#kate has been telling him her work is classified for years and now he knows why

[jasminebeloved]

pov: it's 2012 & you're gareth mallory, walking around at mi6 on your way out until you suddenly spot an awfully familiar face not far off and - 'is that my wife???? katherine???'

#kate has been telling him her work is classified for years and now he knows why #kate clocks him at the same time like : MY HUSBAND AT MI6 HOW WHY OH I HAVE SO MUCH EXPLAINING TO DO #* probably panicking about something ( ooc )

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch39: The Reunion Part 2: Hey, Kiddo.

Intro: Help arrives in the form of an unknown face, and after almost a month of searching, Tony returns to Earth where he is re-united with his sister.

Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut (NSFW, 18+)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: Please heed the warnings… @angrybirdcr​ hit me in the feels with these ones...

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 39 Part 1

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

“More census results.” Natasha said, tapping a button as Steve walked into the room, coffee in his hand, Katie following.

“I thought when you said you had news that someone had answered that fucking pager.” Katie mumbled, running a hand through her hair and Steve looked at her, taking a deep breath. He felt her frustration too, the excitement at having finally got the thing working had been short lived, as nothing came from it, at all. It simply continued to send the signal for a good two days on end, no one answering and Steve found himself wondering if whoever was on the other side had been dusted too.

Natasha ignored her completely as the 3D globe flashed up in front of them, along with numerous digital displays of numbers that kept rolling, and rolling increasing in front of their eyes.  

Steve placed his mug down and sighed, leaning over the table so he could get a closer look “God, this is a nightmare.”

“I’ve had better nightmares.” Katie mumbled, her eyes on the ever increasing death tolls.

“Hey.” Rhodey appeared in the door and they all turned to face him. “So that thing just stopped doing whatever the hell it was doing.”

“The pager?” Katie asked instantly, her eyes widening.

Rhodey nodded, and in a flash she moved, pushing past him and darting out of the room, Natasha hurrying behind her.

“They’re keen.” Rhodey quipped and Steve took a deep breath before he shook his head.

“I’m not sure how many more knocks they can take, Rhodey.”

Rhodey simply clapped him on the shoulder as they too headed to the lab, to find Bruce already explaining.

“Whatever signal it was sending finally crapped out.” Bruce said as they all stared through the glass sided container at the pager that had been running for the last few days.

“I thought we by-passed the battery?” Steve spoke from where he stood a few steps behind Katie.

“Well we did.” Rhodey replied. “It was still plugged in it just… just stopped.”

Steve looked up to his left before he glanced back at the item and took a deep breath “Re-boot it, send the signal again.”

“We don’t even know what this is.” Bruce began to protest and Katie cut him off, turning to look at him

“Fury did.”

“Katie’s right, just do it please?” Natasha stated, as she too turned from the object to look at Bruce. “Tell me the second you get a signal, I wanna know who’s on the other end of that thing.”

She turned to leave the room and Katie followed her with her eyes before Nat stopped dead due to the presence of a blonde woman she had never seen before in her life. She was dressed in a red and blue combat suit of sorts which had gold shoulder pads which led into three golden stripes across her chest, culminating in a gold nova-style star of some kind. Katie felt a little bit indignant at the sight if she was honest.

That star style had been given to her. And she didn’t like people taking her stuff.

Lucky gave a bark as Katie nudged Steve. He looked from the pager, to her, followed her gaze and immediately straightened up, drawing himself taller as he turned to face the woman as she eyeballed Natasha and spoke clearly.

“Where’s Fury?”

“He’s not here.” Steve stepped forward putting himself in between Katie and the newcomer as he eyed her up and down. “I’m sorry, and I don’t mean to be rude but who are you?”

“Name’s Carol, Carol Danvers.”

“Carol Danvers?” Katie frowned, moving so she was stood alongside Steve as she instantly recognised the name.

“What is it?” Steve asked and Katie turned to face him.

“When we took down Hydra at the Triskellion, Fury had the retinal scan we used hidden under that name, Carol Danvers.” Katie turned from Steve to scrutinise the small woman in front of her. “You were important enough for him to page when people started to vanish, and important enough for him to use your name to hide a clearance under.” She paused, looking straight at the woman before she repeated Steve’s question. “Who are you?”

“A friend.” Carol said, vaguely. “Me and Nick go way back. I gave him that pager so he could reach of me in case of emergency, I haven’t heard from him in over twenty years so I’ll politely ask again, where is he?“

"Dead.” Nat stated simply and Carol’s face slipped a little bit.

“Dead? I don’t…how?”

“Thanos.” Katie replied and Carol frowned.

“Thanos, the mad Titan?” 

“You heard of him then?”  Rhodey looked at her.

