#you might lose him' and 'you're not going to postpone anything you're just gonna move forward with your life' 😭

[lonestardust]

9-1-1 : LONE STAR I 1x08 ‘Monster Inside’ : Owen and TK have a heart to heart.

[garrettandoscargirlsblog]

Meanwhile a few blocks away sounds of restlessness fills Santi’s home. He is on the floor with a bottle of his favorite whiskey. Drinking the numbness he feels. Life hasn't been good for him. Latest relationship has ended. That really hurt him to no end. Thought she was the one. After two years together things were on the up and up till something happened. Coming home to see her stuff was missing. All that remained was a dear John letter. No explanation,but she can't deal with his manic episodes. Then… his baby sister getting married to his best friend. He should be happy for them. Welcome Benny into the family. Resentment fueled his mind. Goal is for others to be shitty. 

He hasn't been to work for days. Will was beyond worried. Calls and texts were unanswered. On this night he goes over to see if Santi was okay. Letting himself in with a spare key looking around how messy the place was. Dishes in the sink smells of booze fills the air. Clothes on the floor. Caused Will to go upstairs to see his friend on the floor only wearing a pair of ratted green sweats. No shirt. Unkempt hair ,and matted beard. Kneels down,” Care to explain why you haven't called me?! Was worried that something happened! Had to postpone our presentation to next month! Our ass is on the line?! Gonna lose our important client ?! Are you gonna say anything?!” Santi looks at him whipping his mouth,"Of course I care,but not right now. Leave me to wallow in my misery. Too sick to care about shit. Now leave me alone! Go back to your happy home!” Looks like Will isn't getting through him. Think he needs some help. Thought about calling Frankie,but he is on vacation with his daughter. Benny hates to call him knowing he just got off from work. Taking a breath got out his phone: 

Older brother: look bro, hate to do this,but I need your help. At Pope’s he is in a drunken mess. 

Sound of a phone going off caused Benny to slowly wake up from sleeping with his beautiful wife. Can't stop holding onto her. Rubbing his eyes. Looking at the message,” Shit! Not again!” Tried not to wake Gracie slowly got up to get dressed, sudden movement stopped him. Small hands on his shoulders stopped him . Soft voice fills the room,” What's wrong baby? Another bad dream? If it is? Let me help.” Taking a breath,” Your brother is drunk yet again. Gonna go to help Will. Wantcha to stay home okay? Can't have my rose hurt. Need ya to keep my side of the bed warm and toasty. “ Gracie not listening. Still wrapped in the bedsheet. Goes to get dressed,” Think I can help too. We are family, remember? “ Benny goes over to her now naked form. Hugs her from behind,” I know darlin. Just trust me okay? Let me and Will handle it. If we need help? I'll call. “ Gracie closed her eyes. Knowing he might be right. Sure both of them had training in dealing with this kind of behavior. This is her brother. Might not have seen Santi like that. Oh the boys have. Soon as her husband leaves. She goes to her nightstand to fetch her phone. Calls someone who delt with this before. Her mother. 

Benny arrives at Santi’s . Noise of shouting caught his attention. Sounds of things hitting a wall. Rushed upstairs to see both Santi and Will yelling. Sees a broken bottle on the floor. Goes over to break up the fight. Goes between them,” Enough! Stand fucking down!” Santi not hearing this. Goes to push Benny away from him,” oh look is here! Person who stole my sister away from me! Ordering me around my own place! Why don't you both go home !”Looking into his brother in law in the eye. Not moving,” Not a chance man. You're endangering yourself ya know that?! Need help! Not leaving so tell us what's wrong.” Santi grunts,” Nothing ,and I mean nothing is wrong! Can a person be alone for a while?! That's all I fucking want!! Want to wallow okay?!” Now the plot thickens. Wallow. It's Will who figured it out. Leans against the wall in his signature pose. Arms crossed,” I know why. Chelsea. Left you in this state of misery. Furthermore? Resenting the fact Benny stole Gracie from you! Preposterous! Can't face that she is an adult. She loves you man. Problem is that can't someone else take over. “ Those words cut through Santi’s soul like a knife. Yes he is going through a lot. Feeling like the others never endure that kind of pain. Until he remembers Will went through the same thing. Now he feels like shit. Brothers sat next to him while he cried. 

