arm.

Knowing what this man is and hearing how he speaks to Lenny makes me feel physically sick. But not just that, it makes me stupid with rage. I see red.

I decide there and then that if I’m going to die, I’ll be taking this fucker with me.

I move the hand that’s still holding the lantern back a bit, positioning it over this guys foot. And then I simply…..let go.

As soon as I do, I duck as much as I can in his grip and watch as the lantern hits his foot.

His gun fires. But so does everyone else���s.

It was all a big blur. One moment I’m ducking and elbowing this pervert in the dick as flames quickly engulf his leg and then the next, I’m on the floor with a hole in my thigh.

Everyone fires so the man is quickly riddled with bullets and lies burning on the floor. Charles grabs the rug and smothers the flames before they can spread further. Everyone else just remains in place, stunned.

The shock wears off quickly and the pain in my leg starts.

“WHO. THE FUCK. SHOT ME!?” I shout as Arthur throws himself to the ground to wrap his bandana around the wound. It’s quiet for a few seconds (other than my pathetic “ow ow ow’s”) and then a small voice pipes up from the corner.

“Um…I think that was me….” Lenny says timidly from his position on the sofa, a smoking gun still hanging from his pained hand.

“Why the fuck did you shoot!?” Micah shouts at Lenny and Charles jumps to his defense, “Everyone shot! Could have been anyone….”

Unfortunately, Micah wasn’t having any of it and argues back. Then Arthur joins in…..and then John who was annoyed at Arthurs handling of the situation…..then Lenny sticks up for Arthur….who turns his anger onto Micah for bringing this whole thing upon us.

It was ridiculous.

The only people not making any noise are me and Sadie who catches my eye from across the room, causing us both to burst into laughter. Making all the men stop.

“My first gunshot and it was given to me…..by Lenny!?” I say wheezing through my laughter as Arthur helps me up. I stumble as I struggle not to put too much weight on my left leg.

“Could’ve been worse!” Arthur says sternly to me and I just pat his face like you would a child who’s too riled up.

“Yeah, yeah” I whisper looking away and remembering what caused all of this.

“They’re holding girls down there.” I say grimly looking from the basement to the others around me.

“Girls?” Sadie says taking a large step forward to me and I nod.

“Three of them….they look around 12/13 years old.” I whisper to her.

Sadie nods and orders the men out before turning to me softly, “Let’s go get them.”

“Hey…..hey!” Micah barks as he shakes me awake.

“God damn Micah!” I growl after I’ve gathered my bearings, “You could’ve woken me up nicely!”

“Oh yeah…how would you want me to wake you up then?” Micah drawls while wiggling his eyebrows at me.

“Try not at all” I say sickly sweet back to him. He’s taken residence on the very popular crate by my bed.

Micah scoffs and turns away from me scratching the back of his neck. He’s not wearing his hat and he’s changed into his black shirt, the one I borrowed. He shakes his head while turning his gaze to the ground.

“You okay?” I ask quietly when he fails to look back at me, “Micah?”

I reach out and touch his arm, but doing so pulls at my leg, causing me to hiss. Micah snaps his attention back to me.

“Hey don’t go movin’ around! You gotta be more careful.” He barks again and moves further towards me, placing my hand on his arm where I was reaching for him. I smile.

“You sound like Arthur” I chuckle despite the pain in my thigh.

“Pfft. Guess he can’t always be wrong then.” Micah scoffs and looks at the bandage on my thigh. “I still can’t believe that idiot shot you!”

“It’s not like he meant to and anyways I’m lucky he wasn’t using his own gun. Just one he found on the ground. Might’ve been a lot worse otherwise.” I sigh looking down at where my skirt is ridden up. I no longer have my cut off union trousers under it so one thigh is completely bare while the other one is covered in bandages. I catch Micah looking.

“Hey”, I snap my fingers at him, “My eyes are up here buddy.”

I expect some witty retort but instead he picks up the hand that lies on his arm….and kisses it. His mustache tickles my knuckles and the feeling makes me sigh happily. For a short moment I close my eyes and forget about the hole under the bandages.

“You did good out there.” He eventually says in a whisper. If he wasn’t so close I’d of never heard him.

“Thank you” I reply giving him a sleepy smile. I shift a bit and wince at the pull in my thigh.

“You want some more whiskey?” Micah asks me and I shake my head.

“Nah, it’s making me feel a bit sick. I just need to sleep….which I was doing very well I’ll have you know.” I say narrowing my eyes are him. Micah laughs and shifts even closer.

“You know…I could make you feel a whole lot better without whiskey.” Micah whispers into my ear and I shiver at the sensation of his breath on my neck. Micah puts his large calloused palm on my good thigh and lets his thumb graze over my knee.

“Micah” I whisper, instantly feeling my underwear become wet, “I was shot like, three hours ago.”

Micah kisses from my ear down to the side of my neck and back up again. He delicately licks at my ear and nibbles on my lob before saying “Mmhm and I think that means you deserve somethin’ don’t you? For doin’ so good….savin’ those girls….you did real good.”

As much as I’d go to my grave denying it, Micah’s praise is doing something to me. I lie my head back and close my eyes, giving into the sensation of his large fingers skimming my inner thigh. The only problem is he’s said the word that I’ve heard one too many times to feel good.

“Thing is Micah,” I whisper opening my eyes. I run my hand up into his hair and pull his head back to look me in the eyes. I lick my lips and plunge forward connecting my lips to his in a brief, heated, dominating kiss. One that, if it had a winner, would be me. I nip his bottom lip as we detach, “I don’t like being told what I ‘deserve’.” I finish by licking along the seams of his lips and let go of his hair.

I settle back into my cot and gently take his hand from my inner thigh and press it to my soaked underwear.

“Fuck” Micah sighs under his breath and I can see the tell-tale signs of him growing hard in his trousers. His eyes snap to mine as I start to gently rut against his fingers which I’ve maneuvered to press against my aching clit.

“You see….” I whisper to Micah as I pick up the pace as much as I can with my injured leg, “…..telling me what I ‘deserve’ makes it feel like I’m being gifted something…..” I continue to rub his fingers against me and I can see Micah rub his erection through the fabric of his trousers. His eyes haven’t moved from where his hand has disappeared up my skirt.

“……when the reality is…..” I pause a moment while I slip my underwear to the side and allow one of Micah’s thick fingers to enter me, “…..I take what I want. Not what men think I ‘deserve’”

My tent is filled with the sounds of Micah quietly grunting as he palms himself and the wet, slick noise of his finger being moved in and out of my tight heat. When I feel that I’m ready, I move another of his fingers to push into me and once I feel adjusted, I snap my fingers at Micah to grab his attention.

Micah watches with his mouth hanging open as I lick my own essence from my fingers. I then lie back and hold the top of my cot before asking huskily, “You know what to do right?”

It takes a moment for Micah to come to his senses but when he does, he snaps his mouth closed and lunges for my lips. While he kisses me, a kiss that I allow him to control, his fingers begin to move inside me.

“Yer so fucking wet,” he growls in my ear and the sensation sends shockwaves all the way down to my core, “and tight. Jesus, so tight.” Micah’s other hand moves to his belt and I grab the wrist of his hand currently fucking me. He stops and looks at me.

“No….this is mine remember.” I say to him cockily, “I’m happy to finish alone. But I will admit I’d rather ride your fingers than mine.”

Micah removes the hand from his belt and moves to tower over me on the cot. His right-hand resumes fingering me while his left moves to clutch at the top of the cot near my head. He very, very carefully places his knee on the cot, making sure to avoid my injured thigh.

“You like being in charge?” he hisses at me while his fingers move faster and faster, “That’s fine…..for now.” Micah moves his thumb to my clit and starts applying just the right amount of pressure. I grab the sides of his face and pull his lips to mine to quieten my moans and then grab at his shirt to keep him in place.

“Faster” I gasp between kisses and Micah obliges, “Fuck, you feel so good.” I praise and I’m sure I see his eyes light up, “Don’t stop.” Micah shakes his head and kisses at my neck again while my free hand finds purchase in his long hair.

I feel myself climb higher and higher towards my peak as Micah kisses and nibbles along my neck. I know he wants to sink his teeth in but he also knows that wouldn’t end well. Micah wants more than his fingers inside me one day and if he pushes too far, he knows he’ll lose that opportunity. Micah’s an idiot, but he’s not stupid.

“You like my fingers darlin’?” Micah drawls as he pulls back to look at me. I nod eagerly and whimper the closer I get. Micah moves his free hand to my face and brushes his thumb down to my lips which I eagerly take into my mouth and suck. “Fuckin’ hell baby….keep doin’ that….” When I stop sucking, Micah adds a quick “please.”

Micah’s fingers, along with his hot breath on my face as he pants and his thumb moving in and out of my mouth, causes me to hit my high and I cum. Hard. I grab the wrist under my skirt and still his hand which I grind against to ride out the final waves of pleasure.

I bite down hard on Micah’s thumb to contain my cries and for a moment I worry that I’ve hurt him but when I open my eyes, I’m met with his signature smirk. I also notice he’s breathing very, very hard.

As he removes his fingers from me, I glance down to his lap and see a dark stain spreading around his crotch. I bite my lip as he brings his fingers to his lips and licks my wetness off of them.

“Well” he huffs once he’s finished, “That was somethin’.”

I can’t help but laugh and can only get out a quiet, “Yep.”

Micah smiles and leans down to capture my lips with his, giving me a taste of myself on his tongue. When he pulls back, he takes a moment to grasp my face and growl. I wink at him and giggle as he pulls his face away from me; the euphoria, whiskey and exhaustion from the day making me giddy.

“Goodnight darlin’” he drawls quietly and honestly the only thing I can manage is a nod. My body is tingling and I feel weightless. As Micah straightens up, fully ready to face anyone outside my tent with his wet crotch, I feel my body giving into sleep.

Before I doze off, I’m almost 100% sure I feel blankets being pulled up over me as the lantern is dimmed.

[nimarasnetherworld]

Rainbow

Here's another one-shot! This one is just short and sweet and centered around Olivia (my OC, Charles and Delia's daughter)

You can read my other Beetlejuice one-shots on Ao3 right here!

Enjoy!

******************

A few years ago, Charles would have been deeply annoyed by his current working conditions. He was seated at the living room's table and was trying to type a report Maxie had asked him to do. With a teenager, two ghosts and a demon in the house, Charles had to learned how to be patient. He was now able to be a lot more open about what was going on in his house and often let its inhabitants vacate to their diverse occupations without complaining. Well, mostly without complaining.

But right now it wasn't a teenager, a ghost or demon that was distracting him from his work. It was his two years old daughter. Olivia had been a surprise. A huge surprise. But when they had found out Delia was pregnant, Charles had found a new happiness he didn't know he needed.

Olivia was currently seated in his laps, scribbling on a piece of paper with some markers. The toddler was making big, dramatic movements as she drew. She was definitely Delia's daughter. But that meant that Charles had to do some manoeuvring so that he could keep typing, without receiving a marker in his eye and without Olivia falling on the floor.

Charles sighed, his report wasn't getting anywhere. He kept on typing, trying to make sense of what he was writing. The business man was concentrating so hard he didn't realize that his daughter had stopped drawing. Suddenly, Olivia shifted in his laps and he felt something scratched his beard. Charles stilled and looked down. Olivia was coloring his beard with a blue marker. A frown was on her little face and her tongue was slightly sticking out of her mouth, indicating she was concentrating hard. It was an expression she had actually picked from Adam.

Charles quickly glanced down at the other markers to make sure they were washable. They were. So he let Olivia colored his beard. Years ago he would have stopped her immediately and reprimanded her. But he had learned to "go with the flow" as Delia always said.

Olivia put down the blue marker and turned to pick the pink one before starting to color another part of his beard with it. Charles decided to ask his daughter what she had in mind,

"Sweetheart, what are you doing?" He asked calmly, shutting his computer.

Olivia looked up at him with her big brown eyes,

"I'm making you rainbow daddy!" She happily exclaimed, "like uncle Beeblejuice!"

She gave him the cutest smile ever and grabbed a green marker before going back to work. Charles sighed. Olivia had developed an obsession with colors at a very young age, mostly due to Beetlejuice doing tricks with his hair to entertain her. She had even learned colors with Beetlejuice. Well, after they taught him colors, since he apparently thought orange was pink.

So Charles sat there, waiting patiently while his daughter colored his beard so he could "be rainbow". He wondered how long it would take Olivia to entirely color it. Probably not too long. Charles looked down at his daughter. She looked so much like him. But she definitely leaned more toward Delia personality wise. He always wondered how their crazy family would influence her upbringing. At first he had been afraid for this innocent child, but more the time passed and more he felt like this would only be something beneficial for his daughter.

Olivia put the green marker, that almost fell from the table but Charles caught it before it did, and grabbed the orange one,

"This one is like mommy!" She said, the statement making Charles melt.

Olivia continued to color Charles's beard for a while. When she was down to the last color, the toddler was interrupted by the front door opening,

"Mommy!"

Olivia scrambled off of his laps, almost falling in the process, and ran in her mother's outstretched arms.

"Hello sweetie!" Cooed Delia, taking her daughter in her arms.

"How was your day Olivia?" Asked the life-coach

"It was great mommy! And look!"

The toddler went back to Charles who was still seated at the table.

"I made daddy rainbow!"

Charles saw the exact moment when Delia saw Olivia's work of art, the confusion on her face quickly replaced by amusement.

"Oh sweetie you did a wonderful job." Praised Delia, making her way toward both her husband and the toddler. "You made daddy very handsome."

Olivia beamed at her mother praise but Charles could still see the amused twinkle in his wife's eyes. It gave him an idea,

"I thought I was already really handsome." He complained playfully.

"Of course you were!" Exclaimed Delia.

Seeing his complain did have the desired effect, he got up and wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her in for a kiss. Delia let out a little cry of surprise, and Charles pressed his face closer to hers. He only broke away from her when he heard a simultaneous,

"Ewww!"

And,

"Get a room!"

He turned back toward the door where Lydi was, coming home from school,

"Lydia!" Cried Olivia, running toward her sister.

The teenager easily scooped her up in her arms,

"Hey Liv! Do you want to play Just Damce me?"

Olivia's whole face lit up,

"Yay!"

The little girl jumped out of Lydia's arms and ran into the living room. Before following her, the teenager turned to her parents,

"By the way nice rainbow beards you two."

Delia watched her stepdaughter go with some confusion,

"What does she mean rainbow beard..."

She trailed off as she brought her hand to her chin, noticing taces of colors when she looked back at it.

"What the..."

It's only at this moment that she realised Charles was giggling, clearly amused by the fact that he had managed to transfer some of the color applied by Olivia on his beard to Delia's face when he had kiss her.

"Charles!" Scowled Delia, playfully slapping his arm.

Charles took this opportunity, grabbing her hand and lightly tugging on it to bring her against his chest.