“I’ve been tracking him for a while.” Carol nodded. “Ever since he decimated Xandar, but he slipped off radar about a month ago.”

“Well he slipped off your radar and onto ours.” Rhody continued. “Came to Earth, wielding his infinity stones and…”

“He’s been chasing Infinity stones.” It was a statement not a question as Carol closed her eyes, her voice almost a groan.

“And he found them.” Katie sighed “He found them, and eighteen days ago he used them.”

“Well that explains it.” Carol bit her lip, her eyes flicking again to the now defunct pager.

“Explains what?” Steve questioned.

“It’s been chaos out there for the last couple of weeks.” Carol turned back to him. “I’ve been getting distress calls from all over the galaxy.”

“Distress calls?” Nat asked, her eyes still narrowed slightly. “What-“

“I have powers.” Carol cut her off and Steve could tell she was picking her words carefully.

“Powers?” He pressed. “So you’re enhanced?”

“Not intentionally.” Carol smiled a little, and then the dots suddenly connected in Katie’s head and her eyes widened.

“Project Pegasus.” Katie whispered, and Carol arched an eyebrow at her. “The incident that shut it down, that was you?”

“What the hell was Project Pegasus?” Bruce asked.

“It was a joint initiative between NASA and the Airforce to analyse and study new aircraft engines.” Rhodey answered, frowning.

“To the public.” Kate added softly. “In reality it was the cover used for the project to study the Tesseract.”

Steve let out a groan. “Why does everything come back to that damned cube?”  “Yeah well that ‘damned cube’ and I had an accident, and I absorbed its power.” Carol sniffed as she rubbed at her temple. “Has Fury never mentioned me to you guys? Not even once?” They all shook their heads.

“That’s a bummer. Especially seeing as you’re named after me.”

“Named after you?” Steve frowned

“My pilot tag” Carol smiled slightly as she looked round “I was Captain Carol ‘Avenger’ Danvers. You are the Avengers, right?”

“What’s left of them.” Rhodey folded his arms across his chest.

“You were Fury’s first Super Hero.” Katie looked at Carol, cocking her head slightly, studying the woman some more. “You’re what inspired him to put a gang of us together.”

“Apparently so.”

Before they had chance to question her further, Rocket walked in.

“Is that a racoon?” Carol frowned, staring at the creature who looked up at her, raising his eyebrow before he sarcastically replied.

“You want a photo or summin?”

Carol stayed that evening and they sat up late into the night as she explained everything about who she was, what had happened between her and Fury in the Nineties and for some reason, Steve and Katie both felt they could trust her. It was a boost, if anything, to have someone else on their side.

The next morning after a rest and food, she was preparing to set off again and had given their spirits somewhat of a lift with her promise to do what she could to help find Tony.

“I’ve got places I can try, favours I can call in, people I can speak to.” She said, scanning a photo of Tony into her device on the wrist. “And then I’ll go wherever the trail leads. If your brother is out there, and your friends, I’ll find them.”

Katie nodded.

“You should be calibrated to our coms.” Bruce looked up as Carol tapped again at her arm and nodded.

“I’ve boosted your scanners and your signals too.” she said.

Silently Natasha, Steve and Katie walked her out of the facility, Steve taking Katie’s hand in his as they rounded the corner that led to the doors. They swung open, revealing the now dark sky and Steve noticed Katie glance up, something which had become a habit, almost as if she was hoping to see a sign Tony was there. Which of course she never did.

Suddenly, Natasha gave a gasp whilst Steve jumped backwards, pulling Katie with him as Carol lit up like she was on fire, but when he looked closer he noticed it was some kind of bright energy that engulfed her as she hovered off the floor and turned to look at them, her eyes full of humour.

“Yeah sorry, should have warned you about my party trick.” she chuckled slightly.

This woman had some power, and it made Steve wonder why Fury had never introduced them to her before. But that was a question for another day.  

“I’ll be in touch.” She said and with that she was gone, as fast as she had arrived, shooting through the air like a star, leaving Lucky jumping up and barking in her wake.

Natasha looked over at Steve and Katie, and rightly reading the situation decided to leave them alone “I’m going to let Pepper know what she said about finding Tony.” She nodded to the couple and wandered back towards the doors as Katie looked back up again.

“Sweetheart?” Steve questioned, and she turned to face him, her eyes full of tears.

“This is it.” she shrugged “This is the best chance we’ve had, and probably will have and…” She couldn’t think of the words to explain how she was feeling. She was excited, excited that they had a plan. But then there was also a feeling of dread in her chest. Dread about what it was Carol was going to find, if she found anything. She wrapped her arms tightly round Steve as he pulled her to him, holding her close.