Rosa Garcia rushed inside her son's home. With Gracie in tow. Looking at the state the home is in. Brought back memories of her late husband. Brought tears to her eyes. Her son is going down the same path . She knew he was going through stuff,but never thought he would destroy himself in this kind of matter. Gracie stays downstairs to clean up. Rosa slowly approaches a bedroom to see her son,and her sons in law . Benny, first to see her, goes to hug her,” Mama, Glad you are here. Got him calm ,but.. with all of my trainin in this? Thought could get through him. “ Hugs him tightly,” It would be fine my baby boy. Go downstairs okay? Your rose is there cleaning up. Means you too William shoo!” Will kisses her forehead as he leaves. Santi whimpers,” I'm a bad son Mama! 

Here is a preview! For Benny the rookie part 2! Hope to finish later on tonight

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON: WOLF PACK MAJOR THREE-IN-THREE DIVISION WEEKEND

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The wound needs time to heal. The loss of captain Cole Schneider via trade on Monday had far more impact than the trade last year of Joe Whitney. The loss was palpable. “The first practice (Tuesday) was tough. It was like losing a family member as Cole was a big part of our family,” said Pack head coach Keith McCambridge, who wore the C the last three years with the defunct Alaska Aces (ECHL). “Your leaders wear letters for a reason. Whenever you take those pieces out of your dressing room those are big shoes to fill. We're gonna have to fill that void in leadership. The person who wears the 'C' has a strong voice in the room. We do lose the many things Cole brought to the table, but we get a player back with significant AHL experience." Before the question was finished, McCambridge laid out the leadership equation for the remainder of the regular season. “We're going with three A’s. Peter Holland will have an A on his jersey (Friday) night. When you set and design your team, you have a captain, but we're now past the halfway part of the season. We have the structure in place. It really is a credit to them that we have had such a solid leadership corp this season. It’s like an eight-cylinder engine. You lose a spark plug and trying to fill it in. Time will tell how this new leadership structure will work. Cole was a hard working individual who poured his heart and soul into this. The tough business side of things is never easy.” Whether it works or not is anyone's guess, but one thing for sure is that telling the players on a way to move forward is not an easy task. “I told them he was a part of our family starting from September and you hope till early June (Calder Cup Final time) you're together as a family. I really like this group. They get along well together, and a piece of our family was taken away. I always speak from the heart to the team,” McCambridge said. McCambridge was channeling his captain’s player role, not so much being their head coach “I liked Cole a lot. He was a good man. I like what he represented. Now, we have to pick up the slack in a leadership void and what he brought (to the team) on the ice as well.” Holland has eight years of pro experience and this never gets easy. "We're bummed out for sure. That is the tough part of the business, and we signed up for it, and we all know the possibilities," Holland said. "Our lives can be tossed into a blender and get traded away.” Holland has felt the sting of trades as well. “It’s a big hole in the locker room for sure.“ The loss of Schneider is genuinely being felt throughout the locker room. “He’ll be hard to replace and missed. He was a vocal leader and he held guys accountable in a good way, guys respected him. It’s gonna hurt in the mentoring role we have had with the younger guys, this is a big lesson to learn. Certainly, his offense will be missed, so, it means we all have to step in in our own way to fill that void. It does suck that’s for sure.” Holland was one of the first to learn Schneider had been dealt. “I got a text from him saying that he had been traded and I really thought he was joking because there was inkling this was coming. I tried to Facetime with him and got no response for awhile he was talking with family and friends and it started to dawn on me this might be more real than I thought. We live in the same building and it’s a short elevator ride down…it was kinda crazy. He was very surprised by it.”