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mymelodyheart · 3 years

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All I Want For Christmas Is You Chapter 4 ~Revelations and Snogs~

Previously in A Christmas Request ...

"Claire?"

"Hmmm?" Her voice was like a breathless whisper, and he wasn't sure if he imagined the yearning look in her eyes. It took all his self-control to keep from kissing her right there and then. Instead, he locked down all his muscles and willed himself to think of animals that start with the letter D. And all his damn brain could summon was the word dragonfly.

"May I ask ye a favour?"

"I don't kiss on the first date," she said too quickly, but her words contradicted her manner as she stared at his lips.

"That wasn't what I was gonnae ask ye."

"Oh!" Her eyes flew to his, and she blushed profusely. "Oh, well, that depends on the favour then."

He swallowed hard and leaned forward, taking her hands in his. "Will ye spend the rest of yer holiday with me?" He cleared his throat. "What I'm trying to ask of ye is, will ye stay here until the Three Kings ...until it's time for ye to go back to London?"

She blinked thrice.

"Alright."

"Alright?" A lungful of air whooshed out of him.

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Alrighty Beauchamp, what have you just done?

Grabbed life by the balls? Isn't that the mantra?

Nope!

What do you mean nope?

Those are not your words. Not our words.

Yes, they are. You know, live in the moment and la-di-dah!?

Nope, definitely not.

Whose are they then?

Annalise's.

Ah, well ...

Claire mentally shrugged.

"Sassenach?"

She snapped out of her tunnel vision, then looked at the big hands still holding hers. She was still trying to wrap her head around the idea of agreeing to spend the rest of her holiday with a total stranger. Who are you and what have you done with the ol' Beauchamp? "I'm sorry. I was thinking of Annalise. This is our holiday together, you see. I just agreed to spend the rest of my holiday here without consulting her." She shook her head and laughed despite the conflicting thoughts floating around her head. "I'm quite sure she'll be fine with it. She's the one who's always pushing me to be more spontaneous."

He squeezed her hands. "I'm flattered to be the reason for your spontaneity."

Her face heated. "I've never done this before ...just so you know."

He tried to catch her eye, and when she returned his gaze, he gave her a lop-sided smile. "Neither have I."

Oh, he's so good. Claire blew out a breath and stilled her heart. "That's comforting to know," she said, trying not to look too flustered. Knowing so little about him, she knew she should be wary, but for some reason, she felt safe. Everything about him was brand-new and familiar at the same time. It's as if there had been a melody playing in her head for her entire life, and he'd finally given it words.

"And Analise is welcome to stay too," Jamie quickly reassured her. "Ye said ye're booked at the Airbnb until Boxing day, but I dinnae think there'll be any guarantee ye'll be able to extend yer stay there with it being high season and all. But we have a family cottage that we rent out for the long term, and it was recently vacated. With all the Christmas fuss and work during the past few weeks, we never got around to letting it. Ye and Annalise are welcome to stay there for the rest of yer holiday." And then he grinned. "I'm quite certain my brother would be thrilled with the idea of yer friend staying too."

Claire laughed. "You're probably right. They seemed to have hit it off."

"Ye could say the same for us, don't ye agree?" he asked in a low voice.

She stared at him. How could he looked so calm and collected when she hadn't figured out how to articulate what she was feeling? On top of it all, it seemed he'd perfected the art of persuasion with finesse, so much so, she'd immediately jumped at his invitation to stay in Broch Mordha without a second thought, surprising herself. When it came to the dating game, she would have equated over-confidence to smugness which as a rule turned her immensely off. But there's a sincerity to Jamie's flirting that she found all too endearing and very charming.

She searched his face. Ready or not, she was curious to explore the unfamiliar emotions this beautiful man was drawing out of her. In her history of dating, no man had ever moved her to make her take the leap of faith. Deep down, something always seemed to be missing, and she'd simply put it down to her inability to know what she wanted. To say her hope of finding herself in a romantic relationship had taken a hit would be an understatement.

When her last date had ended in a blaze of abject embarrassment after she was accused of being a cock-tease, she'd decided she was done with men, at least for the foreseeable future. She had a concrete five-year plan, and getting involved with someone when her heart wasn't a hundred per cent into it, wasn't one of them. Annalise continued to hassle her to dive back in into the dating pool head first, but she'd been content to wade in the shallow end. It may have been frustrating to never take the plunge, but at least, there was a nil chance of her drowning in a sea of mistake. But now?

"Baby steps," she whispered.

"Sorry ...I didn't quite catch that."

She pulled her hands from his hold and drank the rest of her already cold Dutch coffee. When she finally placed the mug down, she looked up and smiled at him. "That rental cottage you were talking about, can I at least give you some money for it?"

He shook his head. "No way. In case ye've forgotten, I invited ye to stay."

"But you've been paying for everything all evening. Hardly seems fair."

"Spending my hard-earned quid for the pleasure of a gorgeous lass' company? Every penny spent is worth it if ye ask me."

When he talked like that, she knew her blush wasn't going to fade anytime soon. "Annalise will disapprove, and I'm pretty sure she will want to have her say in the matter."

"And so will Willie."

"Are you always this stubborn?" she countered.

"Only if I want something badly."

They have a stare-off for a few heartbeats before Jamie tore his gaze away and cleared his throat.

He glanced down at his watch. "So, the last horse carriage ride around the village is in about twenty minutes. We should probably get going."

"Horse carriage ride?"

"Aye. Part of the Christmas night tour." He got up from his seat and gallantly offered her his arm. "Shall we?"

It's so old-fashioned and chivalrous, she laughed out loud. "Well, I guess we shall." As soon as she linked her hand into the crook of his elbow, he sucked in a quick breath. "Are you alright?"

He looked down at her hand on his arm and smiled. "Aye. I'm just concerned I might have trouble adhering to yer nae-kiss-on-first-date rule."

They headed out of the cafe and into the frosty air, and she was acutely aware of the low voltage electricity buzzing around them. "Would it help if I put my retainers on? I have them in my bag. I usually put them on at night."