“Keep hold of that hope.” He said gently, his hand stroking through her hair. “Keep hold until we know any different.”

*****

“Titan is a mess.” Carol sighed, her hologram flickered slightly. It was three days since she had left the compound and this was the first they had heard of her since and it wasn’t great news. “There’s clearly been a big fight here but there’s no sign of anyone now. I have a few more potential leads though, so I’ll follow them up.”

“Sweetheart.” Steve sighed gently, turning to Katie who shook her head, pulling away a little. This had been her last hope, that Carol would find something. But they were still none the wiser and every day that past Tony’s chances were getting slimmer.  After a moment or so she took a deep breath, reaching up to wipe at her eyes and she turned to Steve.

“I’m gonna go back to the apartment.” Her voice cracked. “I need a shower.”

“Alright.” Steve nodded and to make sure he understood that she needed space, not from him, but just to be alone with her thoughts, she reached up, gently touched his cheek and stood on her tiptoes to kiss the whiskers that adorned his chin and face. Steve watched her go before he turned back to Natasha who was bent over looking at something on a tablet.

“What you looking at?” He asked and Nat glanced up at him with a sigh.

“Potential sighting of Clint.” she turned it to face him. He squinted at the still on the screen. Sure, it looked a bit like Barton, but he couldn’t be certain. “I ran a facial recognition. Got a few hits, but we all look so different now, we all are so different now.” Natasha shrugged.

Something about that line powered home to Steve as he headed back towards their quarters an hour or so later. The arrival of Carol four days ago had galvanised the group into remembering who they were, even if they didn’t feel like it anymore. They were the Avengers. Fury’s greatest plan, and the ones to whom the survivors of the snap were looking to for direction. 

Steve had realised recently that shield or no shield, he needed to be Captain America, even if he didn’t want to be. He had to lead his team from the front lines, not as a vigilante that fought the bad guys from the shadows, hiding from a government that had declared him the enemy. It was time for him to step up again, become who they needed him to be.

He walked into their bedroom and saw Katie was flat out on the bed, Lucky by her side. Gently he worked the covers up around her, flicked on the lamp on the night stand and gave the dog a quick pat before he pulled off his black sweater and moved into the bathroom glancing in the mirror. He scratched at his chin and gave a sigh.

Captain America didn’t have a beard…

*****

Katie woke up five or so minutes later and stretched, her feet kicking at the blankets which had been pulled up around her. She blinked and looked around, Steve’s black sweater was tossed over the back of the chair and she could hear running water coming from the en-suite as the door was slightly ajar. Climbing out of bed she strolled over to the bathroom door as the water stopped and she nudged it open further to lean against the frame, just in time to see Steve raise a towel to dry off his face. When he lowered it she could see the reflection of a familiarly clean shaven jawline.

The beard she loved so much was gone.

He locked eyes with her in the reflection of the mirror, almost nervously. Deep down Katie had known this was coming, it was only a matter of time seeing as he’d settled back into his role as leader of the Avengers as easily as he had left it.

She smiled and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his toned waist kissing his muscular shoulder which was bare thanks to his white tank. Wanting to be closer to him she pushed up on her toes to nuzzle behind his ear and his eyes closed when she kissed the side of his neck. He shivered a little at the contact, dropped the towel to the sink and turned in her arms loosely wrapping his own around her.

Katie just stared at him for a moment taking in his cleanly shaven face, the familiar sideburns, and sharp jawline.

“Come on, get it over with.” Steve rolled his eyes and Katie gave a sigh.

“You know I really loved that beard,” she looked up at him, “can’t believe you murdered it.”

“Murdered it?” Steve raised an eyebrow, as she reached up to gently take his smooth jaw in her fingertips.

“Yes, murdered it. But I’ll let you off, because you are incredibly handsome.”

Steve smiled a little crookedly and leaning down, connected their lips in a soft, slow kiss that quickly became heated, when his tongue touched hers. His hands slid down the length of her back, over her ass, his fingers skating the back of her bare thighs which sent a fire coursing through her body, drawing a soft groan from her as he continued to kiss her, hard, he realised how much he needed this.

They both did. Both were desperate to fill that gaping hole and emptiness they had both been feeling for the past few weeks, and as always, it was in one another they sought that solace.

Katie slid her hands down, tugging up his top briefly as Steve moved his kisses down the side of her neck. Her fingers grazed his hips then hooked into his belt to begin undoing it but his hands gently stopped her.

“Sweetheart.” He swallowed, his breath deep. “I don’t want to hurt you, you know after…”

“You would never hurt me, Stevie.”