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, lightly caressing her cheek in the process.

"Come on, it was fun. And with the girls occupied with their game. We can have a little bit of time for ourselves." He said suggestively.

"Mmm really?" Asked Delia, her eyes locking on his lips.

Their lips were about to touch, when,

"Mommy!! Come and help me beat Lydia!!"

Charles groaned. It was hard to get some quiet moments with Delia. But his wife just laughed, quickly pecking his lips,

"Come on! I feel like you're eldest might need your help."

Charles chuckled and followed her into the living room. Years ago, Charles would have refused. But it was clear that he had change. Actually, he was feeling more like himself than he ever did.

[lizartgurl]

“Back to You” (Aqualad x OC)

PART SEVENTEEN

(part one) (part two) (part three) (part four) (part five) (part six)(part seven) (part eight) (part nine) (part ten) (part eleven) (part twelve) (part thirteen) (part fourteen) (part fifteen) (part sixteen)

@flamebiirds​ @the-shadow-of-atlantis​ @super-spoiler​ @keanureevesislesbian​ @princes-jasmine​ @sapphicstargirl​

Everyone was crying, some more quietly than others. Shannon Marten stood tall and proud, shoulders squared back, fire in her eyes as a single tear escaped. So this was what would become of her people.

Most of the Humanitarian volunteers were tied up, locked up aboard their ships to keep out of the way, but Rhodes and his men went from house to house with their big gun and lack of decorum, dragging out families and children in their PJs, gathering them in front of the post with the refugee girls and women, half of which were inconsolable.

“Where is the Midayo?” young Hannah whispered to her husband, holding their eight-month-old to her chest.

Shannon looked around. She’d sent Miiyahbin to get Nightingale and Aqualad, but they should have been back by now. Something had to have happened to them.

“If y’all are worried about your so-called heroes,” One of Rhodes’ men taunted loudly and obnoxiously, as if he could read her mind, “Ya needn’t be bothered. They aren’t coming.”

“You’re lying!” Shannon could easily identify Heather’s voice out of the crowd, but she was easily hidden by her fathers and others from retaliation.

“Are we, eh?” Rhodes spread his arms, begging to be disproved, “If your little friends were coming, they’d be here by now, wouldn’t they?”

Benny and Janice, his wife, knelt in the snow, trying to ease Charles’ wounds. His glasses were crushed under Rhodes’ boot as he surveyed his captives.

“Shannon,” Charles uttered, reaching for her hand.

“Hush, Charles, try not to talk.” Shannon smiled at him, “It’ll be alright.”

Charles gripped her hand, laughing with delirium, “You know, you’re still as beautiful as the day I met you.”

“Charles, you can’t even see me,” Shannon fought off a blush.

“Doesn’t matter.” He chuckled.

Shannon sighed, wondering how long she could keep lying to herself and others. Two of Rhodes’ men came out of the Post, carrying all the gasoline that they had in stock.

“Gettin’ a bit chilly, innit, boss?” One of them asked.

Rhodes nodded with a cruel smile. “Get the boats, first. Then we’ll see if it spreads to the rest of this decrepit village.”

One of the rescued young woman screamed, and the rest dissolved into tears. Those from the village would have comforted them, if they weren’t in such a state of shock themselves.

And then Heather escaped what little security the arms of her fathers provided, shoving through the crowd to stand defiantly in front of Rhodes, though she still wore her favorite Hello Kitty pajamas.

“Ooo, girl’s still got some spark in her, eh?” Rhodes sauntered forward, reaching out to caress her cheek.

“Not bad for a little-”

Heather’s hands, on the end of two stick-thin arms, shot up and shoved Rhodes back with a chest full of fire. It would have spread from his kevlar suit to his face if he didn’t immediately drop and roll in the melting snow.

His men cursed, dropping the gas and firing at Heather or at the townspeople, whichever they thought would make her stand down, but a ring of fire spread around the villagers and the ‘Post, clumsily careful to avoid the dripping gasoline draped over the boats and part of the town. The fire was so hot it melted the bullets, but just warm enough to keep them all from getting hypothermia.

“You messed with the wrong people,” Heather growled.

Another kidnapped girl, with tear streaks down her face, stood on bruised, shaking legs. She made her way to Heather’s side, the ground shaking with each step.

Shannon’s chest swelled with pride as one by one, a majority of the women that had been rescued began to display some kind of supernatural power.

“So that Bedlam guy wasn’t kidding!” One of the men shouted, inching towards the edge of town.

“Wait a minute, what’s going on?” So Charles hadn’t completely lost his mind yet.

The ground shook in the distance, as something approached, and a silver-robed human streaked across the sky, raining knives of ice upon Rhodes and his men.

“Don’t just stand there! Call ‘em!” Rhodes screamed at his men, running for the shelter of the gazebo at the center of town.

The townspeople took the opportunity provided by the girls and the arrival of the Midayo to herd each other back to the ‘Post.

“Benny, hand me that shotgun!” Shannon pointed to the gun, more for decoration than anything else, that hung over the fireplace next to the bar.

“Shannon, don’t you think that the kids got this?” Benny asked. His wife and one of the girls who didn’t seem to have powers were tending to Charles, as he attempted to tell them how to patch him up.

Shannon cocked the shotgun, “Doesn’t mean we can’t help.”

-

“Rhodes and his men have the Wayne Volunteers locked up on their ships, and from the smell, he was ready to send them and all of Moose Factory up in a fireball.”

“Nightwing, get the volunteers free and off the ships. Kid, try and see if you can clean them off real quick, just in case.”

“Rodger, NG!”

“What about me?”

Emma took a moment to catch her breath, “Protect the post, Superboy, keep those girls from getting shot.”

“How many kids have suddenly developed powers?” Miss Martian asked. They would be going faster than they were now, but the Bioship had used up most of its energy chasing after and incapacitating the Manta Flyer. Thankfully, Kaldur was seeing to Emma’s near-death case of hypothermia, so they didn’t need much energy for that, and M’gann had a mind link set up for communication.

“Miiyahbin, can you hear us?” Emma asked.

“This is freaky.”

“You are the latest in a line of mythical protectors of the Cree. You might want to get used to ‘freaky’.” Kaldur couldn’t help but grin.

“I count about twenty women and girls displaying superpowers. There’s fire, like Heather’s got, earth-manipulation, water-bending like me and Kaldur-”

“-Kaldur and I.” Artemis sighed.

Equinox groaned, “And Rhodes has about six guys hiding from us.”

“This’ll be easy!” Kid cheered, “Ships are clear of gasoline, though I may have chipped the paint. Send my sincerest apologies to Brucey, would ya ‘Wing?”

“So Rhodes just walked in with six people and took over a whole village? Something doesn’t add up.” Artemis voiced her thoughts out loud, feet propped up on the console as she examined her arrows before a good fight.

“Did he have that many people when he last attacked the village?” M’gann asked.

“No, he sent the Whitago after us, and they chased us back to the village, where the villagers fought with us.”

“He has guns, Artemis. Big guns.” Kaldur reminded them.

“How did you stop the Whitago?” M’gann asked.

“Froze them over, dropped them in a bottomless lake.” Emma shrugged.

Artemis huffed, then shuddered, shouldering her quiver. “I still don’t like it. Something’s wrong here.”

By then, they had reached the town. Emma was about to jump out the back of the camouflaged bioship as it took far too long to descend into a grove of trees far enough from the fire, but Kaldur grabbed her, holding her close until M’gann herself confirmed a safe landing.

“Kal, I’m fine,” Emma insisted, pushing his arms away.

“I am sorry,” Kaldur apologized sincerely, grabbing his backup pair of water-bearers from the storage, “I couldn’t bear to see you fall again.”

Emma went silent for a moment, then leaped out of the bioship after Kaldur and the girls, to join the others in the square.

“Well it’s about time!” A bullet shot by Nightingale’s head, aimed at the hiding place of one of Rhodes’ men. She turned, watching with a slack jaw, as Grandmother reloaded her shotgun.

“Sweetheart, my husband toted me all over North America working with the Justice Society, do you honestly think I don’t know how to defend myself?”

Though she preferred not to use guns, Emma decided to take the extra help over her morals.

Tracing a line in the snow, Kaldur created a water shield, enough to cover himself and a few other girls from the bullets.

“Follow me!” He waved down Heather, who diffused her fiery fists, and she grabbed two other girls. One seemed to be causing the vibrations in the ground that knocked their attackers off their feet while they were able to keep their balance, and the other had eyes glowing white as her hair stirred from a sudden gust of wind.

Now with backup, Kaldur began to close the distance between their blockade, and Rhodes’ hiding spot.

Rhodes, of course, was quick to notice.

“Now!” He screamed at his men in a panicked voice.

One of them fumbled in his vest pocket, and pulled out a wooden whistle. Though no one heard a thing when he put it to his lips, it pierced Emma to her soul all the same.

As she paused to catch her breath, she stopped beside Miiyahbin, whose eyes were wide and staring straight ahead, past the villages, and past Rhodes and his men. Standing at the edge of the forest was a Whitago. The leader of the very same group they had just defeated earlier that night.

“Dad...” Miiyahbin whispered.

The Whitago question reared its head back, and howled into the night. With a skittering noise that scratched at the inside of Emma’s skull, more Whitago sprinted from the depths of the forest. They ran around Rhodes and his men, heading for the heroes they were fighting. Except for the one, the leader, who examined Miiyahbin curiously.

Emma could see Miiyahbin’s eyes narrow, not at the creature that possessed her father’s face, but at the man responsible.

“Rhodes killed my father.”

[imladris-soldier]

Lashes (pt 17)

Bill Williamson is a racist asshole. Everyone knows it. They just punch him and go on about their day. When a Lakota woman joins the gang, everyone expects things to go on as normal, slurs and all, and for a time, it does. But her curiosity gets the better of her, and she finds that hatred is something learned - which means it can be unlearned, if given time, care, and patience. And she has plenty of those… the first two, anyway.

Bill Williamson x OC

One day passed, and then another without Kieran showing back up in camp. Star didn't like it one bit. Any trail he might have left was long gone by that point, and without knowing which direction he'd left in, there was no use going out and trying to find one. Bill watched Star fidget and pace, but he never said a word. They would have fallen on deaf ears anyway.

It was ultimate Sadie who took Star by the shoulders late one afternoon and sat her down. “Now, you frettin' all over this camp ain't gonna bring that boy back any sooner. He's grown. He'll come back when he's good and ready. Now you just settle yourself down.”

The stern, motherly talking to was enough to force Star to calm down a bit. Sadie was right, of course. There was nothing she could do, and it was a waste of energy to think otherwise. To distract herself, she went and found Javier to ask about the riverboat job.

The man laughed and pat the log next to him. “It is quite a tale, amiga. Let me see if I can get Arthur to say señor the way he did that night.”

The cowboy refused, blushing and waving off a giggling Javier as he walked away to speak with Dutch. Star watched him go, grinning. “So, what? Then you all just leaped from the boat into the water? Strauss too?”

“That is exactly what we did. We had what we came for, and any other method of escape was either too slow or too obvious, and they were already onto us.”

“Jesus. When Arthur said it was a hair-brained idea, I didn't realize he wasn't exaggerating.”

“With Josiah Trelawney, there is never too much exaggerating.” He laughed quietly to himself, then changed the subject. “Ey, tell me something. You and Bill. This is a... permanent arrangement?”

“I... well, I don't know about permanent, but I don't foresee an end currently. Why do you ask?”

He shrugged. “I've just been thinking. When I first met the man, he curled up his nose at me. Called me greaser and other names – mostly whatever poorly formed insult he could come up with at the time. He doesn't do this anymore. Not to me or Charles or Lenny or Tilly. I admit wondering what it is you did to him. He treated you just as badly when you arrived, and yet...”

“I know.” Star sighed and looked at the ground. “He treated others badly to feel better about himself. You see how people treat him. He might act big and tough, but it hurts him to be so demeaned, and he took out that hurt on those around him – those he had been taught were less than. I simply told him that what he was taught is wrong, and that he is worthy of love in his own right. It took time, but... once he realized I was not trying to fool him, he really listened. Deep down, he wants to please and be accepted.”

Javier nodded a bit. “I noticed once that the worst of his words came when he was drunk. I thought that interesting.”

“Hm. True. I believe the alcohol was a double-edged sword. It helped him escape that which he did not wish to face, but it also heightened his vulnerabilities. I don't know what demons whispered in his head, but they were very unkind. To drown them out, he yelled unkind things at others instead. Perhaps he meant them at the time, I don't know. But... the demons seem quieter now, and he does not lash out so much. When he does, it is at those who deserve it. Does this make sense?”

“It does to me.” Javier smiled. “You read the man like a book, then ripped out the pages and made him start writing it all over again.”

“That is an interesting metaphor. But I suppose you're right. He...”

“Dios mio!”

Javier cut across her, staring over her shoulder in abject horror. A scream ripped through the air of the camp, followed by chilling words. “It's Kieran!”

Star stood and spun, unable for a moment to reconcile reality with what she was looking at. Kieran's headless body sat atop a horse that wasn't his, and his missing head rested in his hands. His eyes had been gouged out and left open so that deep, bloody caverns stared back at her. The raw stump atop his shoulders still oozed slightly which meant that the wound was recent. It couldn't have been more than an hour since his head had been removed. Which meant that he couldn't have been far. If they'd been paying attention, maybe they could have heard him scream.

“Everybody take cover!” Dutch roared from the balcony of the house as gunshots started ringing. “O'Driscoll boys comin' in!”

Star didn't hear him. She just kept standing there, staring. Even after the horse had reared and run, leaving Kieran's body in a heap on the ground, she couldn't tear her eyes from the spot. “Get down, Star!” Javier shouted, grabbing her by the shirt and dragging her behind one of the defenses that the Raiders had left behind.

It took Star a long moment to get her bearings and realize that they were under attack. O'Driscolls. Dutch had said O'Driscolls. Like Kieran used to be. They took him. They tortured him. They killed him.

The war cry that tore from her throat as she drew her hatchet and leaped over the battlements hearkened back to a day long past. She channeled a rage in that moment that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. This is how she fought for her family.

Between her hatchet and her pistol, several men fell, but that did not make her impervious to bullets. One cut through her upper arm, but between the adrenaline and the anger, she barely felt it. Swift feet carried her from man to man. She was vaguely aware of her fellows yelling at her to get inside the house, but there weren't any O'Driscolls in the house.

Finally, Charles' large hand closed around her arm and pulled her away as she roared and fired off shots into the trees. As they neared the house, however, a scream came from out back, and Arthur called, “That's Sadie! I gotta go help her. Cover me!”

It was enough of a distraction to slacken Charles' grip, and Star broke free, barreling around the house and diving on the first man she saw. By the time her hatchet stopped falling, his head was removed from his body, and she was on to the next.