"No, not really. I just have to remind myself of the promise I made to Annalise before we left the pub earlier."

"What promise was that?"

"I promised her I'd behave otherwise ..."

"Otherwise?"

"I have to face the consequences."

She laughed. She knew Annalise's threat so well and by heart as the same lines had been often used to warn her dates in the past. "Well, let me see ...did she say if you misbehave she's going to show you the end of the world up close. And she's going to let you see the kingdom come with your own eyes by sending you straight to the southern hemisphere and letting the ashes of death rain all over you."

He grinned at her. "Something like that. How she's going to achieve that, I have nae idea."

"Never mind how. If you keep on focusing on Annalise's threat, that should be deterrent enough."

He gave her a sceptical shrug. "If ye say so." And then he looked down at her and winked. "But then again, ye're worth tempting fate for."

..........

Claire found herself being hoisted into a festively decorated horse-drawn carriage with twinkling garlands, gold & white berries. To her amusement, even the shire horses were wearing faux antlers. As she sat down, she felt their buggy dipped low as Jamie followed and settled next to her, putting the gift bags on the floor and pulling the woollen blanket over them. As their transport rumbled and creaked into motion, he put an arm behind her, resting it the edge of their seat's backrest, leaving her no alternative but to lean against the curve of his body. His closeness and the motion of their carriage added another layer of tension to her already overworked adrenal glands.

"Comfy?" he whispered, leaning into her, his warm breath on her ear.

"Uh-huh," she managed, licking her lips that had gone suddenly dry. It was a challenging feat to ignore Jamie's presence when his sheer size encroached her space, his thigh brushing against hers and the motion of the ride, sinking her deeper under his arm.

She forced herself to focus on the sounds of the hooves and bells, and admire the trees wrapped in lights, wreaths adorning almost every window, and Santas or nutcrackers standing guard outside front doors. For once, Jamie didn't speak, and she allowed herself to relax, revelling the clean, crisp air of the Highlands. Although Broch Mordha was nothing like London, quieter and had a slower pace of life, the atmosphere in the village was electric. It was almost magical, more natural and everything seemed to make more sense, instead of the rat race that occurred daily and nightly in the big city.

Every year, at around Christmas time, she came back to the Highlands in search of some peace, and every time she returned to London, she always felt like a brand new person, invigorated, well-rested and ready to tackle the New Year. But there was something different about her visit in Broch Mordha compared to the other places she'd been to in the Highlands, and she had a feeling deep in her guts, she'd have trouble leaving this place once her holiday was over.

"Ye dinnae look tired at all, Sassenach. Ye're used to staying up late?"

She glanced up at Jamie and smiled. "I sleep very little. I don't know, maybe I have insomnia."

"Really? Perhaps it's just a consequence of living in the city. I mean it's loud there, and I presume ye live in a flat where ye can hear the comings and goings of yer neighbours."

She sighed. "Yes, there's that. The flat Annalise and I live in is not really the most tranquil setting. It doesn't help that I am an overthinker."

"What do ye think mostly about when ye cannae sleep?"

"Mostly about work," she shrugged, glancing at the lights overhead that were hung above the streets. "Don't get me wrong. I'm happy, and I'm grateful for the good life I have. It's just that sometimes I think about the day when I would stop searching for ..."

Jamie waited for her to finish her sentence, but she couldn't find the words. "For what?" he finally asked, his hand squeezing her shoulder, urging her on.

"More," she replied candidly, surprising herself with the unguarded utterance that came from her very soul, ragged with honesty and desire for something she didn't have a name for. Yet. Suddenly, the empty place inside her reared up, seeking company. "How about you? What do you think most of at night?" She paused, trying to tamp down the sudden curiosity that flared up, but it was out before she could stop herself. "A certain lass perchance?"

To her astonishment, she felt him tensed beside her, and after a few seconds, he let out a sigh. "I have nightmares," he confided.

Her head jerked up, and she twisted in her seat to look into his eyes. He was probably waiting for her to ask a torrent of questions, but she remained silent, allowing him to set the pace of their conversation. She nodded her head to continue.

"I used to be with the SAS. It's a special force unit for the British army. The unit I was in was responsible for a number of roles including covert reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, direct action, and hostage rescue. My best friend, Simon MacKimmie, was captured while spying behind the enemies' lines. He was a valuable informant for both sides, and my team were under direct orders to get him out of there alive and as swiftly as possible." She watched as his throat worked as if he saw the scene replaying in his mind. "We found him quickly enough and thought we were out of the woods. But the enemy fire broke out just as we were about to board the helicopter. Simon and I were hit, but my wound was superficial, whereas my friend's injury was fatal. I promised him everything would be alright and would make sure he stayed alive for his family. Before he slipped away, he made me promise to take care of his wife, Laoghaire, if he didn't make it. She was pregnant at the time. I didn't hesitate and made a vow to keep that promise."

"Oh, Jamie ..."

He pressed his lips into a determined line. "Months later, I was discharged from the army after I was diagnosed with PTSD. I resigned myself to a quiet life as the flashbacks from the horrors of the war and friend's death worsened. Laoghaire and I became close, as we talked a lot about Simon and I helped her with the things she needed. That was when I found my purpose in life again, and even though I wasn't in love with her, I loved her like I loved Simon so I asked her to marry me so that I could take care of their child. It was a sacrifice, aye, but it was a small price to pay, considering I get to live, and my mate will never get to see his unborn child. So we planned to marry after the child was born. So while we were waiting for the big day, I bought a house for us, and my brother helped me restore it."

"But Laoghaire didnae want to live here. She wanted us to move to Liverpool because she couldnae stand the quiet and the remoteness even though she was born and bred here. I told her we would talk about it after the baby was born. But I was worried that living in the city would make my PTSD worse. Meanwhile, rumours were going around that Laoghaire has been seeing another man when Simon was still alive and that she would often disappear to Liverpool weeks at a time. I ignored it as I didnae care for idle gossips and dismissed it as such. Ye see, she lived and worked in Liverpool before she married Simon; hence, I thought, that was where the rumours had stemmed from. She's a very ambitious lass and has this dream of making it big one day. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I later found out from a reliable source that not only had she cheated on Simon, but she cheated on me while were engaged. I began to wonder if the child she was carrying was even Simon's. While I was building her a house and funding her trips to Liverpool, she was seeing the same man she'd been meeting up with when Simon was still alive. When I confronted her, she admitted to it. So the wedding was cancelled, and she went to Liverpool to give birth to her child and to be with the other man ."