Her voice was a soft whisper and Steve looked down at her once more, and then he knew he was kidding himself. Over three weeks it had been since they’d made love and that was too fucking long for his liking. His lips crashed onto hers but before they could resume where they had been, they were both jolted as, suddenly the air was filled with a loud rumbling.

Curiously Steve reached out to steady the mirror over the sink which was shaking, and then the entire building started to rattle.

Man and wife looked at each other in confusion and Katie cleared her throat.

“FRIDAY?”

“Something has entered the atmosphere, Mrs Rogers” The AI responded calmly, “A vessel is being brought towards the facility.”

No sooner had FRIDAY finished, there came a banging on their door, before they heard it open and Rhodey loudly calling their names. Katie shot out of the bathroom and into the hall, Steve hot on her tail, grabbing his sweater off the chair and pulling it over his head as he headed into the living room.

"It’s Danvers.” Rhodey looked at Katie who took a deep breath. “Kiddo, she found him.”

Katie’s chest began to heave, she felt like her heart was going to pound out of her ribcage. Her hand flew to her mouth as Steve dropped a hand to her shoulder.

“Alive?” She managed to whisper.

“He was when she found him.”  Rhodey replied gently.

Without a further word, Katie set off sprinting through the facility, not waiting for anyone. The blood was pounding in her ears, her heart thumbing in her chest as she burst out onto the lawns, where Pepper was already waiting, staring up at the sky. As Steve, Natasha, Bruce and Rhodey all came to a stop besides the two women, the massive space ship rounded the corner, carried by Carol who was encased in a golden orb of light.

Katie gently took Pepper’s hand in hers and squeezed her fingers, neither of them moving their gaze from the ship, as it made its way to the ground, deposited onto the grass. With a hiss the ramp dropped and there he was, being supported by a blue woman. He looked weak. He’d lost a lot of weight, needed a shave, a shower and he looked so pale.

But he was alive!

Katie let out a soft cry, her hands flying to her mouth and Steve swore as he spotted instantly how bad Tony looked. He sprinted forward, passing Katie who was rooted to the spot, and ran up the steps, taking Tony’s weight off the blue woman. Tony gripped his arm and looked at Steve, before turning his head to watch where he was going.

“I couldn’t stop him.”  He said quietly.

“Neither could I.” Steve replied.

“I lost the kid.”

“Tony, we lost.” Steve said gently. As he looked at his brother-in-law he saw there was guilt and fear plaguing Tony’s face in a way that Steve had seen before, in his own face when they’d returned from Wakanda. He stood still as Tony studied him for a moment, before he swallowed.

“Yeah, is err…” Tony looked up and his eyes fell first on Katie then Pepper who, following a gentle, nudge in the back from Katie, took the last few steps towards him.

Katie stood still, watching as Tony visibly sighed when he saw them both, and it felt to her like she was seeing the sun for the first time, as Pepper gently pulled her brother into a hug, wrapping her arm around his neck to hold him close as she sobbed against his hollow cheek.

Steve looked at her, his eyes shining with tears and Katie realised she was shaking, violently. Unable to stop her shudders, the tears continued to fall thick and fast and she tore her eyes from Steve’s as Pepper pulled away slightly from Tony. With one arm round Pepper and Steve supporting him on his other side, he took a couple more strides forwards and then he was in front of her.

Katie stared back into his brown eyes, brown eyes that belonged to their father and she took a huge, shuddering breath which was punctuated by a little choke, as the sheer emotion threatened to overwhelm her completely. It had been almost 2 years since he had seen her, and whilst she felt utter relief at seeing him alive, she was also scared, frightened about what he was going to say

But, when he opened his mouth, he only had two words for her.

“Hey Kiddo”

The sound of his familiar greeting broke Katie completely and she let out a loud sob stepping forward.  As she gently wrapped her arms round him she cried into his shoulder, babbling her apologies.

“I’m so sorry Tone, I’ve missed you so much.”

Tony brought a hand up, resting it on the back of her head, his own voice choked slightly as he pressed his face into her hair. “I’m sorry too, I’m so sorry my beautiful girl. God, I missed you.”

*****

“I need a cheeseburger.” Tony grumbled, and Katie’s face split into a grin as Pepper took hold of his hand from where she was sitting by his bed in a chair.

“Maybe in a few days, pal.” Banner smiled as he gently patted Tony’s shoulder. Katie looked up and Bruce jerked his head to the door of the room. She followed him out and the pair of them were joined by Steve and Rhodey who had been hovering at the back of the medic bay.

“He’s lucky.” Banner looked at Katie “The wound in his abdomen missed everything major and he appears to have fought off most of the infection thanks to Nebula, but I’ve given him a course of IV antibiotics to be on the safe side. He’s slightly dehydrated and a little underweight, but other than needing a lot of rest he should be fine.”