The last man she tackled to the ground before the O'Driscolls retreated felt her knife at his throat as she hoarsely whispered in his ear, “Lé mitháwa thiwáhe. This is my family. See how the Lakota protect and avenge their family.”

Her well-maintained knife bit into his skin and sliced like butter while he gurgled and jerked in her grip. In his last moments, that knife moved to his hairline and ripped backwards, removing a long strip of dark hair. She gripped it in her hand, and shouted her victory at the backs of the retreating men.

“Cowards!” Dutch yelled.

Hosea came out of the house, followed slowly by others. “We ok?”

“I think so. Except for Kieran here. Poor kid. Mr. Swanson, will you take this boy and bury him? Someplace near, but... not too near.”

“Of course,” the reverend replied. “Charles, help me with the body.”

“We need to get this place cleaned up,” Hosea called. Mr. Pearson! Ms. Grimshaw!”

“Already taking care of it!” the woman called back.

Star stood on the edge of the property, still clutching the scalp of the man her feet. She was covered in blood again, but this time it did not call up bad memories. At least... not for her.

When she turned around to come back, she saw Bill standing by the gazebo, staring at her. His eyes had glassed over slightly, and he didn't seem entirely able to move. Given the position of his body, he seemed to have been stuck that way for some time. His gun was still pointed at the trees.

“Williamson, move your ass and help!” Hosea snapped.

Star immediately snarled, “Leave him alone!” Her instinct was to run to him and usher him away, but she knew that she was the cause of his current state. To do so would be to invite disaster. “He... he needs... take him somewhere quiet. Away from... away from me. Someone.”

Arthur was the only one to react, going to Bill's side and gently taking his rifle from him. “Come on, big man. Let's go cool off.”

Bill relinquished the gun almost as if he had no control over his limbs. He followed Arthur's hand on his shoulder without question, eyes just staring out in front of him. Star couldn't imagine what horrors were replaying in his mind, and every part of her felt remorse for having triggered them. Still, she could not take back her actions and would not anyway. The O'Driscolls hopefully learned a lesson about messing with the Van Der Linde Gang that day.

Though she knew it was tradition to keep the scalps of enemies, Star let it fall into the grass. Keeping it would only serve to cause Bill more problems, and she had made her point. Instead, she made her way to the water to wash her face and hands. After helping Reverend Swanson, Charles fell into step with her.

“You ok?”

“I'm fine. Well... I'm not fine. But if you're asking me if I'm going to have a breakdown like I did at Clemens Point, the answer is no.”

“I see.”

They walked in silence to the water, then knelt and washes themselves as clean as they could get without properly bathing. Star sighed and leaned on the backs of her legs. “Will you go check on Bill please? My actions have caused great distress. I didn't even think about it. I just... reacted.”

“Sure.” Charles stood, but paused. “He'll be alright. You'll work through it.”

“I know. But it's best if I keep my distance for a while. Just tell him... tell him I'm sorry.”

“I will.”

With that, Charles left her. She knelt by the water a while longer, then noticed an alligator on the opposite bank, watching her. “Fuck off, you beast,” she murmured, splashing water at it and getting up to leave.

Knowing well that her presence in camp might just be a source of trouble that the gang did not need, Star gathered up her things, mounted Rhiannon, and rode out. She wasn't really sure where she was going, but space was needed, so space she would give.

As she rode, she realized that she and Arthur were meant to be meeting with Eagle Flies in a few days anyway, so she made the decision to head up to the Heartlands and wait for them both at Citadel Rock. It would give her time to be alone and think.

The ride north went without issue. She traveled through the night and arrived at her destination not too long after sunrise. Once she set up a small camp, she finally took a moment to simply collapse on the ground. The tension she'd been subconsciously holding in her body had locked up every muscle, and when she finally gave them leave to relax, they ached.

That tension had also been holding in her grief, so a quiet sob accompanied her exhale. She didn't implode quite as much as she had over Sean, but the pain of knowing that Kieran had been in trouble the whole time and no one had helped him was overwhelming. She kept imagining his frightened, bruised face as they tried to beat the location of camp out of him. Perhaps he'd broken and told them, or perhaps they had already known and just wanted to see if they could break him. Either way, she gave no blame to him.

Once she had run through all the scenarios of Kieran's murder, her mind turned to Bill and his vacant expression after the fight. She'd seen him go white at her actions before, but he'd never just... disappeared from his body like that. She couldn't blame him. Just knowing the story about the night his previous lover had been killed was enough to know some of the things he had seen. Every action she had taken would have been a reminder he did not need. She cried for him too, knowing how much she had inadvertently hurt him.

The tears led to exhaustion, and she ended up sleeping the afternoon away. Her growling stomach woke her after nightfall. She settled for some salted beef, deciding to hunt the next day and instead enjoy the stars while she patched up her wounded arm. The sky was clear and cool, and she caught sight of many falling stars that streaked over the canvas above her. In her heart, she wished Bill was with her.

On the appointed meeting day, as luck would have it, Arthur showed up first. He gave a wave as he dismounted and led his horse to Star's camp. “Thought I might find you here.”

“Sorry I didn't tell you.”

“It's alright. I knew why you didn't.”

“How is he?”

“Better. Worried about you.”

“Me?” she snorted. “Of the two of us, I came out mostly unscathed.”

“Yeah, but... well, he knows you probably feel bad and all. Kept sayin' he didn't mean to space out like that. Couldn't help it none.”

“I know. But it's something to think about, isn't it? If I can cause something so terrible in him... maybe...” Her throat constricted, making the next few words very hard to say. “Maybe I shouldn't be with him.”

“That's shit, and you know it. You two been through a lot'a pain and memories together, and you always come out the other side. Just talk to him. That's all I'm sayin'. Before you make any decisions, just talk to him.”

“Reasonable enough request.” She sighed and stood, turning her gaze to the oil fields on the plain below. “Won't be easy getting in there. Or getting out.”

“Ain't nothin' been easy in a long time,” Arthur chuckled.

“True.”

Before long, Eagle Flies rode up the path to them. “You came!” he called.

“Said I would, didn't I?” Arthur replied with a wave.

The Wapiti man hopped down from his horse and came to stand with them on the ledge. “Now, Star, is there another game you're playing, pretending to be something you are not, or can you properly introduce me to your friend?”

Star laughed and nudged Arthur. “I told you he knew. We're not very good at subterfuge.”

“Never claimed to be,” he answered with a smile.

“Arthur is one of the members of the gang I fell in with. We were not expecting to see each other that day on High Street, so we panicked and pretended we didn't know each other. In any case, he's a good man, and I trust him.”

“I see.” Eagle Flies nodded. “Well, if you trust this man, then so shall I. I've been doing some scouting in the last few days. There is a foreman named Danbury. He keeps the files we need locked up in his office, above the refinery room.” Arthur pulled out his binoculars, and Eagle Flies pointed. “There. It's the window with the shade pulled up.”

“I see it.”

“If the files are as incriminating as we believe, Mr. Conwall's men will destroy them if they know you're coming.”

Arthur nodded. “Well, there's only one of me, son. I don't intend for them to know I'm comin'. What will the files say?”

“They will be a report from the Leland Oil Development Company.”

“You got the money your daddy promised me?”

Eagle Flies sighed, giving a sidelong glance at Star. “Yes.”

“Any ideas how I sneak into this place?”

“You could crawl under the fence, or hide in one of those wagons that keep rolling in.”

With a nod and a deep breath, Arthur put away his binoculars. “I'll go take a look.”

“If there is problem, call for us.”

“I thought the whole point was that this had nothin' to do with you!” he called over his shoulder as he made his way down the hill.

“Ideally.”

Star crouched with Eagle Flies on the ledge, watching as Arthur crept onto a wagon that eventually rolled through the gates to the refinery and out of sight. Anxiety left Star tense and breathing shallowly which Eagle Flies noticed.

“You say you trust this man, but you seem very worried.”

“It's not lack of confidence in him that causes me distress. Just his safety. We were recently attacked by a rival gang. They captured and killed one of our own. My heart still aches from the loss. I could not bear another.”

“Ah.” He paused a moment before looking back at her. “You speak highly of this gang. They... treat you well?”

“They do. Very well. I have not been treated so well by white people anywhere else.”

“What about the man at the party? The one who hit you?”

Star smiled softly. “He... is a complicated man, but he now treats me best of all. It took time and effort. But it's true.”

The man at her side squinted slightly in suspicion. “You and this man have found love, haven't you?”

“Yes. We have.”

“Fascinating.”

“You don't know the half of it,” she chuckled.

Gunshots echoed across the plain, coming from the refinery. Star nearly fell off the ledge in her haste to stand. “We have to help him!”

Eagle Flies stood as well, casting his gaze wider. “Look there. The oil pump. Let's blow it. Should be a proper distraction to give your friend time to escape.”

They mounted up and flew down the hill, taking a roundabout way to the pump that was on the other side of the field. Star whistled for Arthur's horse, and he came running along behind her, eyes wide.

The two natives sped in, and Eagle Flies sent a flaming arrow into the tower which immediately caught on the oil and spread until the pressure was too much and the pump exploded. The workers were thrown into chaos. Star rode into the mess, using her bow as well to make less noise and thus be less of a target.

When Arthur came running out of the darkness in her direction, she sighed in relief. “Did you get the files?”

“Yeah!” he called, leaping onto his horse. “But we need to get the hell outta here!”

“Follow me!” Eagle Flies yelled over the din.

The two raced to join him, fending off the few men that managed to try and fight back as they fled. They thundered across the plain, away from the refinery and into the growing darkness of the night.

“That explosion came just in time!” Arthur called.

Eagle Flies smiled. “I was happy to watch some of that oil burn. Did you meet Mr. Danbury?”

“Yes, don't worry. He was very obliging.”

They pulled to a stop to rest, and Arthur climbed off his horse. “I thought you two wasn't gonna get involved.”

“I thought you were going to enter and leave silently,” Eagle Flies retorted with a smirk.

Arthur grinned and held out the papers. “Well, thank you. You saved my life.”

Eagle Flies looked over the paperwork. “Thank you. I hope... well... I don't know what I hope. Maybe these will be of some use to us. Here's your money.” Arthur took it with a grateful nod. “Star, if you have need of us, my father and I will be returning to our village soon. Do you remember where it is?”

“Donner Falls?”

“Yes. If we would like to find you... how would we do so?”

Star glanced at Arthur, then replied, “We move around a lot. Send a letter to Tacitus Kilgore – to any post office. It may not be timely, but it is the best way.”

“Understood. Strange. But understood. Be careful out there.”

“And you as well. Goodbye.”

With that, Eagle Flies waved and rode off.

Star turned to Arthur, joining him on the ground. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Agreeing to help them. Even if you did get paid. Many wouldn't help a native, money or no money.”

“Don't matter to me what color someone is. You know that.”

“I do,” she agreed with a smile. “But it's nice to see it in practice.”

He smiled too. “Come on. Let's get back to camp. I'll catch you up on the trolley incident.”

“Oh dear god.”

[paladin-andric]

The Lethal Tag

Tagged by @corishadowfang! Thanks, I enjoy doing these.

Rules: Answer these five questions for whatever characters you want, then tag some people.

I suppose I’ll be doing Blackheart, since nothing else I have on my mind is really tangible at the moment...

(Long post, so answers below!)

1) What is your OCs’ favorite weapon type (and if they don’t have one, then just answer hypothetically, and that goes for the rest of the Qs)

Alexander: Despite spending the entire story using a sword, it’s actually not his go-to! A sword and shield may be his primary pick on the ground, but he’s usually atop his horse (he doesn’t bring her to the infested city due to terrain, cavalry charges aren’t exactly effective in an urban enviornment). As a heavy cavalry knight, Alexander’s usually using a lance. The might of a lance charge atop his steed, Dragon, can fell even the toughest warriors in a single hit. Cavalry supremacy is the way the Geralthin army fights, and it’s led them to victory against foes on all sides.

Senci: He uses a longsword, though being a kobold, his size means he has to use it like a greatsword. He’s really good with it though, and becomes quite experienced in the art of combat during his journey!

Leianna: A spiked mace is her trademark. Though she’s a cleric, she uses it out of personal preference. Cracking skulls is just her style. She also uses a shield with it as well. She’s a pretty balanced warrior, though at times reckless.

Lexius: A short sword and small, wooden shield. Very plain and simple.

Razorwing: The great hero, a famous archer! He uses a longbow, it’s his staple! He also has a dagger as an emergency fallback, though as one of the avian koutu, his maneuverability means he shouldn’t really ever need to use it.

Paul: He’s a bounty hunter kitted out for any engagement. His primary weapons are his miniature crossbows. He also has a broadsword and daggers in case he needs to fight up close. He’s known to use tricky support weapons like smoke bombs and nets as well.

Wurie: The wolfman, and Captain of the Guard Wurie uses an arming sword, and nothing else! He’s spent plenty of time mastering its use, though. The same, old but maintained blade has brought him through many years of service, from his start as a caravan mercenary, through the height of his career as the founder and leader of a mercenary company, and finally to his years as a guard for the city of Palethorn.

Andric: A claymore! He’s strong enough to use it with one hand, though he tends to use both anyway. Having a free offhand is helpful with casting his holy magic though, being a paladin and all.

Tourthun: He’s a red, firebreathing dragon! Soooo...claws and fire.

Charles: Half-human, half-dragon, all magician! He doesn’t use any weapons at all! Not physical anyway, as he has an array of spells to choose from. If for some reason he couldn’t use any magic, he’d probably just use his claws.

2) Do they own such a weapon? How does it look like? (Add drawings or pictures pls!)

Alexander:

Senci:

Leianna:

Lexius:

Razorwing:

Paul:

Wurie:

Andric:

Tourthun:

I guess? That’s the closest I can think of a picture to his “weapons”. (He’s actually really nice though so don’t worry, he’s not actually plundering gold or frying people)

Charles:

3) How did it come into their possession?

Alexander: He commissioned a renowned blacksmith and armorer to forge his equipment.

Senci: A gift from his tutor and foster father, Andric!

Leianna: Granted to her by the Order of God, the religious order she serves.

Lexius: The monk scraped together the tiny bit of personal wealth he had and got his sword, shield and chainmail quickly made by a nameless blacksmith, hence their dubious quality.

Razorwing: After becoming a very skilled bowman, he put in a lot of time learning to how both make and maintain bows and arrows. His current longbow is one he made himself!

Paul: He was careful to have his armaments made by well-established blacksmiths with reputations for high-quality, reliable merchandise. Can’t have a breakage or malfunction in the middle of an important mission, after all.

Wurie: Part of a dual deal, actually. When deciding to become a mercenary, he mentioned his lack of armaments to the caravan company he wanted to sign up with. The head merchant actually pointed him to a company blacksmith, offering a moderate discount. This was to hopefully foster some loyalty so that Wurie would stay on with them for future trips. The wolfman did indeed stick around with them for a long time.