. When Holland was traded from Anaheim to Toronto he was in a different place than he is now. “First time I got traded I was 20-21 years old. A young guy, a single guy and I thought it was a big deal, it wasn’t. You pack up one place and away you go. It gets a lot harder as you get older, It gets to be a bigger deal. You have live-in girlfriends, pets and in some cases kids or kids in school. The amount of (anxiety) increases tremendously, and it’s a huge change in your life when you're traded in the next 12 hours you're gone! You need friends and family to pick up the piece when you have to leave, it’s a big scramble.” He saw the same thing while in the NHL. “I was with the Leafs when Dion Phaneuf got traded. Even if you know it might be coming, it’s still a shock to the system. One day there's a nameplate on the locker, and the next day it's empty. Teams are like family. It's tough.” Now, sporting the "A" stitched to his jersey, a few more bricks are riding on his shoulders. “We have a good leadership group. It's an opportunity for everybody to take on new roles within the team. It adds a little more pressure to do some of the things Cole did here.” For Connor Brickley, he was on the other side of the trade. His adventure was equally wild. He arrived in Hartford at midnight and had his first practice Thursday. “I had woken up from my pre-game nap. We're in Winnipeg to play the Manitoba Moose. I was waking up around 4 pm (Central time) my phone was going off with text messages from friends and (management). I don’t have a Canadian phone plan, so it wasn’t dialing out. So, I had to borrow my roommate's (Jared Tinordi) phone to make a few calls and found out I wouldn’t be playing that night." Brickley was tempered in responding to how much he knew. “There had been rumblings, but I really didn’t expect anything. It's always nice to get a new opportunity and it's nice to be wanted. It’s a fresh start for me and gives me a chance to show the Rangers what I can put on display.” Brickley is familiar with the XL Center having played for the Portland Pirates for two years. Brickley is playing for a contract since his current one-year deal expires in June. “Fans will see a fast, hard-working forward who can play physical and get the puck to the net and get some gritty goals," Brickley said. "I’m really looking forward to it.” The deal caught people by surprise, but those on the inside, this was in the works in two stages, one in November, and the other over the past two weeks. A knowledgeable source filled Cantlon’s Corner in on the details. “Nashville actually was offered Schneider back in November, but they declined. The Rangers really had zeroed in on Brickley in the last month, and over the last two weeks things got serious and the deal was made.” McCambridge was able to say out loud, in a dark-humored way, what everybody is thinking. “Players are smart. They know what's going on around them. When you have that many people (captains) traded in a row it does become the proverbial “kiss of death." Sadly, the captaincy in Hartford once so revered has become just that. BIG WEEKEND No way to underestimate how important this three-in-three is. It cannot be overstated. The Wolf Pack are above the .500 mark at 18-17-2-2 (40 points) and sit in seventh place in the Atlantic Division. They are four points behind the Springfield Thunderbirds, and three points behind the current eighth place, Toronto Marlies. They want to keep in the hunt for the final playoff spot. On this weekend they'll have three solid chances to make a dent in that pursuit as they host Lehigh Valley Friday, Springfield Saturday and Monday afternoon in Providence. Holland is keenly aware of the importance the second half of this season and its overall importance to the younger players developmentally. “I can speak from experience. When I was with the Toronto Marlies in my third year as a pro, we had a phenomenal run. We lost in Game 7 to Texas, who went on to win (the Calder Cup) against Keith (McCambridge's) team when he was in St. John’s. It's so much fun playing hockey at that time of year. You work all year to get there, and if you don’t make the playoffs, you don’t know what you're missing. For guys who have been there, you gotta sell the guys who maybe had some experience in junior and college, its different at this (AHL) level.” We know all three teams this weekend very well. They all bring very strong offensive teams and we're gonna have to beat teams that are ahead of us (to make the playoffs). We have to focus on what we need to do, playing good sound team defense is key.” These are huge divisional games for us and at this point, there is just a half season left. We need the points.” McCambridge