He shook his head at the memory. "She reminded me of someone I used to pursue. She'd rather be with a man wearing a five grand suit than be with a labourer like me. I guess it's the lure of the city. Sometimes I feel like I failed Simon and his family. I made him all sorts of promises that I couldnae keep and the memory of the glimmer of hope he had in his eyes turning to death, keep recurring in my dreams."

Claire knew the last things Jamie needed were apologies and pities. He seemed like a proud man who didn't shy away from responsibilities and was unapologetically himself. "I guess we both have demons that keep us up at night," she finally said.

Jamie shrugged and waved his hand. "Dinnae fash. I didnae take ye out so ye could watch me wallow. I've done enough of that myself."

She took a deep breath. "I'm not going to pretend I wholly understand everything you've been through, but one thing I know is that you being part of the SAS means you were trained with the elite. You were drilled to save lives, and with that comes, precision and no room for error. So when something goes wrong, and someone dies during your watch, it becomes your fault."

He looked at her as furrows deepened on his brows.

She placed a hand over his. "You tried to absolve your guilt of not being able to save your mate's life by taking care of Laoghaire, who was so undeserving of your kindness and generosity. God or a higher power or the universe, or whatever you wish to call it, is trying to show you something important. You don't get to choose, Jamie. At the end of the day, you can only do your best, but you can't save everyone. No one can. Right now you're learning to live with that, and all you can do now is make sure you get to the other side. You can't take responsibility for everyone's action but yours."

Something lit up in Jamie's eyes. Emboldened by the small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, she grinned at him. "No wonder you won at the caber toss and your team trashed the opponents at shinty today. You have so much pent up emotions dying to come out."

Jamie suddenly laughed out loud and pulled her against him. "I think I need to fire my therapist and hire ye, Sassenach. All this time, we'd circled around the realisation, always walking on eggshells. But ye ...ye just gave it to me straight. I think I'll need ye to stay longer past three kings."

She poked him on the ribs. "Be careful what you wish for!"

..........

A couple of hours and a glass of mulled cider each later, they walked in silence as Jamie guided her down the path that led to the bed and breakfast cottage. As it turned out, he lived three minutes walk away from where she and Annalise were staying.

After spending a whole night out with him, her body was still buzzing with so much energy. She'd never had such a powerful reaction to a man before. Nor enjoyed the company of one as much as she did tonight. She felt like she could uproot all the trees that stood on her path.

"I had a really grand time," he said.

"Me too. Thank you for a wonderful evening."

"And thank ye for the company."

As they neared bed and breakfast cottage, she realised they were exchanging lame small talk, but there's nothing lame about what's passing between them. Either way, she couldn't care less as she'd never laughed so hard in her life.

When they finally reached the small gate, she stopped and turned around to face him. "Well, here we are," she smiled, trying to conceal her reluctance to go.

He hooked the giftbags onto the wooden gate and nodded tensely, the tightness in his jaw quite evident. "Aye. Here we are at Mrs Fitz's place. I ken the ol' dear. She used to feed me and my brother jam piece and milk when we were bairns." He took a step forward and cleared his throat. "I ...um ...tonight was really special."

"I think so too. Thank you again for everything."

He ran a hand through his hair and blew out a breath. "I'm no' tired yet, so I'm just going to take a walk some more until I'm ready for bed," he said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

"Yes, you do that. Fresh air is good for you. And I ...ah ... I'll talk to Annalise about extending our stay here. Ah well ... that's if she's still awake." She rolled her eyes and let out a nervous laugh. "Or if she's home. So ... I'll see you around?"

"Aye, I'm just down the road if ye need anything."

"Yes. Got it. Down the road. A hop, skip and jump away."

He stared for a few heartbeats, then ran his hand behind his neck and gave her a crooked smile. "I meant it, Sassenach. If ye cannae sleep, ye can drop by anytime. I'm a light sleeper. Apart from personalised packaged-tours, I also specialise in making a mean toddy to help ye sleep. And a wicked mushroom omelette if its breakfast ye want. Oh, aye, I'm good at foot massage as well."

She stifled a giggle threatening to burst as a ball of warmth bloomed in her belly. "I have no doubt you're good at those things. I'll bear what you said in mind if I need anything or if I have trouble sleeping. And if I have a sudden urge for a foot massage, I'll pop by."

He shook his head. "Ye're not just saying that to spare my feelings are ye?"

"No. Of course not. I enjoy your company. So ..." Claire took a deep breath. "...this is it. Good night, Jamie. And thank you again for everything." Oh, dear God, I keep saying thank you! She stood on her tiptoes to give him a peck on his cheek just as he offered his hand. Their sudden awkward movement made her lose her balance, bumping her nose on his jaw. They both took a step back and laughed. This time she held out her hand, and he shook it.

They continued to stand there and shake hands, neither of them letting go, their smile slowly ebbing away as they stared at each other.

Jamie was the first to speak. "Right, this is the part where I watch ye walk away."

"Yes. I'll go now. It's getting late." She smiled as she took a tentative step away from him, but he didn't let go of her hand.

Her bottom hit the wooden post behind her as Jamie took another step forward. His height and breadth blocked out the street light, and in the shadows, his expression looked almost pained. She'd had men looked at her with desire before, but nothing like the way Jamie was doing right now. The way his jaw and muscles tensed and his breathing shallowed, she knew it was taking him a lot of effort to hold himself back. Her eyes travelled down to his throat and watched his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

"Sassenach." His voice cut through the haze, and her eyes flew to his as he leaned down and cupped her face. "Maybe ye could stay for just a wee while more."