Andric: Meticulously crafted by a master blacksmith, and then enchanted by himself. The top quality steel is deadly and reliable, and the paladin’s own blessing makes the claymore tear through the scales and flesh of demons and evil monsters with ease.

Tourthun: All dragons are born with their claws and breath powers.

Charles: Everyone’s born with magic already innately inside of them. It’s simply a matter of training to draw it out and learn to use and control it...

4) Who taught them to use it?

Alexander: That would be Sir Gabriel Winthorperry! A knight that arrived to the house of Angelus to serve Alexander’s father, he took on the role of tutor when Alexander expressed interest in becoming a knight. He trained the child for many years in the use of knightly weapons, combat and conduct, until Alexander was finally able to set off as an knight on his own. He’s become a great tactician from his time commanding armies as well.

Senci: Sir Andric, the paladin and one who raised Senci! He drilled Senci vigorously. At first he didn’t want to, but Senci begged and pleaded, wanting to become a hero like him. He made sure the kobold would be strong and skilled enough to survive out in the harsh world that Senci still sees as a dreamland.

Leianna: She began training to become a cleric as she reached maturity. As a child, she had to run away from home for reasons. A priest found her out in the forest crying, and took her back to the monastery. There she grew up learning about the holy scriptures, church tradition, and God. After they accepted her request, she started training, and became proficient at channeling holy magic and using blunt instruments.

Lexius: No one! He has absolutely no combat experience or training! He’s totally out of his league...though he IS very skilled at healing magic, and has quite a bit of potential that will become apparent later down the line...

Razorwing: An archery tutor who turned out to be a pretty nasty man, actually. He started a toxic, abusive relationship with Razorwing while he was young and naive. A traveling human helped him break free from that, and Razorwing began training himself after that. He quickly rose to become a master archer in due time. and is pretty famous as an adventuring hero now.

Paul: Self-taught. He started small, but his natural combat awareness, sharp senses and streetwise nature helped him stay alive long enough to become VERY good at what he does.

Wurie: Trained by a barbarian tribe as a warrior at first. He ran away and fled to Geralthin, where he became a mercenary. He got a lot of training and firsthand experience with kobold raids on the caravans he protected. After becoming the head of his own company he set off on many missions against all kinds of monsters. By the time he became a city guard he was a seasoned veteran of war. In that time he became skilled in the art of mediation and diffusing volatile situations as well, since the job required it.

Andric: Trained by the church, and forged in the crucible of war. He’s spend decades fighting cults, monsters, and even slaying dragons. He’s one of the most battle-hardened and highly-skilled paladins in the world at the moment, and his mere presence can turn the tide of war.

Tourthun: He doesn’t fight, nor was he trained. He’s borderline pacifist, though certain events will force a change soon enough. As a great, mighty dragon though anyone but a great wizard or hero would be hard-pressed to defeat him if they wanted to...not that most would. He’s developed a fiercely protective attitude towards humanity, and wishes to defend them from other, more evil dragons.

Charles: He went to college for the magical arts. He’s still young, but his natural ability, great mind, and fast learning along the powerful desire to become better means it won’t be long before he’s a master sorcerer.

5) Does your OCs’ have a special boss-killer move? What is it?

I like to imagine this question as making a “Finisher” or “Ultimate” move from a videogame, so I’ll try my best to use that as inspiration.

Alexander: He’s just a knight. A good one, but still a knight, having no magic or superhuman abilities. I’d imagine his ultimate move would be him using a rallying horn, and an army of knights appearing and running down his foe in a crushing cavalry charge full of lances.

Senci: Some sort of reckless and wild flurry of swings, ending with a front-flip cleave.

Leianna: Beating the stuffing out of her enemy, knocking them over, and slamming her mace into their skull.

Lexius: The spell Destroy Evil! I’ve written some lore on magic before, so here’s an excerpt about the spell:

“Caster creates an aura around them of pure good, destroying anything evil, both physical and in concept. This will spell destroys not only beings born of evil, like demons, and tears the corruption from tainted objects, but also seeks out and destroys evil within normal beings. Selfishness, hatred, greed and jealously are burned away from people in the aura. This process is extremely painful, amplified by how “bad” of a person the target is. Even good people will feel great pain, but the truly wicked will be wracked with such horrific suffering that they will likely die of shock before the process is complete. Once these thoughts of darkness and wickedness are burned away, those affected will feel different, calm and at peace with themselves. They might no longer feel temptation to do bad, or may begin to see the faults with their old ways. Stripping away free will is a huge taboo in human society, so this spell is generally only cast on either the willing, on defiled objects, or in groups where demons are suspected to be hiding in human disguises, the holy person gauging the reactions of those affected. Demons will screech in horror before burning away completely. Sometimes used by holy men and women to purify themselves of temptation and sin. An extremely difficult spell to cast.”

Razorwing: A flurry of arrows fired while he’s flying in the air, followed up by a cinematic headshot.

Paul: A smoke bomb and him dancing around the enemy unseen, landing hit after hit, ended with a shot to the back while the enemy’s trying to find him.

Wurie: Rallying the Silver Shields, his mercenary company, to come in and overwhelm the enemy!

Andric: Calling down a pillar of pure divine energy, smiting his opponent and enveloping them in holy flames.

Tourthun: His *SPOILERS* appears and the pair drown the enemy in a sea of flames.

Charles: Probably the spell Ritual of Pain. Here’s a description from the lore excerpts again:

“The caster, before casting this spell, must draw blood. The more blood, the more powerful the spell. Generally, the sorcerer will stab their hand or arm with a knife, dig into the wound to let blood pour freely, and then hold up their hand and cast the spell. A torrent of acidic blood will pour from the caster towards the intended target, drowning the victim in boiling acid. This extraordinarily powerful spell costs the caster dearly, who will be terribly wounded afterwards. Anyone casting this spell is either desperate enough to risk death, or has a healer handy. Use of this spell is frowned upon in many places, though in antiquity it was one of the powerful death spells used to defeat the dragons.”

Tagging @lady-redshield-writes, @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword and @sheralynnramsey!

[official-weasley]

Niece Aoede - (The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley AU)

Warnings: I can't think of anything really 🙈

Word count: 2,741

Characters: Charlie Weasley and my OC Nova from TICW which you can find here

Charlie

“Good morning.” I stretched in the doorway that leads to the kitchen.

“Good morning.” Olivia smiled at me. “Would you like some tea or coffee?”

“Tea's fine.” I rubbed my eyes and sat down.

“Are you okay?” She tilted her head, observing me.

“Fine. Just a bit nervous, that's all.” I scratched the back of my head.

“To take Aoede to meet your family?”

“Charlie?” She said softly after a moment of silence, me biting my lip.

“Yeah.” I confessed.

“Molly didn't mention anything to me, but did you two have a fallout?” She placed her hand on top of mine.

“No.” I shook my head. “It's nothing.” I tried convincing her with a smile but I know she knows me better than that.

“I know your mum can be a bit much.” She sighed.

“It's not...yeah.” I bowed my head. “It's just, I know she apologized and everything is fine now but I hated how she reacted when we told her that Nova is pregnant.” My brows came together, reminiscing on the moment.

“Ah, she told me about that, yes.” Olivia nodded her head.

“I am used to her not agreeing with my choices but you saw how happy we were when we told you and we wanted to share that joy with my family and she ruined everything. It might've not been planned but we wouldn't change anything in the world and you should see how nervous Nova was to tell my parents that we are entering a new chapter in our lives. She was supposed to burst from happiness not look green in the face because she knew how my mum will react and she didn't want to disappoint her.” I tried hard to keep myself calm but I just couldn't help it, she made me so mad that day.

“I hate that she can't understand that I am old enough to take care of myself and that I have my own family now. She treats me as if I am a first-year and I...” I took a deep breath. “I guess now that I'm older I am seeing her in a different light.”

“She is just worried for you and wants the best for you.” Olivia said calmly.

“Then why could you be happy for us and share such a sweet moment with us when we told you? Why could dad be happy and supportive? Why does she always have to...” I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “You know, what? Forget I said anything.”

“Don't tell her this, but I think she should've reacted differently too. Want me to talk to her?”

“What good will that do? She will never change and never stop bossing us around. Do you know that she is the reason why I suggested to Nova that we stay with you and not at the Burrow? I knew that you will give us space and act normal and not lecture us every five minutes and tell Nova that she shouldn't sit that way while pregnant but find a different position or some nonsense like that.”

“You know she loves you and she just wants the best for you and I am not trying to defend her or be on her side. She just has her own way of showing those things and perhaps bossing you around and telling you what to do is the only way she knows and is not even aware that she is doing it. I know it's hard to understand but you and Nova are planning to have more children and getting along with your family is important for them.” She sighed. “I would know, both my and Roger's parents died before Nova was even born and I wish for nothing else than she could have grandparents in her life. Do stand up to her but don't cut her off completely.” She gave me a soft smile.

“Yeah, you're right.” I nodded. “Thank you for listening to me, Olivia.”

“Any time, Charlie. As much as Nova is a part of your family that much you are a part of hers.”

“Are the girls still sleeping?” Olivia asked as she put a cup of tea in front of me.

“No, Aoede woke up a while ago. I changed her and now Nova is breastfeeding her.” I took a sip of my tea.

“It makes me very happy that you help Nova so much. She even looks rested.” Olivia giggled.

“Well, she has been carrying her for 9 months and she had to give birth to her now it's my turn to have sleepless nights so Nova can get as much sleep as possible.” I smiled at her.

“Yeah, you'll have plenty of those, don't you worry.” Olivia laughed.

“I don't mind at all. I would never sleep again if it means my girls would be rested and well taken care of.”

“Olivia?” I waved a hand in front of her face when she didn't say nor blink for solid 30 seconds.

“Oh, I'm sorry for staring at you.” She put her hand in front of her mouth, embarrassed. “I just don't think I ever told you how lucky Nova is to have you.”

“Oh,” I felt the heat on my cheeks, “thank you.”

“I mean it, Charlie. Roger and I were hoping that our Nova would find someone that can truly understand her and bring the best out of her. You have done that and so much more and I know we don't talk often and you needed quite some time to loosen up around me,” she giggled, “but just know that I think you are perfect for my daughter.”

“Uh, I-”

“Good morning.” Nova's soft voice saved me from my awkward stuttering.

Olivia's compliment caught me completely off guard. Nova has always been closer to my mum than I was with hers. Mostly, because she hardly had the time to see us and we never really spent that much time on our own – Nova was always with us.

She was right when she said that I needed some time to relax around her. She never gave me any reason not to, I just found her intimidating and I wanted her to like me, especially when Nova and I started dating.

We got closer ever since we announced that we are going to have a baby and we spent some time alone together when Nova told Bill about her being pregnant. Now, that we have been living with her for the past 14 days because our house is under renovation, we have become really good friends and I finally feel like I am a part of Nova's family.

“How is my favorite girl?” Olivia turned her baby voice on.

“Are you talking to me or Aoede?” Nova giggled giving her the baby then she sat down next to me and kissed me.

“You want to eat something before we go?” I asked her.

“I think Molly will be delighted to give me something and if we go right now, we might catch Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny in their common room.” She smiled at me.

“Right, they won't all be there.” Olivia was still talking in her baby voice. “Who is the prettiest girl in the world?”

Nova and I giggled looking at her mum. She has that voice every time she is talking to our daughter and at this point, I am surprised that she can even switch back to her normal voice.

“I'll go upstairs and prepare everything then.” I started to get up.

“I already did that but I did forget the bag upstairs if you could...”

“I'm on it!” I stood up cutting Nova off.

The sooner we come to the Burrow the sooner we can come back here.

—

“Are you ready?” I whispered to Nova as we were standing in front of the door of my childhood home.

“Are you?” She whispered back, trying not to wake up the baby.

“I'll be fine as long as she doesn't say anything to you.” I kissed her.

“See, sweetheart, daddy is very overprotective so you should get used to that.” Nova giggled, kissing our daughter's nose.

We barely had the time to knock on the door when it swung open.

“You are finally here! What took you so long!” Mum's voice was nothing near a whisper.

I looked at Aoede who just moved in the blanket Nova had her wrapped in and continued sleeping.

“Oh, the baby is sleeping. I'm sorry.” Mum lowered her voice and moved so we could come inside.

“Hi, dad.” I waved at him as he stood up from the sofa.

“There he is! Welcome to fatherhood!” He pulled me into a hug and tapped me twice on the back.

“Thanks, dad.” I couldn't stop a smile from spreading all over my face.

I liked my new title a lot. I always wanted a family but it wasn't until our daughter was born that I realized just how strong my wish to be a dad was. I know I can't be the one talking, Aoede being born 14 days ago but so far I loved every second of it – even when Aoede was crying in the middle of the night, not willing to fall asleep.

“I am sorry that nobody else could come, dear.” Mum was next to hug me.

“Bill can't make it?” I tried hiding the disappointment in my voice.

“Sadly, he has been more than busy at work lately.” Mum genuinely looked like she felt sorry that he couldn't come.

“It's okay. We'll meet with him some other day.” I turned to the fireplace.

“What are you doing, Charles?” Mum rushed to my side.

“I sent Fred an owl to meet us through the fire. We have half an hour before the twins, Ron and Ginny continue with their classes.” I explained.

“Oh, don't be silly.” Mum swung her hand. “They'll have the time to meet the baby, properly. You can't do it over the fire.”

“When? In July? Don't be ridiculous.” I turned around to cast a spell on the fire.

“We wish you could all be here for this moment so we came up with a solution.” Nova who was sitting on the sofa, watching my dad holding Aoede, smiled.

“Dad, Nova, come here, so we can all be close to the fire.” I gestured for them to move.

“You can't bring the baby so close to the fire.” Mum protested, trying to stop my dad from sitting down in front of the fireplace.

“Molly, we trust Arthur that he will be careful.” Nova tried calming her down.

“Please stop telling us how to take care of our baby.” I sighed, trying to stay as calm as possible, repeating Olivia's words in my head.

“But...”

“Oh, where is the baby? Where is it?” George's voice interrupted my mum from making me mad.

“Does it have red hair?” Ginny exclaimed.

“Does it look like me?” Fred clapped his hands together.

“Does it have my eyes?” Ron blinked a few times.

“Mum, dad, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny meet your granddaughter and niece, Aoede Io.” Dad gently placed Aoede in my hands and I carefully sat down in front of the fire in the hopes that they will be able to see her.

“Oh, she is so cute!” Ginny put her hands over her mouth.

“She is so small!” Fred was the next to speak.

“She looks nothing like us, Fred.” George tried sounding disappointed.

“We...we have a granddaughter.”

The second mum heard me say it, her cheeks were soaked with tears and she forgot all about the dangers of fire and kneeled next to me to finally get a proper look of the little girl in my hands.

“Arthur,” she breathed, “look at her. She is perfect.” Mum sniffed.