is keenly aware of the standings and the big push is now on. “You have a lot of teams jockeying for that position in our division. There is an opening there and everybody has their eyes on it. We were happy we beat Springfield. We lost the two games with Providence, so we didn’t do ourselves any favors. We have to be consistently gathering points at this stage of the season. Lehigh Valley is a really good team, offensively-minded, and we had a very good game against them last time. They remember it. They're a transition and fast team and all the more reason we have to have a strong start.” The Pack lost Ryan Lindgren to recall to the Rangers, and the Wolf Pack will have just six defensemen with Sean Day, who will be in the line-up, but the recall for Lindgren (now wearing jersey 55) brought a smile to McCambridge’s face amid dealing with the fall out of the Schneider trade. “I’m happy for him. You're happy when they get that call and for myself, it's nice to watch him play his first NHL game, and as many times you make those calls, when guys get the opportunity to achieve their lifetime goal to play in the NHL, those calls never get old.” NOTES: UPDATE: Sunday’s game with Providence has been postponed to MLK Jr. Day Monday at 3:05 pm at the Dunkin’ Arena in Providence.*** Brickley will wear the number 23 for the Wolf Pack. Schneider wore 25 in his first game with the Admirals. He had three shots on goal and no points in Winnipeg. Lehigh Valley reassigned goalie Brandon Komm, who played his first AHL game last time the Phantoms were in town. He goes to Reading (ECHL) and Anthony Stolarz was sent down for a conditioning stint by the Flyers. He will likely start in net against the Pack. Dustin Tokarski gets the call for the Wolf Pack. Another day, another AHL-style trade as Lehigh Valley will receive Justin Bailey from Rochester, a big forward who heads to upstate New York, Tyler Leier. Since Christmas nine AHL level trades have been made and were now just five weeks out from the NHL Trading deadline. Usually, these trades occur just before or after the deadline. This is an inordinate amount and shows how much cap tweaking is going on in preparation for a potential work stoppage in 2020-21. Steven Fogarty (concussion) is listed as day-to-day. McCambridge is hoping he gets clearance and can get in one game this weekend. Shawn O’Donnell (upper body) is doubtful for the weekend, but he is hoping he might be ready by mid-week (against Springfield) next week. Terrance Wallin is back from Maine was signed to a PTO deal. “He’s been a very reliable player for us, important centerman for us and has stepped into several roles for us and he will be in the lineup this weekend.” Springfield lost JT Brown to recall by Florida. The Sound Tigers reassigned former Yale Bulldog Ryan Hitchcock to Worcester (ECHL), and goalie, Alex Nedejlkovic, was recalled by Carolina from Charlotte. A lineup addition possibility for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms could have been ex-Wolf Pack/CT Whale Dale Weise, who cleared NHL waivers on Wednesday, and is now eligible to be reassigned to the Phantoms. As of Noon, Friday Weise has yet to be assigned by Philadelphia who scratched him from the Boston game Wednesday night. He was on waivers at the start of the season and not claimed. Weise’s now 30 years old. His only AHL duty was in Hartford in 2011. He played 194 games with 57 goals and 111 points and since then he has played 481 NHL games with Vancouver, Montreal, Chicago and Philadelphia. The always verbose Winnipegger has one more year left of a four-year $9.4 million dollar deal he signed with departed Flyers GM Ron Hextall at a $2.5 million cap hit next year. Ex-CT Whale and friend of Weise’s, defenseman, Michael Del Zotto was traded by Vancouver to Anaheim Max Jones, the son of ex-Nighthawk Brad Jones, was recalled from San Diego by Anaheim. Ex-Pack Ryan Graves was returned to Colorado (AHL) by the Avalanche and ex-Pack Caleb Herbert departed the Colorado Eagles to Utah (ECHL). Ex-QU Bobcat Jordan Samuels-Thomas (South Windsor) who had been playing with Medvescak Zagreb (Croatia-EBEL) signs a PTO deal with Hershey. Former Sound Tiger Nino Niederreiter has changed NHL addresses going from Minnesota to Carolina. Goalie Callum Booth (Salisbury Prep) was reassigned to Reading (ECHL) by Charlotte. Ex-CT Whale defenseman and all around good guy Pavel Valentenko was traded from Uzhny- Ural Orsk (Russia-VHL) to Yugra-Khanty (Russia-VHL), Lukas Znosko (Stamford) was let go by Zaglebie Sosnowice (Poland-PZIHL). Read the full article