Her heart began to thump wildly against her ribs as the air between them charged. "I really should get going," she whispered, the blood roaring through her ears almost deafening. She willed herself to move, but she remained fixed on the spot.

"Or perhaps ye can just stand here for a few minutes more and let me do this."

She stopped breathing and time stood still as he softly brushed his lips across hers. Then he pulled away for a brief second waiting for her to object, and when she didn't, he kissed her again.

Her brain seized, and her eyes automatically closed. She'd never felt lips so soft nor been kissed with such gentleness. She once read an Oscar Wilde quote, and it said, "A kiss may ruin a human life." It had puzzled her then because up until now, she'd always thought, although some kisses were sweet it was nothing more than two people putting their faces together and exchanging spit. But Jamie's kiss? She knew it had ruined her for any future kisses. This was the type of kiss she never even knew existed. It was the kind of kiss that inspired stars to climb into the sky and light up the world.

She waited with bated breaths for more, but nothing happened.

When she opened her eyes, he was staring at her. "I've wanted to kiss ye from the moment I laid my eyes on ye," he whispered and grazed her lips once more. "Ye've nae idea how beautiful ye are."

Oh, sweet Jesus! He'd barely touched her. It was merely a light brushing of their lips and the slightest sensation of his breath on her face. But it was enough to cause the static crackling between them to be ignited, and she was left wanting more.

Before she could reassemble her thoughts and make sense of her emotions, he stepped away from her and tunnelled his fingers through his hair. "May I please have yer phone, Sassenach?"

"Oh! Wot for?"

He smiled at her. "I'm giving ye my number."

She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and handed her phone over. She watched him dial his own number on her screen, and after a few seconds later, his own phone rang.

"There, now I have yers too." He pushed her phone into her back pocket and blew out a breath. "I'll see ye tomorrow?"

"You want to see me again?" she teased, smiling.

"I dinnae even want to leave ye tonight."

She dropped her head down to hide the heat creeping up her face. "I'll see what's Annalise is up to and we'll take it from there. I'll either call you or send a message."

He placed a finger under her chin and tipped her face up. "Ye're not mad I kissed ye? I havenae forgotten yer rules about first dates."

Claire picked up the gift bags, stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. And then she smiled. "I'm starting to believe the rules don't apply to you. Good night, Jamie." And with that, she turned around and walked towards the cottage without looking back, knowing full well Jamie was still stood there waiting for her until she'd safely made it to the house.

Once inside, she allowed herself to slide down to the floor and relived the memory of their first kiss. And she sat there for a very long time.

Dear Readers,

Here's a little story about this chapter. I got stuck at the beginning of writing this one. So what did I do? I started writing from the middle, then the conclusion and finished the opening in the end. It's common to get stuck in writing, so I thought I'd share this wee tip with you. So just in case, the latest update lost some of its fluidity, you now know the reason why. 😀

Anyway, thank you for reading and your feedback from the previous chapter. It's something I truly appreciate. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I look forward to reading your thoughts. Meanwhile, sending you all best wishes and hope you're taking care of yourselves and your health. x

#melodyheart #all I want for christmas is you #claire beauchamp #jamie fraser #Claire Beauchamp/Jamie Fraser #outlanderfanfic

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willsimpforanyone · 4 years

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hi!! just had a dope idea and it’s about one of my many favorite tropes where it’s that the reader already has a baby (girl?) and is scared to introduce but instead of that it’d be dope if she had a baby girl and a little boy kid who is actually excited to meet john and is bugging his mom about it

that IS a dope idea, that sounds adorable!

_____________________

“Well, tonight was an absolute pleasure,” John grinned at me as we stood in the doorway to my apartment. His hand was locked with mine and I was amazed to realise that I could still smell his cologne after several hours.

I squeezed his hand. “It was really fun, John, thank you so much.”

“No worries darlin’.” He kissed my cheek. Suddenly, a loud scream penetrated the door, and made us both jump. John laughed. “You better get in there.”

I flushed, but nodded, kissing him one last time before I opened the door and waved him goodbye. He walked backwards, blew me a kiss, and winked just before I just the door behind me.

I was instantly rushed by my son, Freddie, who ran straight into my legs and began asking questions, as kids of 4 often do. From one of the bedrooms came the babysitter I’d hired for the evening, Julie from the apartment above, carrying Carla. Julie was a capable 16 year old, but clearly the 11 month old baby was taking a toll. I accepted Carla into my arms, thanking Julie for her time. With one hand, I managed to get the money out of my bag and hand it to her, and with a last hug from Freddie, she was gone.

Freddie was still attached to my leg, so I popped Carla into her baby chair and picked him up. “Hey kiddo, how was tonight?”

“Mom, did you go out with John? You did, right? With John? You went out with John?” Freddie poked my cheek with each question.

“Yes honey, I did go out with John. It was great, thank you for asking,” I replied, poking him back every few words. He laughed, and I put him in another chair as I made some tea. “Were you good for Julie? Carla didn’t cry too much, did she?” Carla babbled mindlessly as I kissed her head as I passed by. “You were good, weren’t you baby girl?”

Freddie nodded his head emphatically. “She was really good Mom, and I was good too, we played with Julie and watched a movie and can we please meet John? Please Mom?”

I sighed quietly. Of course I wanted to introduce my kids to John. He already knew I had them, I told him about them on our second date- if it was gonna be a deal breaker, I didn’t want to get invested in the relationship. But he was so understanding, he didn’t pressure me to introduce him, he didn’t ask about the father, he understood that I was very protective over them. I told him about my now-ex-boyfriend a couple months into the relationship, how he’d quite literally vanished pretty much when Carla was born. He was never around much anyway, so luckily it didn’t affect Freddie as much as it could have. John was very respectful, and I knew that if I did let him into my little family? He wouldn’t leave.

“I’ll see sweetie, okay? You’ve gotta be patient with me, please? You remember what ‘patient’ means?”

Freddie sat up dead straight in his chair. “To accept delays or problems without becoming annoyed.” I laughed at his robotic announcement, and ruffled his hair.