“Who picked the name?” Ron asked.

“Charlie.” Nova smiled, leaning her chin on my shoulder, sitting behind me as the space in front of the fireplace was too small to accommodate everyone.

“She has a beautiful name.” Ginny's voice shook a little.

“I don't know if you can see her.” I frowned.

“We see her just fine. Thank you for doing this, Charlie.” George smiled.

“Of course! When you'll see her in the Summer she will be 5 months old.” Nova returned the smile.

“Will I be allowed to hold her?” Ginny asked.

“Of course, you will. All of you will.” I answered, giving Aoede an Eskimo kiss.

“So, who won the bet?” I smirked.

“Almost forgot about that!” Fred jumped on the spot.

“Pay up, George and Ron!” Ginny extended her hand as if waiting for them to give her the money.

“How many times do we have to tell you that Ginny is always right?” I giggled, watching George and Ron give Fred and Ginny the coins.

“Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to meet her, but we have to go!” Ginny nudged her brothers and stood up. “Nova, Charlie, congratulations!” She grinned at us before standing up.

“Yeah, congrats!” Ron followed her lead.

“Thank you for making us uncles!” The twins said in unison.

“I hope you know, we will spoil her rotten.” George chuckled and they broke off the connection.

“Her? I have a niece?” All four of us turned around, seeing Bill standing behind us.

“Bill, you came!” Nova got up at once and threw her arms around him.

“Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss seeing my niece for the first time for anything in this world.” He smiled and returned the hug.

“But you told mum that you can't make it.” I gave Aoede to mum who was eyeing her with sparks in her eyes and stood up.

“I wanted it to be a surprise.” He winked at me before pulling me into a hug.

“Can I hold her?” Bill asked hopefully, looking at the baby in mum's arms.

“Here you go, William. Be careful with the head.” Mum gave him Aoede and Bill made his way to the sofa.

“Bill, meet your niece, Aoede.” I sat down next to him.

“You got your wish with the name.” He smirked.

That day when Nova told Bill she was pregnant we went for a walk when they came back and he asked me about baby names and I was just too excited not to talk about them to him.

“She looks so much like you, Nova.” Bill whispered as Nova sat down next to him on his other side.

“Even though it's darker than yours.” Bill looked from his niece to me.

“Except the hair.” Dad giggled.

“I was hoping she would get Charlie's hair.” Nova gently ruffled Aoede's soft locks.

“He had the same color when he was born.” Mum said, sitting in her armchair, admiring the scene before her.

“Did you give her a middle name?” Bill asked his eyes on the baby.

“Io.” Nova answered.

“Aww, like you. That is precious.” Bill cooed.

“Do you think she'll have any freckles?” Bill asked after a moment of admiring his niece.

“We hope so.” Nova leaned on his shoulder.

“If you look closely, she has 3 on her nose.” I giggled.

“How was the delivery?” Dad was the first one to snap out of us all looking at our baby girl.

“It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.” Nova rubbed her chin.

“What's important is that it all went smoothly and that you're both okay.”

Just as my mum said that Aoede started crying.

“Oh, no. What did I do?” Bill started to panic.

“Nothing.” Nova giggled. “She's just hungry.” She gestured for Bill to give her the baby and she slowly made her way upstairs.

“Do you want me to come with you?” I started to get up.

“No, no. We'll be fine. Won't we?” She used the same baby voice on Aoede as her mum did.

“She looks fine and rested.” Mum turned to me the second they disappeared on the stairs.

“We are managing. Nova is feeding her when she's hungry and I take care of all the rest so that Nova can get her strength back.” I said nonchalantly.

“That's my son.” Dad winked at me.

“Congratulations, Charlie. She is just lovely.” Bill pulled me into another hug. “When are you having the next one?”

“Hey, slow down. Let this one grow a little.” I laughed, knowing full well he was only joking.

[official-weasley]

Telling Bill - (The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley AU)

Warnings: Charlie & Bill being excited and emotional beans 💙

Word count: 3,002

Characters: Charlie Weasley and my OC Nova from TICW which you can find here

Nova

"Your name?" The woman at the window asked.

"Nova Blackwood. I have an appointment with dr. Nightingale."

"And him?" The woman nodded toward Charlie.

"He's my fiancé."

"Okay. Go down the corridor and up the stairs to the third floor. You take a left there. The second door to the right. It has a number 14 on it."

"Thank you." I nodded my head and felt Charlie grab my hand.

"Are you nervous?" Charlie asked as we walked up the stairs.

"A little bit. Are you?"

"A little bit." He giggled.

We didn't get a chance to say anything else as the door with number 14 on it opened.

"Miss Blackwood?" The healer's eyes scanned me up and down.

"That's me." I grinned.

"Come with me." She gestured for both of us to follow her inside.

"Is this your first pregnancy?" The healer asked.

"Yes."

"Alright. You can sit there, Mr. ...?"

"Weasley." Charlie cleared his throat and awkwardly sat on the spot the doctor pointed at next to the examination chair.

"Miss Blackwood, please sit there and pull your shirt up and it would help if you unzip your pants so that we don't get the gel on them." The healer smiled softly.

"The gel?" Charlie and I questioned together.

"We will use this Muggle machine to check on the baby. It will be able to tell us when approximately you conceived, we will hear the baby's heartbeat and if you're far enough we can even find out the gender if you'd like to know, of course."

"We discussed it," I turned to Charlie, "and we'd like it to be a surprise."

"Okay, I will write that in your file. Are you ready to begin?" She looked first at me and then at Charlie.

"Ready." Charlie and I locked eyes and nodded.

“It’s going to be a bit cold, don’t get startled.” Dr. Nightingale said.

A surprised gasp left my mouth despite her warning when the object touched my belly.

“It might take a few seconds for us to find it... oh, there it is.”

Both Charlie and I looked at the screen the second a noise started to come from the machine.

“What is that sound?” Charlie was awestruck.

“That would be your fiancée’s and your baby’s heartbeats.” The doctor said, looking at the screen.

“The...the heartbeat?” Charlie’s voice shook a little as he found my hand.

“Yes, Mr. Weasley.” The healer grinned. “Now do you see that spot over there? It looks like something's moving.”

“Mhm,” I mumbled, while Charlie stood up and got closer to the screen, squinting his eyes to see what she was pointing at.

“Mr. Weasley?” The doctor said after giving Charlie a moment.

“I...I think I see it.” Charlie couldn’t hide the disappointment in his voice, not sure what he was looking at. “What is it?”

“It’s your baby.”

“What...you...we can see our baby?” Charlie jumped in the air, his voice high-pitched.

“That’s what I was showing you.” The doctor giggled.

“That’s...that’s...Nova, that’s our baby!" Charlie’s breaths were getting quicker, his chest rising and falling fast as if he’s about to hyperventilate. “It’s so tiny!” He exclaimed.

“That’s our baby.” I pressed my lips together, trying to keep it together, my eyes already glistening with tears.

“Somebody’s excited to be a dad.” Dr. Nightingale winked at me with a smile on her face.

“Yes.” I breathed, looking back to the screen to see her, I mean it, one more time.

“Whenever you’re ready, Mr. Weasley.” The doctor said gently, chuckling at Charlie who was pacing excitedly up and down the room, stopping every time he passed the screen to look at it again.

He took a deep breath, sat down, grabbed my hand, and nodded to the healer.

“So, the fetus is about 6 centimeters big, meaning you are between 12 and 13 weeks. We can’t determine the exact date of conception but today is the 30th July which would mean it had to be around the first week of May.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Charlie blurted out, the skin on his cheeks matching his hair.

“The heartbeat is strong and everything looks alright, but we will be able to determine more in the coming months.” The doctor took the object off my belly and wiped the gel off it. “I will give you a list of dates with your appointments and this is for you.”

She handed, what looked like a picture, to Charlie.

“Thank you.” I smiled at her and cleaned the gel off my stomach with the paper towels next to the chair.

I zipped my pants and pulled down my shirt.

“Along with the list, I am giving you some brochures you can read to better prepare yourself for the rest of this journey. You’ll be in the second trimester soon, meaning you will start to show and your breasts will grow. If you experience any discomfort it’s completely normal and if you have morning sickness it should stop in the next week or so. If you have any worries, don’t hesitate to stop by or send us an owl.”

I nodded, thanking her again, and stood up. I looked at Charlie and giggled – he was still staring at the picture the doctor gave us.

“Char. Come on, it’s time for us to go.” I nudged him gently with my elbow and pressed a kiss on the top of his head.

He got up slowly, not taking his eyes off the photo, and allowed me to lead him outside. I thanked the doctor again and closed the door behind us.

“Nova,” Charlie finally found his voice as we were sluggishly moving down the corridor due to him still staring at the picture, “this...we’ve made this.”

“I know, Char.” I chuckled. “It’s our baby!”

“It’s our baby.” He whispered more to himself than to me.

“Come on, you’re going to make me cry.” I sniffed. “I have to meet Bill and you can stare at our child at my mum’s.”

“I...I’m sorry I’m so emotional, it’s just...it’s...”

“Beautiful?” I finished his stuttered sentence.

“Yes!”

“Don’t apologize. I was hardly keeping it together in there and I can’t wait for us to come home so I can lay down on the sofa and look at that picture until we get a new one.” I pulled him into a hug.

“Oh, can I please join you when you’ll do that?” His eyes sparkled with hope.

“Of course. We’ll cry together, I promise.”

He let out a long sigh and kissed me so hard that I stumbled backward a little.

“I love you so much!” The breath with which he said the words brushed my lips that curved into the biggest smile.

“I love you too, Charles.”

—

“Nova, I love you very much, but why am I here with you and not Charlie?” Bill asked with a raised eyebrow as we were walking down the street away from the house I used to call my home.

“Well, even though I am with Charlie, you have been closer to my dad than he was, you spending a summer with him in Egypt.” I smiled softly at him. “And I have something to tell the both of you and Charlie doesn’t mind if he’s not the one to tell you and I have...I have to ask you something.” I bit my lip nervously.

I have been putting this conversation off ever since Charlie and I started to talk about the wedding. I have no idea why I was so nervous and perhaps the cemetery wasn’t the best place to ask him something like this but since it would otherwise concern my dad, I decided to do it here.

“Okay, so two things.” Bill rubbed his chin, making a mental note of it.

“Did Charlie ever come here with you?” He asked gently, as we stopped in front of my dad’s grave.

“The last time he did was when we got engaged. He wanted to be the one to tell him. And when he first knew that he was going to propose, he came here without telling me to ask my dad’s permission.” I gave out a silent chuckle, reminiscing on the moment when Charlie and I came here together and he thanked my dad for giving his blessing.

I remember staring at him as if he has gone mental not knowing what was going on and I burst into tears when he told me. I know it might sound weird, but it meant a lot to me that he still considered him to be a part of my family, despite him being gone and passing away before he ever got the chance to see us be together.

“Hi, dad.” I sat on the ground next to his tombstone, wrapping my arms around my knees. “I brought Bill with me today.” I sniffed.

It didn’t matter how much time has passed, talking to him like this has always been hard and always made me cry. Ever since moving to Romania, I don’t have the chance to come and visit him often – mum and I usually do it together when I come to visit her – or I go alone when something big happens.

“I have to tell you both something – I have to tell you two things actually and both concern you and Bill.” I looked from the tombstone to Bill, whose jaw was shaking.

He carefully stepped toward me and sat next to me on the ground, pulling me in a half hug. He has never come here with me before so I understood that the way I talked to my dad startled him a bit.

“I miss you, dad, so much. So many things are happening to me, good things, and you won’t be around for any of them.” I buried my head in Bill’s shoulder. “Charlie and I told you that we don’t want a big wedding. You out of all people would be glad we decided on that.” I giggled. My dad was never big on social events.

“We are keeping it simple. I still don’t know who my maid of honor will be. Bill will be Charlie’s best man, of course.”

“Of course.” Bill sniffed, pressing me harder against him.

“We’ll have a simple ceremony, only our closest family and our friends from Egypt. Mum was joking and said that I should invite your relatives from America. Can you imagine?” I laughed. “You would protest so much at that!”

“You know that I don’t care about the whole thing that much, I just want to be married to Charlie but there is one thing that,” my voice broke and Bill started stroking my hair to calm me down, “that I wanted to be according to tradition and I can’t because you’re not with us anymore.” I sobbed, letting go of the tears completely.

“I...I know I can’t have you give me away. Maybe it’s for the best because we would both be a crying mess by the time we would finish walking down the aisle.” I giggled between my sniffs. “So I brought Bill here with me because I was hoping that you would allow him to take your place instead.”

“What?” Bill breathed and pushed me away.

“Will you, Bill? Will you give me away? I know that you’re Charlie’s best man and I did consider your dad but in the end, there is no one else I would rather walk down that aisle with and I don’t want to do it alone and...”

“You said to your dad that you would both be a crying mess and what do you think we’ll be?” His shaking jaw finally gave in and tears started running down his face.

“Is that a yes?” I asked with hope in my voice.

“Of course, it’s a yes but I don’t feel worthy of the honor. Nova, are you sure?”

I just nodded, too overwhelmed to find the words to reply. We sat there, embraced, both crying for what seemed like 15 minutes.

“Is that why you brought me here?” Bill’s voice barely audible.

“Was it inappropriate?” I pulled a bit away from him.

“No. I think it was perfect. Now come back here.” He pressed me back onto his body, ruffling my hair.

“You said that there are two things.” He whispered after a moment of silence.

“Yes.” I bit my lip and lifted my head away from his shoulder, my eyes on the tombstone again.

I needed a moment to compose myself, knowing full well that what I am about to tell them both will bring the tears back. It was enough that my dad didn’t see me start my life with Charlie, or me getting a job, or me graduating and getting engaged. Not having him at my wedding is going to be hard and was a part of why I didn’t want to make a big celebration out of it. I wanted it small and intimate as I knew my dad would want it and it suited me and Charlie better.

“Mum already knows about this, so don’t be mad that I didn’t tell you first.” I chuckled. “I know that the last time I was here I told you that we don’t have any big plans after the wedding but something changed that.”

Bill pulled away from me a little, tilting his head and listening attentively to what I am about to say.

“We didn’t exactly plan this but it happened and we are so grateful that it did and if we got the chance to do it again we wouldn’t hesitate to forget the second time around.” The biggest smile painted my face, my eyes switching from the tombstone to Bill.

“Nova...” Bill didn’t know whether he should smile or start crying again. “Are you...”

He was too overwhelmed to finish the sentence as I nodded.

“I’m pregnant.” The tears, I so desperately tried to hold in, escaped my eyes.

“Merlin’s beard, how many times are you going to make me cry today?” Bill wrapped his arms around me again and started crying into my shoulder. “I’m going to be an uncle!”

“Yes!” I exclaimed.

“How do you always manage to get me so emotional?” He shook his head, squeezing me tighter.