“Thanks, Bruce.” Katie smiled as she looked back through the window into the room. Tony had his head lay on the pillow, tilted in Pepper’s direction, a weary grin spreading across his face as they talked. 

“I’m gonna stay with him.” Katie looked back to Steve. “Do you mind?”

“No, of course not.” He shook his head.

She then turned to Rhodey. “Can you make sure that Nebula and Carol get some food and a place to stay?”

“Sure.” Rhodey said as Steve pressed a kiss to the side of Katie’s head 

“I’ll be back later to check on him.” Bruce nodded. 

Katie watched the three men leave before she walked back into the room. Pepper and Tony both looked up at her as she sat on the edge of Tony’s bed.

“Pep, could you give us a minute?” Tony asked. Pepper nodded and stood up, touching Katie’s shoulder once as she left, the door clicking shut behind her. Katie turned back to her brother who reached out with his cold hand and wrapped it around hers

“Kiddo, I’m so sorry.” “So am I.” She whispered, tears forming in her eyes. “There hasn’t been a day over the last two years I haven’t thought about you, Tone.”

“Shame. I wanted to call so bad, but…” He trailed off, his voice cracking. “Stubborn ass hole, remember.” “That’s the Starks for you.” Katie smiled.

“What I said to you in Siberia, it was unforgivable.” Tony’s brown eyes locked onto hers, shining with tears. “And I know it sounds stupid but I didn’t mean any of it, not really…“

“Rhodey told me why you said it.” She swallowed as she looked down, her tears falling onto the sheets “I should have told you about mom and dad.”

“None of that matters now.” Tony shook his head, gently giving her hands a squeeze.

She fell silent again, wiping at her face, before she took a deep breath, steeling herself as she knew she had to tell him what had happened to her in the Snap. Because if he found out of someone else…

“Tony, there’s something you need to know, before anyone else tells you.” She looked at him.

“What?”

“When Thanos…when he came to Wakanda…” the tears still fell “I was…I was pregnant, but we didn’t know and…” “Was? Oh no.” Her brother’s face scrunched up as his hands wrapped even harder round hers. “Kiddo I’m…” “Don’t.” She shook her head. “Don’t say you’re sorry, please.”

“I am sorry. Sorry I wasn’t there with you.”

“You’re here now.” She looked at him. He smiled and opened his arms and she lent down next to him, gently laying her head on his bony chest, closing her eyes and relishing his presence. It was as if the past two years had never happened, as she simply lay there whilst he comforted her, the way he always had done. 

“Nice hair by the way.” He quipped, making her chuckle. 

“Thanks. Part of my disguise.” “Mmmm doesn’t work. Can still see your face.”

“Steve grew a beard.” Katie looked up at him

“Spangles? A proper one?” Tony cocked his head to one side, eyebrow arching.

“Yup.” Katie nodded. “It was pretty impressive to be fair. I’ll show you a photo at some point.”

Pepper returned to the room at that point and Katie sat up, moving off Tony’s bed, pulling another chair up from the corner. He lasted approximately twenty more minutes before sleep overwhelmed him and he closed his eyes, out for the count.

“You should go.” Pepper looked over at Katie. Katie started to protest but Pepper cut her off. “I know you think you’re invincible, but you’re not. Maybe Steve won’t put his foot down with you over this but I will. You’ve had an ordeal, we all have, but you especially need to look after yourself. Go to bed.” “Damned.” Katie frowned “When did you get so bossy?”

“Comes from living with him.” Pepper jerked her head at Tony “The amount of times I’ve found him collapsed over a computer.”

Katie smiled fondly before she clocked the stern look Pepper was giving her and stood up. “Fine, I’ll go. But…” “If anything changes I’ll get FRIDAY to call you straight away.” Pepper smiled, nodding. With a deep breath Katie dropped a kiss to Tony’s head and left. The rubber band that had been wrapped around her chest for so long had slackened, but getting Tony back was the tip of the iceberg. She knew that the next step would be to find Thanos, and none of them would rest until they did. 

****

After making sure Carol and Nebula were settled, and thanking them both for what they had done to get Tony back to them, Steve walked back to the apartment, grabbed a beer and headed out through the patio doors into the large garden area to let Lucky have a mooch around. He felt much better than he had in ages, like someone had slotted a large piece of the puzzle back into place. Once Tony was stronger, maybe they had a chance of finding Thanos and reversing all of this.

And then, well, maybe he and Katie could have a shot at being a family.