“That’s right, my little weirdo. Now, bedtime! It’s past 8 o’clock.”

Freddie moaned and groaned but obediently jumped from his chair and ran to get ready for bed. I carried Carla into her small nursery, and placed her gently into her cot, kissing her head with her eyes already closed. I quietly left the room to find Freddie in bed in his pyjamas, teeth brushed and face washed.

“You all ready Freddie?” I sat on the edge of the bed.

“Yeah, I’m not sleepy though.” I smiled as he fought back a yawn.

“I know, you look wide awake, but just lie down and pretend to sleep for 10 minutes, okay?” I bargained, knowing full well that Freddie would be asleep within 5. He nodded, and wiggled under the covers, murmuring a quiet ‘goodnight’ as I closed his door as I left.

Would they like John? Freddie had wanted to meet him as soon as he found out about him, maybe it’s been long enough- after all, John and I have been dating for almost a year now.

Before I could change my mind, I grabbed my tea and sent a message to John asking if he’d want to meet the kids tomorrow. It was Friday, so Saturday would be a good day to spend the whole day together.

The text I received from him was overwhelmingly positive, he was so excited to meet them, what kind of sweets did Freddie like? Should he bring anything?

It was adorable, and I found myself smiling at the thought of him.

The next morning, Freddie was ecstatic to find out he was gonna finally meet John. Carla had minimal idea of what was happening, but fed off her brother’s enthusiasm so much that she was shrieking with joy at everything. I’d arranged to meet in the nearby park- somewhere Freddie could play, and even hide if he didn’t like John, and outside meant the kids wouldn’t feel like their space was being invaded.

John was already at the park when we got there, looking around anxiously for the three of us. He had a couple of balloons, some flowers and I could see Freddie’s favourite sweets peeking out his pocket. I waved at him, and he made his way over to us.

“Freddie, Carla, this is John! You wanna say hi?” I pointed him out, kneeling down to where Carla was sitting in her buggy. Freddie suddenly got shy, hiding behind me, as John reached us.

John crouched down. “Hey Freddie, I’m John, nice to meet you!” He grinned, hand outstretched.

“Do you wanna shake his hand, Freddie?” I asked. He shook his head silently, and I was about to apologise to John when-

“That’s okay, you wanna just wave instead?” John suggested, waving his hand at Freddie. He got a little wave back, and my heart swelled. I mouthed a ‘thank you’ at John, who replied with ‘no worries’ and a wink.

“Okay kiddo, do you want to go play?” Freddie was off in a flash, beelining for the swings. John offered me the flowers, and we sat down on a nearby bench. “Thank you for coming, I’m glad you weren’t scared off...”

John chuckled, and kissed my hand. “Scared? Absolutely. Scared off? No way.” I smiled as I lifted Carla out of her buggy as she began to fuss. “Hey Carla,” John said, wiggling his fingers in greeting. “Aren’t you just adorable?”

She giggled and hid her face in my neck. “They’ll both open in a while, I swear.”

John ran his hand through his hair and grinned at me. “Darlin’, I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

_________________

i really hope you liked that, thanks for giving me something to do today, and thank you for requesting! <3

#john laurens #john laurens x reader #john laurens imagine #hamilton #hamilton imagine #parent au

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shawtygonemad · 3 years

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What Is This Feeling: Chapter 2

Fem!9th Doctor x Male!Rose Tyler

WITF Masterlist

Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor was frowning at the screen. This was not good. The signal was getting stronger, meaning the plastics were as well. Good thing the Doctor made a portable device to track down the signal. The Gallifreyan stepped out of the blue box and was on her way.

She was lead towards a housing complex. The signal was very strong here. The Doctor was about to approach the plastic bin when a girl popped out of it. The girl walked over to the yellow buggie and got inside. She was definitely plastic. The Doctor was about to approach the plastic when Ross stepped out of the house. He started to walk towards the yellow buggie. The Doctor quickly hid out of sight. This boy is extremely danger prone. This handsome pink and yellow human seemed to need her help constantly.

"Handsome?" She quietly questioned herself. When did she start to think of him as attractive?

The buggie drove by her. A growl rumbled in her throat. Her distraction let the plastic get away, and with Ross! The plastic tracker was out in a matter of seconds. She quickly followed the signal again.

The Time Lord soon found the buggie once more. It was parked outside the little café she left the TARDIS behind earlier. She put the tracker away, and stepped inside. Casually looking around she finally spotted Ross sitting at a table with the plastic girl across from him. The Doctor quickly grabbed an unopened bottle of champagne off a table, unnoticed. She headed towards their table.

"Your champagne," she offered the bottle, waiting to be noticed.

"We didn't order any champagne. Where's the Doctor," the plastic demanded.

The Doctor frowned and turned towards Ross.

"Sir, your champagne," she offered again.

"It's not ours. Mickey, what is it? What's wrong," Ross asked this girl.

He cared for her, or at least this image of the girl and not the plastic. They must be in a relationship. The Doctor felt a little pang of jealousy.

'Stop.' She internally yelled at herself.

"Doesn't anybody want this champagne?"

"Look, we didn't order it," The plastic finally looked up to see the Doctor. "Ah, gotcha," the plastic smiled.

The Doctor started to shake the bottle vigorously. "Don't mind me. I'm just toasting the happy couple. On the house!" She yelled as the cork was released. It flew and stuck in the plastic's forehead.

Slowly the cork was absorbed into her forehead. She soon spit it out of her mouth. Ross looked horrified.

"Anyway," the plastic began to get up, and turned its hand into a chopper.

Ross let out a surprised yell, and fled as plastic Mickey busted the table. The Doctor grabbed the Auton's head, and pulled it off. The other customers saw this, and began to panic. All hell broke loose.

"Don't think that's going to stop me," the head spoke to the Doctor.

The plastic's body got up, and started to flail around. Ross, being the genius that he was, set off the fire alarm. This would allow the customers to escape.

"Everyone out! Out now! Get out! Get out! Get out!" Ross yelled.