[garrettandoscargirlsblog]

Benny the Rookie Cop Pt2

Summary:I know this part is intense. First part is anyway. It deals with Santi going off the deep end. Sorry about that. Fear not! there is a sweet Benny and Grace moment at the end which im gonna write another fic . More like an extended scene.

Meanwhile a few blocks away sounds of restlessness fills Santi’s home. He is on the floor with a bottle of his favorite whiskey. Drinking the numbness he feels. Life hasn't been good for him. Latest relationship has ended. That really hurt him to no end. Thought she was the one. After two years together things were on the up and up till something happened. Coming home to see her stuff was missing. All that remained was a dear John letter. No explanation,but she can't deal with his manic episodes. Then… his baby sister getting married to his best friend. He should be happy for them. Welcome Benny into the family. Resentment fueled his mind. Goal is for others to be shitty. 

He hasn't been to work for days. Will was beyond worried. Calls and texts were unanswered. On this night he goes over to see if Santi was okay. Letting himself in with a spare key looking around how messy the place was. Dishes in the sink smells of booze fills the air. Clothes on the floor. Caused Will to go upstairs to see his friend on the floor only wearing a pair of ratted green sweats. No shirt. Unkempt hair ,and matted beard. Kneels down,” Care to explain why you haven't called me?! Was worried that something happened! Had to postpone our presentation to next month! Our ass is on the line?! Gonna lose our important client ?! Are you gonna say anything?!” Santi looks at him whipping his mouth,"Of course I care,but not right now. Leave me to wallow in my misery. Too sick to care about shit. Now leave me alone! Go back to your happy home!” Looks like Will isn't getting through him. Think he needs some help. Thought about calling Frankie,but he is on vacation with his daughter. Benny hates to call him knowing he just got off from work. Taking a breath got out his phone: 

Older brother: look bro, hate to do this,but I need your help. At Pope’s he is in a drunken mess. 

Sound of a phone going off caused Benny to slowly wake up from sleeping with his beautiful wife. Can't stop holding onto her. Rubbing his eyes. Looking at the message,” Shit! Not again!” Tried not to wake Gracie slowly got up to get dressed, sudden movement stopped him. Small hands on his shoulders stopped him . Soft voice fills the room,” What's wrong baby? Another bad dream? If it is? Let me help.” Taking a breath,” Your brother is drunk yet again. Gonna go to help Will. Wantcha to stay home okay? Can't have my rose hurt. Need ya to keep my side of the bed warm and toasty. “ Gracie not listening. Still wrapped in the bedsheet. Goes to get dressed,” Think I can help too. We are family, remember? “ Benny goes over to her now naked form. Hugs her from behind,” I know darlin. Just trust me okay? Let me and Will handle it. If we need help? I'll call. “ Gracie closed her eyes. Knowing he might be right. Sure both of them had training in dealing with this kind of behavior. This is her brother. Might not have seen Santi like that. Oh the boys have. Soon as her husband leaves. She goes to her nightstand to fetch her phone. Calls someone who delt with this before. Her mother. 