He took a pull from his bottle and looked out over the grounds. It wasn’t a bad place to bring up a kid, he supposed. Or maybe they should get their own place, just like they almost had three years ago. The more he thought about it, the more he started to think that was the better option. Did he really want a kid surrounded by all of this? More to the point, he found himself wondering if he wanted himself surrounded by this anymore. A year or so ago, he’d have jumped at the chance to get back into the thick of it, but now, well,  he just felt tired.

He’d fought for so long, given so much, maybe it was time to get out, take a back seat like Tony had.

Taking a deep breath he finished his beer, called Lucky back to him and headed back inside. He’d just thrown his empty bottle into the recycling and was contemplating heading back to see how Tony was, when the door to the apartment opened and Katie stepped inside. She looked tired, but almost, dare he say it, happy.

“Hey.” He greeted her as she shut the door. “How is he?” “Sleeping.” She crossed the hall towards him “He’ll be out until the morning I expect.” “And you?” He asked, opening his arms.

She smiled, stepping into his embrace. “I’m okay. What about you?” “Me?” he asked.

“Yeah.” she looked up at him. “Everyone seems hell bent on making sure I’m ok, they seem to forget you.” Steve took a deep breath.“It’s not important.” “It is to me.” Katie looked up at him. 

“I’ve got you.” Steve shrugged. “And long as I do I’ll be fine.” “You’ll always have me.” She smiled gently, and then Steve hadn’t got the foggiest how it happened, but they were kissing again, picking up where they had left off earlier that evening in the bathroom.

The kisses grew almost violent as they both poured every bit of emotion into one another, each one clawing at the other with a desperate touch. Steve fell towards Katie, pushing her back into the wall which separated the hallway from the kitchen area and pressed himself tightly against her. She slid her hands up beneath his top, her nails digging into his back, stinging his skin enough to elicit a deep, guttural moan from his throat. At that noise, Katie let out a high pitched moan of her own as his hands skimmed down to the back of her thighs, fingers digging into her flesh as he gripped tightly, hoisting her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and couldn’t help but mutter rapidly into his ear, amid tight, short gasps. “I need you Stevie, I need you, please.”

He dropped his lips to her neck, trailing his teeth along the arch of her shoulder. “I need you too.” His voice was dark and deep, which made her moan even more, and he didn’t wait for a response before hoisting her higher and carrying her into the bedroom where he dropped her down onto the bed. His hands gently reached down and they separated long enough for him to remove her top, Katie repaying the favour as she pulled his jumper and vest off in one move before she threw her arms around him as his lips dropped again to her neck. He popped the buttons on her denim shorts and slipped one of his hands down under the waistband, into her panties and she bucked at his touch as he gently played with the flesh letting out a groan as he found her ready for him, slick and hot.

“Fuck.” He mumbled as her hand fell to the buckle on his belt, their mouths still tangled together as he kissed her hard, needily before he tugged on her knees, pulling her flat down. Taking her shorts and underwear off in a swift glide down the bed, he shimmied out of his jeans and boxers, Katie taking the chance to hastily remove her bra before he fell onto her once more, using his knees to push hers apart. He propped himself on his elbows and dropped down to kiss her, slamming his teeth into hers in desperation as she was clawing at his back, arching up as she groaned into the kiss, his name falling from her lips as he pulled away slightly.

“You’ll tell me if I hurt you?” He looked at her. She knew he was worried, so she gently reached out, running her finger over his once again smooth jaw line.

“Promise.” she assured him. He swallowed thickly and as he worked into her, she let out a soft moan as he started to move, slowly at first, almost patiently as she hiked her legs up around him. He wanted to take it slow, he really did, but he found he couldn’t, and Katie didn’t want him to either. She was urging him on and soon they were fucking with avaricious force, both chasing a gratification they hadn’t felt in weeks, and the more he gave the more she wanted. 

Her hips met his with every drive forward he made as she writhed and mewled underneath him and it wasn’t long before she felt herself beginning to tumble. Steve could read her body signs better than she could herself and as her breath began to quicken, he pressed his mouth back to her neck, groaning himself

“You feel so good, so fucking good.” His mouth nipped at her ear as he spoke “I love you so much, baby.” And that was it, with those words she was undone.

“Stevie.” His name tumbled from her lips, in little more than a squeak as she tightened round him again and again. Then, as the heat burst between her legs and the lights exploded in front of her eyes she let out a short gasp, her nails digging further into his back, smarting the skin as she succumbed to her high.

Steve kept thrusting through her orgasm, the coil in his own belly tightening more and more. “Katie, fuck!” he closed his eyes, his head dropping to her shoulder and he spilled himself into her with a jerk and a moan before his elbows slowly slipped out from under him and he collapsed on top of her, their breathing coming in ragged gasps as they both lay delirious from the utter carnal nature of it all.