The Doctor then led Ross through the kitchen. The head tried to bite the Doctor.

"Oi! Stop that!"

The body of the head wrecked the restaurant before following them to the back exit. The Doctor quickly sealed the exit shut while Ross ran down the alley, past the TARDIS. The Doctor found it ironic that she parked it there earlier in the day. Ross was panicked when he found a padlock on the exit gates.

"Open the gate! Use that tube thing. Come on!"

"Sonic screwdriver," she corrected him.

"Use it," he frantically yelled.

The Doctor casually walked over toward the TARDIS.

"Nah. Tell you what, let's go in here."

The Doctor unlocked the police box, and went inside. The Auton hammered on the metal door, making large dents.

"You can't hide inside a wooden box. It's going to get us! Doctor," Ross yelled.

He tried the gate again. The blonde finally gave up on the gate. He ran into the TARDIS. Ross paused, and stared wide eyed around the console room. He quickly ran out. The human was probably trying to figure out the 'bigger on the inside' concept. The boy finally ran back inside.

"It's going to follow us," he panicked.

The Doctor rushed around the console, pressing buttons and pulling knobs. "The assembled hoards of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door, and believe me, they've tried. Now shut up a minute."

The Doctor set the head on the console panel, and started to attach wires to it. If she could set up a connection, then she could get to the main signal!

"You see, the arm was too simple, but the head is perfect! I can use it to trace the signal back to the original source." The Doctor turned to the confused human. "Right. Where do you want to start?"

"Um… The inside's bigger than the outside…?" Ross spoke hesitantly.

"Yes."

"'s alien."

"Yeah."

"Are you alien?"

"Yes… Is that alright?" The Doctor prepared herself for a scream and rejection from the boy.

"Yeah."

'Thank Rassilon! I'm no good with emotional situations.' She thought to herself.

"It's called the TARDIS, this thing. T. A. R. D. I. S. That's Time And Relative Dimension In Space."

Ross looked ready to burst into tears.

'Please don't cry! Please don't cry!'

"That's okay. Cultural Shock. Happens to the best of us," she spoke awkwardly. She really wasn't good with the whole 'emotions' thing.

"Did they kill her? Mickey? Did they kill Mickey? Is she dead," Ross asked concerned.

The Doctor furrowed her eyebrows. "Oh, didn't think of that."

"She's my girlfriend. You pulled off her head. They copied her and you didn't even think?" He then wildly gestured to the console panel. "And now you're just going to let her melt?"

"Melt?" The Doctor turned to look and gasped.

"Oh no! No, no, no, no!"

She ran over to the console fast, and set the TARDIS in motion. She needed to follow that signal!

"What are you doing?"

"Following the signal. It's fading! Wait a minute," she quickly latched onto the fading signal. "I've got it!" The signal started to fade quicker and was almost gone. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Almost there. Almost there. Here we go!"

The TARDIS landed, and the Doctor bolted out the door.

"You can't go out there! It's not safe," Ross yelled behind the Doctor.

The night time breeze blew through the Doctor's hair. She frowned deeply.

"I lost the signal. I got so close!"

"We've moved. Does it fly?"

"Disappears there and reappears here. You wouldn't understand." She was frustrated with the situation.

"If we're somewhere else, what about the headless thing? It's still on the loose."

The Doctor began to stress out.

"It melted with the head. Are you going to witter on all night," she questioned bitterly.

There was a short pause before Ross quietly spoke up, almost heartbroken.

"I'll have to tell her mother. Mickey. I'll have to tell her mother she's dead, and you just went and forgot her, again! You were right, you are alien."

The Doctor faced Ross now. She was getting very cross.

"Look, if I did forget some kid called Mickey-"

"She's not a kid!"

"It's because I'm trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering on top of this planet, all right!"

Selfish. That's what these humans are. Ungrateful for the acts of heroicness she does. She risks her life countless times, and all they care about are themselves.

"If you're an alien, how comes you sound like you're from the North?"

"Lots of planets have a North." She was starting to calm down.

"What's a 'police public call box'?"

"It's a telephone box from the 1950's. It's a disguise."

"Okay. And this, this living plastic. What's it got against us?"

"Nothing. It loves you. You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air, perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. Its food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein plants rotted, so Earth, dinner!" She made an eating motion.

"Any way of stopping it?"

The Doctor grinned, before taking out a tube filled with blue liquid.

"Anti-plastic."

"Anti-plastic?"

"Anti-plastic! But first I've got to find it. How can you hide something that big in a city this small?"

"Hold on. Hide what?" Ross asked.

"The transmitter. The consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic, so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal."

"What's it look like?"

"Like a transmitter. Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London."

Ross stared behind the Doctor, but she didn't notice.

"A huge circular metal structure like a dish, like a wheel. Radial. Close to where we're standing. Must be completely invisible!"

Ross kept gesturing towards the Eye.

"What?" The Doctor looked around confused. She finally saw the Eye and caught on.

"Oh. Fantastic!"

The Doctor then began to bolt across the Westminster Bridge. Ross was running right next to her. She grinned and held out her hand to him. He took it. They both ran together hand-in-hand down to the Eye.

"Think of it, plastic all over the world, every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables-"

"The breast implants," Ross added in.

"Still, we've found the transmitter. The consciousness must be somewhere underneath."

Ross took off out of the Doctor's sight.

"What about down there," Ross calls.

The Doctor went over to investigate. She ended up finding a manhole. She grinned.

"Looks good to me!"

They ran down the parapet's steps. The Doctor opened up the hatch to find a red glow from below. She began down the latter. Once down, she cautiously opened the door. Inside was, to no surprise, the consciousness.

'Ross is fantastic! I might have to keep him around.'

"The Nestene Consciousness," She pointed to the vat. "That's it, inside the vat. A living plastic creature."

"Well then, tip in your anti-plastic and let's go," Ross said, a bit unnerved.

The Doctor frowned, before heading down the stairs.

"I'm not here to kill it. I've got to give it a chance."

She walked down to a catwalk overlooking the vat.