“I have my ways.” I giggled.

“How far along are you?”

“We were at the doctor’s today and she confirmed our suspicion that it happened in May, so about 12 weeks.”

“Suspicion?” Bill pulled away, raising an eyebrow, us sitting normally again.

“We forgot the protection spell on our anniversary.” I bit the inner side of my cheek.

“How does Charlie feel about this?” Bill asked.

“You’ll see when we get to the house. Let’s just say that you should be prepared to cry again.” I chuckled and brushed the dry tears off my cheeks.

“Yeah, he was always big on family. I can imagine he is over the roof about it.” Bill rubbed his nose with the back of his hand.

“He’s going to be a great dad.” The memory of us jumping around our living room when we saw that the test was positive, rolled in front of my eyes.

“And how are you?” Bill nudged me with his shoulder.

“I panicked at first. Mostly because I didn’t know how Charlie would feel about it but I couldn’t be happier.” I couldn’t stop the grin from spreading all over my face.

“You both secretly wanted this even though you said you wanted to wait a few more years.” He winked at me.

“We feel ready.” I nodded.

“I presume you told our family?” I nodded again. “How did mum take it?”

“She...she came around. Charlie will probably tell you all about it.” I sighed.

“Yeah, I thought it didn’t go smoothly. Nothing ever does with her.” Bill rolled his eyes.

“All your siblings and your dad made a bet though.” I laughed.

“Yeah? What about?”

“The baby’s gender. Fred and George started it.” I giggled.

“Of course, they did!” Bill joined me.

“3 Galleons,” I added.

“I want in!” Bill exclaimed. “What did Ginny bet on? She always wins the bets.”

“Ginny, your dad and Fred think it’s going to be a girl.”

“And what do you think? You seem to always be right about stuff like this too.” Bill teased.

“I...I keep calling it she.” I smiled shyly, looking down at my belly.

“Then I bet it’s a girl too.”

“What do you think my dad would say?” I turned my head to the tombstone again.

“I think he would be more than happy and proud of you.” Bill smiled. “And he would definitely bet on anything opposite of what your mum would say.”

I laughed wholeheartedly.

“You’re right. They did love to bet on things.” I felt tears gathering in my eyes again. “You’re going to be a grandpa, dad. Would you call your grandchild Pumpkin, as you did me?” I rubbed my eyes, feeling Bill’s hand making gentle circles on my back.

“I think he would have all sorts of cute nicknames for them.” I turned to Bill, his gaze on the grave.

“He loved to give nicknames.” I chuckled.

“Did I ever tell you that he called me a rising star?” Bill questioned.

“No, but Robert said that my dad wrote that you are a rising star in the Curse-Breaker community when he sent you the letter, do you remember?”

“I do. I still have that letter.” Bill lifted his chin proudly. “He was the best mentor I will ever get to have.”

“He was the best dad, too,” I whispered.

We sat there, me listening to Bill talk about the summer he spent with my dad for another 2 hours. I heard all the stories more than once, but I still loved listening to them and I couldn’t wait for mine and Charlie’s child to be big enough to listen to their uncle Bill telling them stories about their grandpa.

[official-weasley]

Meant to Be (Charlie Weasley x OC)

What happens when Bill brings home a girl and Charlie is completely awestruck by her?

WARNINGS: curse words, mentions of alcohol, Bill and Charlie being brothers ����

Chapter 12

Charlie

William Weasley

This should be the right door. I lifted my hand to knock but stopped myself. Damn, this was hard. My heart was racing like crazy and I needed every muscle in my body not to run away.

I inhaled deeply and quickly knocked on the door not to change my mind. There was no sound on the other side. Great, he’s not here. I tried the doorknob and the door creaked open. I poked my head inside. There was nobody there.

I saw another door behind his desk and even though I probably shouldn’t be entering his office, I decided to check if he might be in the next room. I slowly made my way to it and knocked. Again no sound.

“Charlie, what the fuck?” I jumped in the air, all color leaving my face.

“Hi.” I turned around and waved at my brother.

I didn’t know what to make of his face. I obviously scared him. Of course, he didn’t expect anyone in his office, especially me.

“What are you doing here, Charles?” I winced when he used my full name.

He only did that when he was really mad, which made sense.

“I came to see you.” Every speech that I had prepared was gone instantly and left my head blank.

“To see me?” He scoffed. “Seriously? It’s been two years.”

“I know.” I whispered and bowed my head.

I tried getting closer to him. Merlin, did I miss him.

“What in bloody hell is going on with you, Charlie?” He leaned on his desk and I made my way to the front door just in case I would have to flee. “Mum told me you only came home for Easter last year. Have you gone mental?”

“That’s an understatement.” I said sarcastically.

Silence fell upon us. I could feel the distance between us. The tension. The awkwardness. I could sense how furious he was with me and I could see it on his face that he was trying hard not to start shouting.

“Look.” I swallowed hard. I was here for a reason and I can’t chicken out now. If I thought I missed him before, seeing him made me realize just how much I did and I need him back. “I came here to apologize.”

“Apologize?” He laughed. “This ought to be good. What are you apologizing for, Charles?”

“I…I…” I completely froze. The tone of his voice threw me off. He had all the right to be angry and I knew exactly what he was doing. “I don’t know where to begin.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I haven’t a clue what you are trying to say.” He frowned at me.

“I’m sorry for what I’ve done to you.” I started shaking.

This was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.

“And what was that?”

He did this every time he wanted me to admit I did something wrong. When he wanted me to say it out loud. For me to hear it. To feel regret and to admit my mistakes.

“I slept with Rhylee.” I blurted.

There, it’s out. Can the pain in my chest stop now?

“She said that she told you.”

“That’s right, Charlie. She told me.” He said through his teeth.

“I know, it should’ve been me but I just couldn’t, Bill.” I shook my head. “I felt horrible. I still do. I feel the guilt every day for how much I’ve hurt you.”

“Yeah, I bet you do.” He bit the inside of his cheek, narrowing his eyes at me.

“I’m so sorry, Bill. I should never have let it happen. I should’ve just stayed in my room and do the work there. But instead, we got drunk and I just…” I completely broke down.

The tears that were gathering in my eyes finally escaped. I couldn’t hold them in any longer. I didn’t want to. I felt so bad for years and it was even worse now, standing before him.

“I just couldn’t resist her.” I sobbed. “I know that’s not an excuse. I knew how much you liked her and I did it anyway. I just don’t know what came over me and I tried to back off, I really did.”

“You did a rather poor job.” He lifted his eyebrows.

“I know. I…I don’t know what to say. I know sorry doesn’t suffice and I will do anything to make you forgive me. I know I am a terrible person and what I did to you might just be the worst thing I have ever done and I was selfish for doing it.” I couldn’t stop talking.

Everything that I piled up, I just had to tell him.

“I was only thinking of myself. She intrigued me and she was so interesting and the way she was talking about dragons got me completely mesmerized and I promised myself that I would stay away because I saw where it was going but then she stayed behind too and I went to the kitchen to work and she came down and helped me and spent so much time working on it and then I brought out the Fire Whiskey and one thing led to another and…”

I stopped myself from talking. He didn’t have to know the details of that.

“I just…I crossed the line.” I continued after he didn’t say anything.

I didn’t even dare to look at him. I couldn’t.

“I didn’t try hard enough to stop it even though I knew how much you cared about her and I feel so bad about it. Trust me, Bill. I really do. I think about what I did to you every single day. And I know I’m a coward for not coming to see you sooner. I am sorry I needed so much time. I am sorry Rhylee was the one to tell you and not me. I’m sorry I have been neglecting my family because I was avoiding you. I came home last Easter just because I knew you wouldn’t be there, for fuck’s sake. What does that say about me?” I was hardly keeping it together.

I felt dizzy and I begged my legs to hold me.

“If I could take it back, I would. I would give everything to take it back. I felt bad before we even slept together. I don’t know what got over me. She was just so different and something was pulling me closer to her. I wanted to get to know her and I felt as if I knew her for years. I…” I shook my head.

I couldn’t talk anymore. I couldn’t even breathe.

I mustered the courage and looked up at him. He was still leaning on his desk, his arms crossed over his chest, but his expression has softened.

“Just punch me in the nose. Break it. Get it over with. I know you want to and we both know I deserve it.” I wiped the tears off my face.

I had to look pathetic but I didn’t care. I just wanted to know what I can do so that he will start talking to me again. So that he will start sending me letters again and tell me all about his day and ask for my opinion on things. So that I can come and visit him and we can sit down and reminisce on our school days.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Charlie.” He breathed and pushed himself away from the desk.

He walked to me and pulled me in the tightest hug I have ever gotten from him.

What was he doing?

Didn’t he just hear everything I said?

Why was he hugging me?

I didn’t deserve his hug.

But damn did it feel good.

“I know you’re mad at me and you have all the right to be. Just tell me what I can do? Just tell me that there is hope that you’ll forgive me.” I sobbed into his shoulder.

“I’m not mad at you, Charlie.” He sighed and tightened the grip around me. “I’m disappointed.”

I pulled away and locked eyes with him. Of course, he was disappointed. I was an idiot.

“I knew I don’t stand a chance with Rhylee the second you two started talking about dragons.” He started to explain. “It’s true. I liked her a lot but it was obvious that you charmed her the second she sat down and I don’t blame you. You didn’t do it on purpose. We can’t control attraction.”

Was that a faint smile on his face?

“And thank you for blaming yourself for what happened between you two that night. I’m glad you didn’t put the blame on her even though she was the one who made the first move.” He winked at me.

“W-what?” I wasn’t sure I understood what he was saying.

“When she told me that you slept together, she told me that I shouldn’t blame you because she came on to you.” He explained.

She said that? She really said that?

“It doesn’t matter.” I shook my head. “I could still say no and I didn’t.”

“Would you want to say no if I didn’t like her?” He asked. “That’s beside the point, Bill.”

What kind of a question was that?

“I hurt you and it doesn’t matter if she made the first move or not. I didn’t consider your feelings. I know that now. I just wish…I just…I miss you so much, Bill. I miss my big brother and my best friend.” I bowed my head.

A tear ran down my face again and I wanted to hide it. I didn’t want to cry in front of him again.

“Then what in the bloody hell took you so long to talk to me?” I looked up at his frowning expression. “What did you think I was going to do to you? Hex you?”

“You can still do it, if it’ll make you feel better.” I wanted to smile but I didn’t know if I was allowed.

“I told you that I’m not mad at you. I’m disappointed. Disappointed that you lost yourself so much in your guilt that you didn’t come to me immediately and tell me. Disappointed how you involved our whole family in this nonsense drama because you couldn’t face me. Disappointed that you thought that I would never talk to you again or whatever was going through your head.” He ruffled my hair.

I was dreaming of this moment. Thinking about it over and over. What he would say to me. How much he would shout. I imagined him punching me in the face. But none of it happened. He was so calm and so quick to accept my apology. How could he be so good?

“Did you think I stopped writing to you because I was mad at you? Because I didn’t want to talk to you?” He pushed me aside and walked over to his desk. “If you think so, then you’re delusional.”

He opened one of his desk drawers and took out what looked like a big pile of letters.

“You think I didn’t miss you? Miss talking to you? Spending time with you?” He pointed to the letters and I slowly made my way to the desk.

They were all addressed to me. There had to be more than 50 letters scattered all over the table. He wrote to me but never sent them out.

“I just wanted to push you to come and see me. To talk it out brother to brother. I didn’t know you would need 2 bloody years to do it.” He slammed a hand against his forehead.

“Family comes first, Charlie.” He said with a gentle voice. “I forgave you a long time ago, I just wish you came to me sooner and not torture yourself so much about it.”

I didn’t know what to say. He forgave me? I was left completely speechless, going through the letters. I wanted to sit down and read every single one of them.

“I just wanted to teach you a lesson.” His voice barely audible. “I wanted to let you know that what you did wasn’t right and yes you hurt me but you hurt me even more when you didn’t come and talk to me.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” I said under my breath.

I knew it was wrong of me for taking so much time to step forward.

“I wrote to you every time something big happened or when I really missed you.” He looked embarrassed now, picking up one of the letters. “You can take them home and read them.”

“Thank you for not sending them.” I looked up at him and he was smiling. He was actually smiling. Damn, it felt good to see him smile. “I’m sorry I took so long. I was just so confused and scared of what you’ll say to me and then it came so far and so much time passed that I just didn’t see a way out. I knew I was only making matters worse but I couldn’t bring myself to do it and…”

“Hey, stop.” He came to me and we both leaned on the desk. “It might have taken you forever but at least you’re here.” He grinned and I smiled back.

“Yeah, I think I reached a breaking point. I just came to the conclusion that I don’t care what happens to me or what you do to me if it means getting you back. I missed you so much Bill and so much has happened. Family comes first.” I nodded.

“I’m furious with myself that I forgot about that. But I know that now. It doesn’t matter how bad it is or what mistakes I make. It doesn’t matter how I feel about her or how she makes me feel. All it matters is that you and I are on speaking terms again and that you can look me in the eyes.” I took a deep breath.

I felt relief. I haven’t felt this good in a really long time.

“How you feel about her?” I turned my head at his question. “Feel as in present? Charlie, do you have feelings for her?” I felt my body going numb.

“It doesn’t matter how I feel, Bill.” I shook my head.

It really doesn’t. If I could bottle my feelings for Rhylee for such a long time I can continue doing so and Bill doesn’t have to know about them.

“Yes, it does!” He raised his voice. “Look, can you stop feeling bad for what you did and just talk to me like nothing ever happened?” I blinked at him.

Was he mental? He can’t be serious? We can’t just go back as if nothing happened, can we? It can’t be that easy.

“Rhylee and I exchange a couple of letters per month. We’re still friends so I know she works with you.” He continued with a normal voice as I didn’t say anything. “I know that back then it couldn’t be anything because you barely knew each other but what is it now, Charlie?”

“It’s nothing.” I said quickly.

I wasn’t lying.

“But you have feelings for her?” I felt his eyes on me but the heat on my cheeks was too much for me to look at him.

I shook my head. I can’t talk to him about Rhylee even though that’s all I want to do.

“Charlie!” Bill raised his voice all-brotherly like.

“I’m in love with her, Bill.” I whispered, secretly hoping he couldn’t hear me. “I can’t help it.”

“And how does she feel?”

How could he be so calm?

I felt as if we were back at Hogwarts when I told him I had a crush on Emma.

“She doesn’t feel anything, Bill. She has a boyfriend.” I said coldly.

“Oh, please don’t tell me she’s still with Nick.” He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You know about him?” I was baffled.

“Of course.” He rolled his eyes. “The guy’s a prick.”