Katie’s hands gently trailed up Steve’s back and into his hair to begin their usual caress. Steve loved these tender, intimate moments that followed the sex, as much as the act itself. Gently, he moved his head to slide his nose against hers before he kissed her softly, tenderly this time as they held each other close. 

Skin to skin, soul to soul, the pair of them as together as they could be, each lending the other a soothing reassurance that whilst they were still grieving, and would continue to grieve for however long they needed to, they hadn’t lost everything.

They still had one another, and as long as they did, they would be okay in time.

**** Chapter 40

**Original Posting**

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #Katie Stark #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers fic #steve rogers smut #mcu #mcu fanfic #chris evans #chris evans characters

[samiii-p]

miss temptation (I don’t think you know) 1/?

aka The Maryan Roommate AU no one asked for 🙃 ao3

“You need a home address by next week or I’m writing you up.”

Fuck

Scratching an 'X' over another available apartment listing in the newspaper, Ryan grunts, blacking it out in her frustration. This one was her last true option within her price range and it was about the size of a walk-in closet with a communal bathroom to boot.

And no, just no. God no.

At least the last one had a view. It was a brick wall of the neighboring apartment but one nonetheless.

“You know for someone who needed this job, you sure don’t look the part.”

Sucking her teeth, Ryan glances up from her troubles, spots Luke in his custom three piece suit, grumbles and glances back at the paper where the only options left cost an arm and a leg to stay. Gotham wasn’t cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but selling her organs on a monthly basis just to get by didn’t seem all that appealing either.

“What do you want, Luke?”

“Can’t a guy just stop by?”

“Sure.” Ryan says, flipping the newspaper to the next page, maybe she could find something outside of town. The commute would be hell, but at least she’d have an address and her parole officer would finally get off her back. “I take it that’s not what you’re here for though.”

She hears him harrumph and nothing else. He does it a second later, again … and again.

“Okay, how can I help you?” She asks, sliding her current issues down the counter. Another 18 months in jail won’t hurt, let alone leaving the city in shambles when Batwoman disappears again .

Luke tilts his chin, hard line forming between his brows, a look Ryan has grown accustomed to over the past few weeks. Even though he’s apologized and promised to give her a chance until Kate’s return, there's still a tiny bit of friction lying beneath the surface no matter how much they both try to ignore it.

Reaching into his breast pocket he unearths a photo and slides it across the bar into Ryan’s line of vision. A picture of a black mask, outlined like a skeleton, stares up at her with cold hard eyes. In the corner a coiled snake is drawn with Luke’s handwriting underneath.

Snakebite - fear toxin/mushrooms

“Um, who or what am I looking at?”

He thumps the photo twice. “I was hoping you could tell me. You said you run in similar circles-”

“- ran.”

“As Victor Zsasz, I was hoping you could tell me a little about our friend here.”

“Sorry to tell you this but, no.” She pushes off the bar with a huff, nodding at the photo. “Whoever this person is, is new in town. At least to me.”

“Yeah, well his snakebite is hitting the streets like a plague and no one knows its source. There’s only this photo as a possible supplier but there’s no name, no facial recognition, no origin or leaks, no nothing.”

“So what do we do?”

“You suit up.”

Heat signature enabled, Ryan takes a look around the abandoned building noting two low level street hands Luke identifies as TJ Pillar: 1 to 3 strike for armed robbery and Curtis Armstrong: out on parole for possession.

“Come on, dude.”

She totally gets how uneasy it is to get back on your feet after spending a little over a year incarcerated but at least try to do better.

“What?” Luke asks through the coms, Ryan ignores him, scouting more of the building. It’s been over an hour and nothing. They wouldn’t be here if no one was coming but it’s growing closer to midnight and she has to be back at work at nine.

“Can’t I just bring them in? It’s late.”

“I mean you could, but it’ll be a waste of time. The guys on the street don’t know anything except to wait for the drop here.”

“And we couldn’t call in Gotham PD or the Crows for surveillance because..?”

“Hey, you wanted the job, this is what it entails.”

Behind the mask, Ryan’s eyes roll, mocking this is what the job entails meh meh, like she's a child grounded for the night, which, all things considered…

“Besides, it’s not like you have anything better to do.”

“Okay! Okay!” Over the coms, Ryan hears hushed voices arguing, a muffled ‘no’ then the sound of chairs being switched, Luke’s voice replaced by Mary’s, “heeey, girl. How ya’ doing?”

She smirks, attitude vanishing the moment the heiress speaks. Call it a general preference to all things sans-Luke based but she’d one hundred present rather talk to Mary until the butt crack of dawn instead of Mr. Kate would do it like this and Kate would do it like that. For starters Mary’s a lot nicer. Calmer. Funnier, I mean the girl’s one liners are top tier, bone tickling funny.