"I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract according to convention fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation."

The vat of plastic started to flex. It approved of her request.

"Thank you. If I might have permission to approach?"

The Doctor noticed Ross run straight to Mickey with worry. She just rolled her eyes at them.

"Oh god! Mickey, it's me! It's okay, it's all right."

"That thing down there, the liquid. Ross, it can talk!" Mickey was practically shaking from fright.

"Doctor, they kept her alive!"

"Yeah, that was always a possibility. Keep her alive to maintain the copy," she informed him.

"You knew that and you never said," he asked slightly cross.

"Can we keep the domestics outside? Thank you." The Doctor shot as she walked down to get closer to the consciousness.

"Am I addressing the consciousness?" It replied with a yes.

"Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by means of warp shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?"

The vat of plastic started to reply angrily.

"Oh don't give me that. It's an invasion, plain and simple. Don't talk constitutional right."

The consciousness started to angrily splash back and forth.

"I am talking!" The Time Lord yells. "This planet is just starting. These stupid little people have only just learnt how to walk, but they're capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf. Please, just go."

"Doctor!" Ross yelled out.

She turned around just in time to see the plastics grab her. She struggled against them. One dummy took the anti-plastic from her pocket.

"That was just insurance! I wasn't going to use it!"

The consciousness was extremely angry now.

"I was not attacking you! I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear, I'm not!"

The consciousness screeched at the Doctor.

"What do you mean," she asked confused.

Just then, a door slid back to reveal the TARDIS.

"No. Oh, no. Honestly, no!" She knew where this was going. It was horrified of her, because of the war.

"Yes, that's my ship." It screeched at her more. "That's not true! I should know, I was there! I fought in the war. It wasn't my fault. I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!"

"What's it doing," Ross called down.

"It's the TARDIS! The Nestene's identified its superior technology. It's terrified. It's going to the final phase. It's starting the invasion!" Her stomach dropped. "Get out, Ross! Just leg it now!"

The consciousness started to throw energy bolts around.

"It's the activation signal. It's transmitting!"

The Eye started to light up with energy.

"It's the end of the world." Ross stated.

The plastic in the vat was getting extremely agitated.

"Get out, Ross! Just get out! Run!" The Doctor was starting to get anxious. She just wanted Ross to get out safely.

"The stairs are gone," he yelled.

'Oh great.'

The Autons tried to push the Doctor into the vat. Ross and Mickey ran to the TARDIS hoping for safety.

"I haven't got the key," he yelled.

"We're going to die," Mickey cried.

"No!" The Doctor yelled.

"Time Lord." The Nestene spoke.

The Doctor continued to struggle against the Autons. She ended up tossing one over her shoulder into the vat just as Ross swung by on a chain. He kicked the other Auton into the vat along with the anti-plastic.

"Ross!" She grabbed a hold of him as he shakily landed back on the platform. They both looked down at the consciousness.

"Now we're in trouble," she tells him as she starts to run for the TARDIS.

Explosions start to go off everywhere. She quickly unlocked the TARDIS and hastily brushed past Mickey. As soon as she saw they were both inside, she started running around the console flipping switches and hitting buttons. She internally gave a sigh of relief once they rematerialized at a safer place. Mickey quickly stumbled out followed by Ross. The Doctor just smiled and leaned against the door frame.

"Nestene Consciousness? Easy." The Doctor grinned.

"You were useless in there. You'd be dead if it wasn't for me," Ross pointed out.

The Gallifreyan nodded. "Yes, I would. Thank you." There was a long pause before the Doctor spoke again. "Right then. I'll be off, unless, er… I don't know, you could come with me." She smiled at Ross, hopeful. "This box isn't just a London hopper, you know. It goes anywhere in the universe free of charge."

"Don't! She's an alien. She's a thing!" Mickey warned Ross.

'Rude!'

"She's not invited," the Doctor pointed at Mickey. She looked at Ross, "What do you think? You could stay here, fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go anywhere."

"Is it always this dangerous?" Ross asked.

The Doctor smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

The Doctor inwardly glared at Mickey for hugging Ross's waist. "Yeah, I can't. I've, er, I've got to go and find my mum and someone's got to look after this dim lump, so…"

She nodded awkwardly. "Okay, see you around." She quickly retreated into the TARDIS, and took off for the time vortex.

Once in the vortex, she sat down on the jumper seat. She couldn't help but feel disappointed. Ross and she could have gone on so many amazing adventures together. He could have been great to have around even if he did aggravate her at times. He was brilliant! It's also been quite some time since she had a companion with her. She couldn't just give up so easily! Something had to make him want to join her. Just then, an idea hit her.

She re-materialized the TARDIS back in the same spot it was in just seconds before. She sprinted to the door, and poked her head out.

"By the way, did I mention it also travels in time?"

She watched as Ross gave Mickey a peck on the cheek, before quickly running into the TARDIS. And off they went.

***

Thanks for reading! 💙

#romance #adventure #doctor who fanfic #doctor who #the doctor #doctor x rose #doctor who fanfiction #9th doctor x rose #9th doctor #fem!9th doctor #genderbent #doctor who imagine

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hashtagsmitty · 5 years

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Smitty's Thailand Adventure - Day 3

In this installment - American Ice cream, shitty VR games, a pretty decent burger, many long minutes of waiting, and the ultimate Asian BBQ.

I slept better last night. Still awake at 6am, still not sleeping very well. I got up, got breakfast from Asia's forefront of white hegemony (White Family Mart. That's what it's called in Google maps, anyway. The signage doesn't indicate it's preference for an ethnostate, but the place is much whiter than other Family Marts.), and then waited for Josh to get back to me about our plans for the day. I read some more of Growth Mindset - one chapter about whether you believe that your partner's traits are static or able to be changed, and how that could impact your relationship.