Benny arrives at Santi’s . Noise of shouting caught his attention. Sounds of things hitting a wall. Rushed upstairs to see both Santi and Will yelling. Sees a broken bottle on the floor. Goes over to break up the fight. Goes between them,” Enough! Stand fucking down!” Santi not hearing this. Goes to push Benny away from him,” oh look is here! Person who stole my sister away from me! Ordering me around my own place! Why don't you both go home !”Looking into his brother in law in the eye. Not moving,” Not a chance man. You're endangering yourself ya know that?! Need help! Not leaving so tell us what's wrong.” Santi grunts,” Nothing ,and I mean nothing is wrong! Can a person be alone for a while?! That's all I fucking want!! Want to wallow okay?!” Now the plot thickens. Wallow. It's Will who figured it out. Leans against the wall in his signature pose. Arms crossed,” I know why. Chelsea. Left you in this state of misery. Furthermore? Resenting the fact Benny stole Gracie from you! Preposterous! Can't face that she is an adult. She loves you man. Problem is that can't someone else take over. “ Those words cut through Santi’s soul like a knife. Yes he is going through a lot. Feeling like the others never endure that kind of pain. Until he remembers Will went through the same thing. Now he feels like shit. Brothers sat next to him while he cried. 

Rosa Garcia rushed inside her son's home. With Gracie in tow. Looking at the state the home is in. Brought back memories of her late husband. Brought tears to her eyes. Her son is going down the same path . She knew he was going through stuff,but never thought he would destroy himself in this kind of matter. Gracie stays downstairs to clean up. Rosa slowly approaches a bedroom to see her son,and her sons in law . Benny, first to see her, goes to hug her,” Mama, Glad you are here. Got him calm ,but.. with all of my trainin in this? Thought could get through him. “ Hugs him tightly,” It would be fine my baby boy. Go downstairs okay? Your rose is there cleaning up. Means you too William shoo!” Will kisses her forehead as he leaves. Santi whimpers,” I'm a bad son Mama! Don't know how I can overcome it…” Rubs her son’s back as he lays his head on her lap. Needs to feel safe right now. Rosie knows that as well. He needs help to cope. Whispers to her son,” I'm here baby boy. You know drinking your troubles away isn't gonna help. Either is being a complete boota to your sister,and husband. Can't you see it's hurting them? Getting dumped hurts I know. Been there honey. Tell you what. I'm gonna move in for a while.help you get through this. First thing first. Go downstairs to apologize to the young couple. Tomorrow? Taking you to counseling.” 

Mother and son come downstairs to see his family cleaning up the living room. Gracie is first to see her mom and brother. Not looking at him she walks away. Not before Santi blocks her,” Look here G. I'm sorry. Okay? Never thought my anger hurt you the way it did. Was in a bad place. I'm glad you have Benny. I mean it. I'm afraid that I'm..” Reaching out to hug her brother. So does Benny. Hug him close. Rosa whispers to the young couple,” Go home. We got this. Family dinner is gonna be pushed back for a few days. You two have fun on your days off. Mama’s orders.” Santi watches from afar as his sister and brother in law hold each other close. Try not to fall apart. Will comes up to him placed his hand on his shoulder,” you will find one special man. First thing is to get ya well again. “ Santi takes a deep breath,” Thanks for coming by man.” Will chuckles again,” That's what family does man . We help.”

Young couple arrived home. Exhausted mentally and physically. Benny reached out to hold Gracie who practically held on to him. Breathed in his special scent,” Had to call mama. Had too. Hope you aren't mad.” Kissing her forehead ever so gently, he whispers,” I'm not. Glad ya did. Wasn't getting much lead way until Will figured it out. Now.. how about we go to bed. Hmm? Can cuddle, or watch some trashy show ya like.” Tracing patterns along his neck as he picks her in a bridal position,” I much rather have my rookie make love to me. Followed by some cuddling. Then.. we can stay in bed tomorrow since it's gonna rain.” 

Once they get into bed. Benny holds her close to his warm body. Trace loving patterns along her arm. How he wanted to fully fill her first request. Sees her fast asleep in his arms. Making love is the first thing to do in the morning. Holds her close to him. Thinking about how he really needs to protect her even more. Yes, Santi has a long journey ahead. Feared he might have a relapse. Whispers into her ear,” Love you my Rose bud. With all of my heart. Make sure you are safe for what's to come. Pray for Pope’s recovery is a success.”