Great. How am I supposed to be happy for her now? Was that why she was crying the other day when I came over? Was she crying because of him? Because if he made her cry I will…

“He works here at Gringotts. He has been on her feet, begging her to go out with him for five months.” He started. “I still don’t know why she did it. She knew she was going to leave. It was either America or Romania. She got her letter from America and at first, she said that she’s going to take the job whichever letter comes first but she waited for her letter from Romania anyway. The second she got it, she was ecstatic. I have never seen her so happy as she was that day. We went out to celebrate and I joked that she should give you a beating for me.” I sucked in a breath at his last sentence.

“She knew I wasn’t mad anymore and got over it so it’s a joke, Charlie. Relax.” He nudged me with his shoulder.

I felt relief again. I think I will need some time to realize he forgave me.

“Anyways,” he continued, “the next day she told me and Lizzie that she’s going on a date with Nick. I was taken aback. It was all very sudden and she didn’t look that excited about it. I thought that they were going to stop seeing each other when she started working at the Reserve but apparently, she’s still blind.” Bill let out a sigh.

“Well, there’s nothing I can do about it, really.” I shrugged my shoulders, hoping he would let it go now. “And I would rather know everything about you and Fleur.”

“Charlie…” I could see Bill’s cheeks turning red and I knew he wanted to talk about his girlfriend.

“Tell me about Fleur.” I insisted.

“Fine!” He playfully rolled his eyes. I loved how much he was enjoying this. “But just so you know, we are not done talking about you.” He pointed a finger at me and went to open one of his drawers again.

He brought out two glasses and a half-empty bottle of Fire Whiskey. How lucky was I that I got my brother back?

“You know her, you know.” He said while pouring us each a drink.

“What?” A confused look painted my face. “You remember the Triwizard Tournament? Fleur Delacour?” His face got red again, saying her name.

“Her?” I don’t think my eyes were ever so wide open. “You’re dating Fleur Delacour?”

He simply nodded. I couldn’t believe it! This was insane!

“She’s amazing, Bill! The way she handled her dragon and got the egg! Blimey!” I put down the glass he handed me and hugged him. “I am so happy for you, mate!”

I couldn’t see his face but I knew he was smiling.

“Even though she is totally out of your league.” I smirked and got punched in the shoulder for it.

It felt so good to tease him again.

“Thanks.” He couldn’t stop smiling.

He was so happy. It felt different this time. He was different about it.

“So, how did you meet?” I made a kissy face.

I will never stop! It was the best feeling ever to have fun like this with him again.

“She started working here when she finished school and immediately when we met officially I knew I have to ask her out. It was so different than it was with Rhylee. I wasn’t afraid or nervous. I just knew I had to do it. And I did and we went out for a date and then another one and another one and then I asked her to be my girlfriend and it was just so fitting.” I was staring at him, getting in every word he said.

I could listen to him all day long. He was so in love with her that it was cheesy.

I don’t think I ever saw him this happy before. His smile was reaching his ears and the color never left his cheeks since he started talking. He was absolutely adorable and I couldn’t wait to officially meet the girl that made him feel this way.

“It just felt so right and it got me thinking why did I need so long to ask Rhylee out, you know. Because with Fleur everything was so easy and it just fell into place. And it wasn’t because I knew she liked me back because I wasn’t certain if she did but there was something about her that just made me think that I can’t miss this opportunity – I can’t let her slip between my fingers and somehow I just knew that everything will be okay. I felt this connection between us that I can’t quite describe and I just knew I had to be with her.” He paused to breathe. “I know it sounds ridiculous but it’s true and now we’re together and…” He stopped as if remembering something. “…and Charlie she is so amazing.” I thought he was going to melt. “I just love her so much!”

That was obvious. I couldn’t stop smiling. Nothing made me happier than seeing him talk like this about a girl. I was so glad he was over Rhylee and that he found someone who returns his feelings and loves him as he deserves to be loved.

At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel strange. I couldn’t believe the way he described how he felt about Fleur. It was as if he was describing how I felt about Rhylee. That was it. That’s how I feel since that day we met at the Burrow.

My heart sank, knowing I will never get to have with Rhylee what he has with Fleur. I looked at Bill, smiling to himself like a drunk idiot. I smiled too. I was genuinely happy that at least one of us will get to experience how it is with the person for who you feel is made for you. I was glad it was him and not me. He deserves it more than anyone.

“Charlie, what’s wrong?” Bill frowned at me.

I shook my head. I must’ve had a weird expression on my face.

“Nothing.” I smiled reassuringly. “I’m really happy for you, Bill. Words can’t express how much.” I picked up my glass, clank it against his, and gulped down what was left inside.

“Can you stop saying nothing? I’m your big brother, I know you more than anyone, now spill it!” He opened the bottle and poured me another glass.

“No. This is about you. About you and Fleur and I want you to tell me more about how cheesy you are.” I smirked.

“Look, I have another bottle in that drawer and I’m done with work for today, so I have all night to talk about just how much I’m in love.” He laughed but then his face got serious again. “Now, tell me what was that look about.”

“What you described…” I gulped. “How you felt about Fleur before you two started dating…that’s how I feel about her.”

I felt something in my chest rip again. I never said this out loud and even though it hurt, it felt good talking about it to Bill.

“That’s how you feel about her?” I turned to him and hummed in response. “Charlie, you have to tell her how you feel.”

“What?” I blinked at him.

His response caught me off guard.

He was mental! Didn’t we just go over the fact that she has a boyfriend and now he’s telling me to tell her how I feel? Where was this coming from?

“I know she’s with Nick.” He rolled his eyes. “Nobody cares about that.” He put his hands on my shoulders. “I saw the way she was eyeing you at the Burrow. I don’t know how she feels now but when she told me she slept with you I could see that it meant more to her than just a one-night stand.”

“Get off it, Bill.” I shrugged my shoulders so he pulled his hands away. “I am not breaking anybody up! Wasn’t it enough that I hurt you?” I raised my voice for no reason. “I don’t care if he’s a prick. It’s her choice and there has to be something about him that she’s willing to stay.”

“I know it’s a tough situation but just think about it. Charlie, I know how it feels when you meet the right person. I was lucky at how smoothly it went between me and Fleur. Now I understand why you couldn’t resist sleeping with Rhylee. Did you feel this from the beginning?”

I nodded. I didn’t know what to say.

“Blimey, Charlie.” He scratched his head. “I know it might seem like you lost her forever because she’s in a relationship but don’t lose hope just yet. I know you lose interest in girls if you don’t feel something special but you’re in love with her for Merlin’s sake. Don’t let go of that, Charlie.” He put his hands on my shoulders again.

“I don’t want to give you false hope but if you feel like that then I am sure she is not far behind. I know I sound insane telling you this but these type of feelings are rare and not everyone is lucky enough to find a person with whom to share it and the way she was looking at you those two days at the Burrow I would say that the feelings can’t be one-sided.” He pulled me into a hug.

How did he know that I needed one?

“You’ll be alright, Charlie.” He whispered, patted my back, and pulled away. He grabbed his glass and lifted it high in the air. “Now, how about we get hammered and talk about our feelings like we did when we were teenagers?” He laughed.

I lifted my glass and slammed it into his.

Have I mentioned how much respect I have for this man?

“Just don’t cry again, please. You might be handsome but you have an ugly crying face.” He teased and this time he was the one who got punched in the shoulder.

We were sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall in his office until the next morning. We were halfway through the other bottle of Fire Whiskey.

I don’t remember when was the last time I had so much fun with him or in general. I felt good about myself again. The guilt was gone and I had my best friend back. He told me more about Fleur and how it was like meeting her family for the first time. He told me how nervous he is to bring her home and how happy he is that I support him without even meeting her.

We made a plan for me to come back in a few weeks when I’ll be able to get time off so I could meet her. He even said that he is going to cook dinner even though it would be better if Fleur does it and I was saying that because I experienced his cooking.

I don’t even remember why we were laughing but one of us said something funny and I know we were slamming our fists against the floor, wiping tears of laughter. I don’t remember the last time I felt so relaxed. Nothing mattered more than having my brother back in my life. I felt so much better and I finally started to feel more like myself. The next thing on my list was definitely seeing my family more often.

Bill and I made a promise to never say anything to our parents or siblings about us not speaking for two years. I remember that we started talking about all his failed relationships while we were at Hogwarts and he teased me how he thought I will stay a virgin forever because all I could talk about were Dragons.

I told him about April and how my friends at the Reserve teased me all the time about her. I told him how they made me go talk to Rhylee and how I found out about her having a boyfriend. I felt relieved when I saw his reaction and I knew that I wasn’t crazy thinking she should’ve told me sooner.

I told him about all her friendly gestures and how she acts around me and he said that he is standing behind his words when he said that he thinks she feels the same way and that I should just be patient with her. I don’t know how to feel about that but who cares about all my worries now when there is still so much whiskey left to drink!

[imladris-soldier]

Lashes (pt 12)

Bill Williamson is a racist asshole. Everyone knows it. They just punch him and go on about their day. When a Lakota woman joins the gang, everyone expects things to go on as normal, slurs and all, and for a time, it does. But her curiosity gets the better of her, and she finds that hatred is something learned - which means it can be unlearned, if given time, care, and patience. And she has plenty of those… the first two, anyway.

Bill Williamson x OC

The walk back to camp was spent in silence, and Star began to feel the weight of losing Sean. Her chest felt heavy, and breathing was a struggle. Her pace slowed, and Bill noticed. He slowed with her, taking her hand in his. Nothing was said, but he knew.

The camp was eerie and still when they arrived back. Everyone seemed to have split off to mourn in their own way. Arthur still hadn't returned, but knowing that he had survived the ambush and ridden away of his own free will was enough to keep Star from worrying.

Dutch pulled Bill aside to ask for his side of the story, so Star went on alone, taking Brown Jack with her. The horse seemed to notice her mood as much as his rider had, offering Star a gentle nudge with his nose. She scratched his neck as she removed his tack. “You did good, boy,” she murmured softly. He snorted.

Once Brown Jack was taken care of, Star found that she had no appetite for food or company, especially when she spied Mary-Beth crying by the lake. The tension that coiled so painfully behind Star's sternum would eventually have to be released, but she was not comfortable doing so in front of others.

She made her way to the tent she and Bill shared, letting the flap close behind her. Lacking anything productive to do, Star just sat on the ground, arms around her knees. Pressure built inside her, but she was not yet ready to deal with it. For a time, she just wanted to feel it. There was something exquisite about the searing pain of loss. Sometimes it was best to take the time to wallow in it. She was sure that some new horror would bear down on them eventually, and she wanted to have this out of the way before then.

When Bill entered, his gaze lingered on her briefly, but then he went about preparing for bed. It was early, really, but he seemed to have sensed that she had called the day done. Apparently, he had no intentions of leaving her to herself, and it made her heart squeeze in affection.

“Let me see your shoulder,” she murmured as he sat. He shrugged out of his shirt as she got up to kneel behind him, fingers poking gently at the red, swollen flesh surrounding the rip caused by the bullet. “Hand me my satchel.”

He did as told, and she fished around in it for some whiskey and the same poultice she'd used on his shoulders months ago. He flinched slightly when the whiskey hit his open skin, but he didn't pull away. Star dabbed carefully with a rag to get the excess, then put the poultice on the inflamed area around the wound.

As she worked, a drunk, melancholy voice floated through the muggy air to them. Karen seemed to have taken the news... well.

“But the heart throbs on as warmly now/ As when those summer nights were nigh/ Oh, the sun can never dip so low/ A down affection's cloudless sky/ A hundred months have passed, Lorena/ Since last I held that hand in mine/ And felt the pulse beat fast, Lorena/ Though mine beats faster far than thine...”

Karen continued to sing, but it was at that point that Star finally lost her composure. Tears slid down her cheeks, landing on Bill's back. He seemed startled, and she hadn't given him much warning, but he quickly recovered and spun around to face her.

She sobbed quietly, shaking with each expulsion of her grief. For a second, Bill hovered in a place of insecurity, but he finally just reached out and grabbed her into his arms, pulling her into his lap. She sat on his legs and cried against his shoulder, allowing him to just engulf her as she crumpled. Though he had nothing to say, Bill's embrace said everything. If at first it was unsure, it faded immediately as the need to comfort her took over his body. She felt safe, despite all, wrapped up in him.

It took some time for the tears to stop, but when Star began to grow more still and quiet, Bill leaned her out slightly to brush away the salty remnants from her cheeks. She sniffled and looked away, murmuring, “Sorry.”

“What for?” he replied, brows crunching together in confusion.

She just gestured to herself with a shrug.

He let that sit a moment, then pulled her back to his chest. “Y'ain't gotta apologize for havin' feelin's, Star. Not to me. You... you're the first person I ever felt... safe enough around to say some'a the things I've said. And it might... it might kill me if you didn't feel safe enough with me to cry once in a while.”

Star's arms wound around him, and she wished she could simply be absorbed into him, at least for the night. Perhaps the morning would be better, but she did not want to face the future. She just wanted him and their little tent. No more, no less.

They fell asleep pressed as closely together as was physically possible, fingers entwined. Star slept fitfully, dreams full of shadows that hounded after her, but any time she woke, she found Bill at her side, usually snoring, but it was a significant comfort nonetheless.

When the sun rose, Star groaned softly. The world would spin on, regardless of Sean MacGuire's death, and the gang would be expected to do the same. The last thing she wanted to do was attend to chores while Dutch deliberated about his next move. She had half a mind to barge in on him and demand a response, but knowing the level of anxiety that would cause Bill deterred her.

She rolled over to face her lover, smiling wearily at how disheveled he'd become in sleep. His hair was generally a little wild to begin with, but in the mornings it was something else entirely. Her fingers gently passed through it, trying to tame it just a little bit to varying effect. He stirred and blinked sleepily at her. “What you doin'?”

“Have you ever considered some hair pomade?”

He grumbled and rolled away from her, causing her to grin and scoot until she was flush with his back. Her right arm slipped over his side to dangle, at least until he somewhat grudgingly gathered her hand into his and held.

Letting her eyes close once more, Star sighed and pressed a soft kiss to the wound on his shoulder. “Thank you,” she whispered. “For last night.”

“Course,” he murmured. “I know what it's like to hurt like that and... and not have no one. You always got me.”

“Same to you.”

Both fell back asleep for a short while before reality came crashing down. It was ultimately Ms. Grimshaw's usual harping that woke them again, and they knew it was pointless to try and ignore it. Both rose and dressed for the day, but just before they left the tent, Bill caught Star's elbow and pulled her in for a kiss. It was probably meant to be a short boost to start the day, but it turned into something longer and more meaningful.

“If you need me, come find me,” he told her when they finally pulled apart.

“I will. Thanks.” She pressed another quick kiss to his cheek, then pushed open the tent flap, pinning it up. Bill exited as she did so, squeezing her hip as he walked by. She just smiled.

The day passed in an unnervingly normal way. It was almost as though the gang was ignoring what had happened to Sean. Some of it felt like shame – if Dutch and Hosea hadn't pushed playing both sides in the search of some legendary gold, maybe it wouldn't have happened. If this. If that. Ultimately, Sean was dead, and the gang was going to have to make a move.