I got bored of sitting around. Josh said we were meeting at a train station at 12. I left at 11, intending to explore. I'm feeling pretty confident with Bangkok's train system - Google maps helps a lot. I got to the station at 11:20 and started walking around. I was immediately hit by the smell of the pollution coming off the street. Cars, garbage, smoke from street food, sewage - it affected me pretty hard today. I saw on Google maps that there was an open art place on the street next to the station, so I went to check it out. It was closed, and the rest of the street was pretty gross, so I went back to the station and waited.

The plan was for me to have lunch with Josh and his Girlfriend Espy. She's Thai/Chinese, from the fancy area. Josh calls her Gucci Gang because of all the branded shit she buys. I met her the night before, briefly, at the drinks thing in District W. I didn't really get to interact with her - too busy entertaining everyone else.

I got back to the station at 11:30 and started playing Pokemon on my phone. I got a text from Josh at 11:45 - change the meeting time to 12:10, she's running late. Okay, no problem. Another text at 12 - still running late, probably gonna be 12:20. Sure thing. Josh stopped waiting for her and got on a train. She sent him a picture of her walking into the train station. He sent her back one of walking into the train and said see you at the next station.

(where I spent an hour waiting)

She arrived at 12:30. She shook my hand and introduced herself again. She was wearing a black singlet and short denim shorts, and a Gucci belt with two Gs on it. She gave me a banana flavoured Kit Kat and then we were walking. She was very affectionate towards Josh. We got into a taxi to head towards our lunch restaurant. They sat in the back and whispered to each other in a mixture of Thai and English, and I sat in the front watching the taxi driver do his very best not to get us killed on the Thai roads. Josh had said it was a fancy area, so I had to dress nicely. Josh has also previously criticized someone else to me for wearing a similar outfit, but that's neither here nor there.

The restaurant was a burger place in a food court called The Commons - a shared space for artisinal foods. The burger was 260 baht - roughly $11. It was pretty good. I prefer Grill'd though. There was a tv behind in my line of sight playing weird clips from YouTube - the first was some Arabian princes doing a wheely in a 4 wheel drive in order to change two of the tires while it the car was moving. I chatted with Josh and Espy while we ate. They met on Tinder - Espy's full name is a Spanish word, and good old Columbia Joe made a pun in Spanish that went straight over Espy's head as his opening line. Must have worked though.

We took another taxi back to District W, where I had a haircut scheduled. We went to Starbucks, where Josh spent a while working on his business while we waited for my appointment. The Starbucks girls drew love hearts on his drink and Espy got mad. It was around here that I realized that I was participating in a date, from the outside. Time ticked on, I walked over to the barber.

I had to walk through the area we had dinner and drinks in the night before. It had been smokey and dirty and loud, but during the day it was peaceful. I found the barber. There was a guy getting a cut throat shave, and a bunch of people hanging out. A huge Asian dude was my barber. He touched up my fade and did a pretty good job - done in 20 minutes. It cost 500 baht - roughly $24. I think Josh said that 4000 baht - $200 - is the average monthly wage? Or weekly? Can't remember. Some stuff here is so cheap.

I went back to Starbucks feeling a million bucks after the haircut. Josh and Espy were playing PUBG Mobile, so I sat down and played some more Pokemon. They asked if I wanted a turn and I said I wouldn't be able to criticize my kids if I did. We sat at Starbucks for another hour while Josh waited for the last horse race to finish so he could push out his results for the day.

As we left, Espy needed the bathroom, and asked Josh to come with her. He later told me that she did this so he wouldn't be standing near the Starbucks girls who drew on his coffee.

A train ride to Siam, for their VR experience. It was pretty cool in there - a huge IMAX complex, with cinemas and shit. Think the one at Highpoint, but half as crowded and way more spread out. They had 8 small rooms for VR. Espy tried Beat Saber, and Josh and I did Arizona Sunshine - horde mode Zombies. In the VR, we were in a warehouse with zombies streaming in. We had to find a key to open a door. It took us a few waves to find the key. The animations were buggy - zombies jumping from one floor to the next without moving their limbs, janky flailing. The animations when they got shit were cool, but the guns were a little hard to control. The experience cost 150 baht ($6) each, but only because Espy had a half price coupon because of her phone company. It was only good once, and Josh didn't wanna pay $12 for 20 minutes, so we left to get ice cream.

Swensons is an American ice cream place. It's not as good as Pidapipo on Lygon street, but it was okay. While we were eating, Josh gave me a lesson on the Wai - the stereotypical Thai hand thing. He said you only do it to people above you in the social hierarchy. He also said that the social hierarchy goes Old People, Foreigners, then people above you like your boss or your parents. He insisted that I not Wai as a way of saying thank you, because people would be weirded out by it. I said that it'd be like if we had a social convention on who we were allowed to give a thumbs up to. He agreed that it was an inefficient social thing, but insisted anyway.

Another train. Siam, where Swensons and the VR was, is like the mini-Flinders street of the skytrain. We went back on our line to 3 stops past District W to On Nut. Musti, the Egyptian guy from last night, booked us a table at Best Beef. It, allegedly, is the best beef in Thailand. We walked along a dodgy sidewalk, past construction sites featuring a 10-ton crane sitting on scaffolding over a gigantic pit, until we got to this crazy warehouse packed with people.

There must have been 500 people crammed in there. It was BBQ, cooked on the table KBBQ style, but an all you can eat Buffet for 469 baht ($20). The line was long - when we got there, there were 60 groups of 1-4 people in line before us. Praise Allah for Musti, because he'd booked a table and we walked straight in and sat down.

We ordered almost everything on the menu. They didn't bring us everything we ordered, but what the brought out was enough. Towering stacks of plates of meat.

We must have had 5 or 6 stacks like this. It was smoky and loud, but we had a great time. We stayed for the full 2 hours we were allocated. I spent a long time talking Islam with Musti. I talked about teaching with Espy - she used to teach English to little kids. We cooked a lot of meat, with no regard to cross contamination or food safety.

We headed out around 9:30. Josh was taking Espy home, so I went back on the train alone. I wasn't worried or nervous - I'm finding the trains really useful and easy now. I walked home, past White Family Mart, past the massage girls who still haven't heckled me, and fell asleep almost as soon as I sat down in my room.

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