Karen was drunk before noon, which, in the past, had been Bill's gig. She quickly became unbearable, so Star stayed on the edges of camp with the horses most of the afternoon. The animals needed some hoof work, so she was easily occupied.

Not long after lunch, Star found little Jack standing in front of her looking a little sheepish. “Hi, Jack,” she greeted, putting down Boaz' foot to crouch in front of the boy. “What's going on?”

“Um... I heard you cryin' last night,” he said quietly. “Momma said I should make you somethin' to make you happy again, so I made you this.” He held out a chain of flowers. “It's a necklace!”

Star took the circle of little purple flowers, feeling her chest blossom with warmth. “Well, thank you! It's lovely.”

Jack smiled widely as she put it over her head. “You really like it?”

“Of course I do.”

Jack's face fell slightly and he kicked at the dirt beneath his feet. “Momma says Uncle Sean is dead.”

“Yeah. Yeah, he is.”

“Bad men killed him?”

“That's right. They lied and said they needed our help, but they attacked us and killed Sean.”

“Oh.” His big, innocent eyes look up at her. “I don't want anyone else to die.”

Star put a hand on his head, combing through his hair softly. “Me either. We'll be ok. You'll see. Now, run on and play, ok? But don't go too far.”

“Ok.”

Star stood and watched him go for a moment before returning her attention to Boaz. However, it was quickly stolen once more by the lingering presence of Charles and Bill in the corner of her eye. She finally turned to look at them, realizing at that point that they had been waiting for her to notice. Charles waved her over, so she put down her tools and joined them.

“What?”

“We're going hunting. Do you want to come?”

Star looked over her shoulder at camp. The heat and the tension practically made the air visible. “Yeah, ok. Better than hanging around here, anyway.”

The three gathered up their items, then mounted their horses and rode out of camp. No one asked where they were going or even acknowledged that they were leaving except Lenny, who was standing guard. He just wished them luck and waved.

Charles led the way to north-eastern Scarlet Meadows. The ride was silent, but Star decided that they'd all left for the same reason: camp was stifling. The three of them together would easily bag a couple deer with minimal effort, so it was entirely a trip to get away.

Star's chosen brother more than proved this when he pulled Taima to a stop, got down and just stretched. She hopped down as well, observing him with amusement. “Hunting, huh?” she asked.

His lips twitched into a soft smile. “Yeah. Hunting for some peace.”

Bill jumped down, and Star turned to him. “You were in on this?”

“It was his idea,” Charles said.

Bill shrugged as he unloaded a tent. “Kinda figured you wouldn't mind.”

“I don't. I'm just impressed.”

“Hey, sometimes... I have an idea, alright?”

She smiled. “Fair enough. So, what? We just stay out here for a day or two?”

“Why not?” Charles replied. “Between us, we'll get some food to take back, and no one will be the wiser.”

Star nodded, sharing a glance with Bill who blushed when he realized that she was recalling the last time they'd spent time away from camp together. She just smiled.

Charles and Star hunted a few rabbits to feed them that night, and they all settled around the campfire that Bill built. The night was mostly spent telling stories, and Star eventually asked, “What do you remember of your mother, Charles?”

The big man shrugged, taking a swig of whiskey. “I remember that she always wore her hair in a braid. She would sometimes weave feathers and flowers into it. She seemed to love my father, and he loved her. He was never the same after she got captured.”

Star nodded, ruminating on his answer. As she did, Bill said, “My momma was... well... she weren't too nice. Always liked my daddy better. 'Course, he drank himself to madness. I-I-I told you that story, right? How he mixed his drinks. By the time he died, he didn't know his left from his right. Bad business.”

“My father fell to drink as well, though who knows what killed him. I ran away when I was twelve.”

Bill nodded. “Weren't much older when I left. Fifteen maybe. Wandered around for a while, thievin' and beggin' just to eat. Then I joined the army. That was worse.”

As the two men swapped stories, Star looked between them. There was a time when they might never have said a word to one another, yet here they were, sharing intimate details. While there was a part of her that wanted to take credit for it, the truth of the matter was that there had been a good man hiding in Bill all along. He'd just never felt secure enough to show it.

When it grew late enough, they turned in, and Star finally felt some of the weight leave her.

….

The next day, Star and Charles tracked down a couple deer to take back. Once they were secured onto the horses, the group made the decision to go ahead and return to camp. If nothing else, the deer for stew might lift a few spirits.

When they arrived back, there was no one on guard, and that was immediately troubling. They all exchanged glances, then hurried through the trees to camp. There was a group of people standing outside of Dutch's tent, Arthur among them. Voices seemed agitated and fearful.

Star hurried to Kieran who stood nervously at a distance. “What's going on?”

Kieran jumped when she spoke, putting a hand to his heart. “Jesus. When'd you get back?”

“Just now. What's happening?”

“It's... it's little Jack.”

“What about him?” Charles pressed.

“He's missin'. They think the Braithwaites took him. I seen a couple'a strange fellers lurkin' about earlier. Didn't cause no trouble at the time, but... I guess...” His eyes fell, and he fidgeted with his hands.

Star put a hand on his shoulder, turning to look at Bill and Charles. The latter had his usual calm demeanor about him though his jaw had clenched, but Bill had gone into a full protective rage mode that Star had never seen before. Even she was slightly taken aback by the hostility that had begun radiating off him. But, to be fair, she felt the same.

Dutch marched off towards his horse crying, “I will get that boy back, so help me God... right now!”

Before Star even had time to react, Bill ran forward calling, “Dutch! We just heard about Jack. You need some extra guns?”

“Why not?” their leader replied with a nod. “Micah, Kieran, if anybody strange turns up, kill 'em! The rest'a you, let's ride!”

Every man that wasn't Micah or Kieran mounted up, and Star joined them, already feeling a fiery anger burning through her veins. The necklace Jack had made her was still in one of her saddlebags. He was an innocent child. What kind of monsters made a child pay for the actions of men? All things considered, Star had decided she did not like the South.

The sun dipped below the horizon as they rode out, and a heavy fog fell over the countryside. The air was thick, though it started to cool almost as soon as the sun disappeared. However, the heat seemed to follow the gang, fueled by their anger alone.

“They must've figured out what we was up to, Dutch!” Hosea called.

“Yeah,” Arthur replied. “We got shot to hell by the Grays in town.”

Dutch replied, “I know. I heard. About Sean too. I don't even want to think about that right now. We have to focus on Jack.”

It was almost as if Dutch had taken the thoughts from Star's head word for word and put voice to them. This was exactly the new horror she had wanted to be prepared for. Thanks to Bill and Charles, she was. Grief had turned to rage, and god help whatever back country hick crossed her path now.

John snarled, “I swear, I'll kill everyone there!”

“Easy, John. Try to stay calm!” Dutch soothed. “We gotta keep our heads about this.”

“How the hell did they get to him?!” Star snapped.

“I don't know, but we will get him back, and we will make them pay. I promise you that.”

“What about the gold?” Javier asked.

“Who gives a damn about the gold? They got Jack!” John cried.

With a sigh, Hosea answered, “I hate to break it to ya, but I don't think there is any gold. Or, if there is, it's hidden somewhere no one knows. I've turned every stone.”

“For Christ's sake, Hosea!” John roared. “After all that? Another perfect scam.”

If anything, it was nice to see John finally coming into his role as concerned father for the boy. Star had been waiting and hoping to see it one day. While it wasn't ideal, scaring him into it was working.

“We underestimated them,” Hosea murmured.

“No!” Dutch cut in firmly. “They underestimated us. Enough talk. There is no point arguing how we got here. This is where we are. And we are going to fix it. So come on!”

That was the final word on that, so everyone concentrated on riding and stewing in their indignant anger. The further they went, the more Star felt it burn. It wasn't even the Braithwaites that had killed Sean, but they were going to pay for him too. It didn't matter which snob-nosed white family had committed which crime – they were all the same to her, and they would die for it.

The group passed through some trees, rounding a bend that exposed the elegant driveway leading to Braithwaite Manor. Large, very old trees lined the path, and their branches created a sweeping arc overhead. It was the epitome of wealth and status, and Star immediately felt the urge to chop it all down. Of course, that would be highly disrespectful to the trees, so perhaps the house would have to do.

The manor itself was old yet opulent, at least to her eye. It was two stories, with wrap-around balconies and columns. She'd never seen anything like it, and all she wanted was to tear it down.

As they started down the path, Dutch called, “Ok, get your heads right. Nobody makes a move until I say so. Dismount and come to me!”

They came to a stop, each person jumping down and retrieving weapons from their saddles. Star pulled out the Bolt Action Rifle she'd been given as well as checking to make sure she had her pistol and knife. Once she was satisfied, she joined Dutch by the walled entrance.

“You sure you're ok, John?” Dutch asked.

“I'm fine,” the younger man growled, adjusting his grip on his gun.

“Alright, then. Follow me. These redneck families think they can ruin us? I don't think so.”

The gang fell in behind Dutch, ultimately swinging outwards into a V formation. Star walked between Bill and Arthur on Dutch's left, fingers gripping her gun so hard that her knuckles had gone white. The air crackled with anticipation, raising the hairs on her arms, but in that moment, Star's confidence in Dutch and this attack was all she needed.

“There they are,” Hosea pointed out as several men exited the house, waiting on the porch for them.

“Who steals a god damn boy?” Dutch snarled, his voice rumbling deep in his chest.

“I'm gonna let fly at them sons'a bitches,” John hissed through clenched teeth.

“John, I need you calm,” Dutch told him before proceeding to yell, “Get down here now!! You inbred trash!”

“What the hell do you want?” one of the men on the porch replied with a sneer.

The gang spread out on the front lawn, taking positions within running distance of cover, but positions that also allowed for easy firing. Star stood just slightly ahead of Arthur, brown eyes taking count of the Braithwaites. She counted at least six already outside which gave the gang an upper hand, but there were undoubtedly more inside the house.

“We've come for the boy,” Dutch announced, stepping ahead of everyone. “You must have known we would.”

“Shouldn't have messed in our business now, should ya?”

Dutch took a sharp breath through his nose. “Whatever complaint you have with us... alleged or otherwise... that is a young boy. That is not the way you do things. Hand him over.”

“Get the hell off our land.”

Four or five more men came through the doors on both floors of the house, quickly outnumbering the gang. Star's grip on her gun came just short of causing the wood to creak beneath the strain. The silence that hung in the air was dangerous. Even the night birds had fled, though a crow or two had perched on the branches of the great trees.

Dutch's gaze swept the porches briefly, then, calmly, he replied, “If you ain't gonna be civilized about this...”

The initial shots from Dutch's guns alone took out three Braithwaites. Rage seemed to somehow increase his accuracy as he shot without care, dual-wielding, smoothly sweeping his arms between targets who then fell as commanded. The rest of the gang began firing after the initial shock and awe wore off.

Star skidded behind a parked wagon, firing around the corner. Even if she missed, her bullets would embed into the wood of the house or shatter a window, and she counted that as a victory. To mar the great legacy of these cretins was as satisfying as massacring their progeny.

Within a few short seconds, the Braithwaites present on the balconies were dead. Dutch was already moving up to storm the house. “Arthur, John, Hosea with me! The rest'a you, stay here and watch for any more arrivals.” He ran up, kicking in the door. “Get in there! Find Jack. And find that Braithwaite woman!”

Dutch's voice was so full of rage that it broke, like water on rocks. Every note of his anger flooded through Star, causing her blood to sing. It was dizzying, being so led by his every move. Was this why his gang followed him so loyally? Did they all feel his conviction rolling off him in waves? She had never known anything like it.

While the four of them ran into the house, Star turned her attentions to the fog surrounding the manor. Bill shadowed her as she paced, eyes prowling for the first sign of trouble.

It was ultimately Charles who saw the riders first, calling, “We got more coming in!”

Murky torch flames sped down the driveway, making the targets all too easy to spot. Star went down on one knee to steady her aim, sending a bullet ripping through the skull of one of the riders. For Sean. The others easily took down the rest, but Javier called, “They're in the fields!”

Star jumped up and sprinted around the house to face the orchard. These targets weren't bearing torches, so they were harder to see, but she was a trained hunter. Flickers of movement drew her eye, and the moonlight created just enough shadows.

Her desire for the thrill of the hunt caused her to drop her gun, pull her knife from her boot, and slip into the trees. She whispered through the fog, slitting throats and watering the peaches with blood. The Braithwaites couldn't see her coming, and neither could her friends as they fired skillfully in her direction yet never hit her.

It took very little time to send the Braithwaites running. Star took the time to drive her knife through the temple of one of them, but let the rest go. As she exited the orchard, the guns of the gang came up to face her until Charles cried, “Hold! It's Star!”

Slowly, gun barrels fell away from her, replaced by stares of shock. She could only imagine what she looked like, but if it was anything like she felt, it was probably horrific. Blood dripped down her face and knife arm, staining her clothes and painting her skin a sickening crimson.

As she walked down the line, back towards the front of the house, she felt their surprise. It almost smacked of fear. None of them had thought her the type. But, then again, none of them really knew her to begin with. There were stories she had not told. Not to Bill, not to Charles. No one knew. In short, she did not advise threatening her family.

The gang moved back to the front of the house, watching as John and Hosea set fire to the first floor. Dutch marched out of the house with the Braithwaite woman slung over his shoulder like a sack. Arthur followed behind.

“Put me down, you damn yankee!” the woman screeched.

Dutch heaved her to the ground with a sneering, “There ya go,” then drew his gun to hold on her.

“I never liked you,” she directed at Hosea.

“Why'd you take the boy, Mrs. Braithwaite?”

“You stole my liquor! You stole my horses!”

“Boys are off limits!”

“Ain't no rules in war, Mr...”

“Matthews!”

“Yes. That's it.”

Hosea crouched down low. “Where's the boy?”

Suddenly gathering strength, the old woman sat up and snarled, “My sons gave him to Angelo Bronte. So my guess is Saint Denis. Either there or the boat to Italy!”

Hosea's lip curled, then he stood back up and marched off. “Let's go!” he announced.

“What about her?” Arthur called.

“Leave her,” Dutch declared.

The Van Der Linde gang walked away, leaving a burning legacy in their wake – a signal fire to the world: Do not threaten us, or we will destroy you.

[shadows-and-starlight]

What if he did know of WWII but not by name or the context or reasons for it, but only by the demons he would overhear snippets from as he hid, raving about "the glorious war!" and some of the more violent rooms getting more crowded at an exponential rate.

He could've assumed that WWI was just still going on, maybe it had only been 3 years instead of the 30 it felt like. But when he escapes to find out that the world had peace, and had still done it again, well it's a bit much.

Soon after his escape, Edwin starts to learn about the things he’s missed.