And well, she was a hell of a lot prettier too.

“Oh, you know, just pulling an all-nighter right before my day shift.”

A hiss sounds dramatically over the intercoms, the image of Mary’s twisted face pops up and Ryan can almost see the apple of her cheeks bunching and her eyes closing in that cute ass scrunchy face she makes when she’s thinking hard or embarrassed clear as day.

“Don’t worry about it, you can always come in later.”

“You enable her by making exceptions.”

“Luke!”

“What!?”

More muffled noises, a bang and yelp later Mary comes back on. “What I was getting at is that if you want to come in a little bit late, it’s totally fine or we can even change your schedule to mid-day, as your boss and fellow bat accomplice, I would totally understand.”

The corner of Ryan lips quirks up, “you don’t have to do that.”

“I do. We don’t know for sure how long you’ll be out tonight. Coming in afterwards is going to be draining-”

“It’ll be draining for all of us.” Luke yells.

“Shh!”

Unfortunately, Luke has a point. It's not fair on the team if she’s the only one taking the easy way out when they all have lives and responsibilities outside of the cave to adhere to, and a mid-day shift would never work anyway. Mid-day is Officer Steven’s favorite time of day to intrude on Ryan’s life.

“No that’s okay,” Ryan says, “Luke’s right. I have to put on my big girl panties and suck it up like everyone else, besides, I’m going to be too busy selling body parts for an overpriced cardboard box in the foreseeable future or it's a one way ticket back to Black Gate-”

“Wait, what-?”

“Oh, hold up.” An engine alerts Ryan to an incoming vehicle speeding into the warehouse disrupting their conversation. “We got action.”

Censors pick up on a lone body inside, facial recognition scanners kick on and work to identify the driver’s profile as well as the car’s make, model design, vehicle number and license plate number are all shot over to home base for further analysis. She twitches them off once complete just in time to see a window roll down and a hand throw two duffle bags out the window before speeding off.

“Did we get anything?”

A beat passes before Mary’s back on, “Not yet. Gotham PD and the Crows database has no facial identification, Luke’s expanding the search but the car is unmarked, plates false, even the tires vin numbers have been scrubbed. Whoever this person is, really doesn’t want to be found.”

From Ryan’s personal experience, news like that is never good. Someone that deep undercover either has a checkbook large enough to make themselves disappear or an iron grip so ruthless the utter mention of their name is probable cause for permanent removal. This was going to be harder than any of them expected.

“Keep me posted.”

Kicking off the beam she leaps down sticking another perfect grand entrance; hoping the acclaimed symbol printed on her chest will be enough to scare off the bad guys for once.

She is really tired after all.

Unfortunately, Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumb both reach for guns, shooting before she can warn them to stand down. And there goes her ‘early’ night. Figures.

“Ya’ll know I’m fucking bullet proof, right?”

Another bullet ricochets off the suit as she takes a step forward. Idiots. Surprisingly they keep at it until the clip clinks, empty, and Ryan comes face to face with Curtis who tries throwing a punch she easily ducks, coming back up to head butt him so hard his knees crumple. His coworker steps up and he’s a bit more of a challenge throwing blow for blow with her until she ducks up under him and comes back with a roundhouse kick to his Adams apple. He clutches his windpipe, now down on one knee she delivers the final blow to the bridge of his nose.

She picks up the bags and hightails it out of there, latching onto a high beam for an easy escape, and heads towards G.C.P.D where she drops the contraband with a note attached of where they can find the assailants tied up and ready for arrest.

“Why didn’t you tell me you’re homeless!?”

Ryan wonders if disrupting her day as a civilian was going to become normal protocol for Luke and Mary going forward and on a recurring basis.

“I wouldn’t say homeless.”

“How else would you classify living out of your van down by the docks?”

“Surviving on wheels – ow!” Ryan giggles, rubbing her shoulder and doesn’t know whether to cower or soothe the frustrating scowl rapidly spreading across her friend’s face. “How’d you find out?”

“I had Luke track you after you left last night.”

“Wow, talk about invasion of privacy.”

“And for good reason, why didn’t you say anything?”

Ryan flips an empty glass, dries it out before placing it on the rack and considers how to move the conversation forward, possibly far, far away from this topic all together. The best she comes up with is, “it’s handled.”

Handled ends up being a 200 square feet one room apartment Mary demands to see. The bedroom, kitchen and living room are all one in the same but at least she has her own bathroom. The walls are paper thin, she’s pretty certain the constant dripping sound is coming from the kitchen, one she can easily fix after a YouTube tutorial or two, and a hotter than hell furnace the landlord warns her not to touch when the temperature is anywhere over 60 F unless she enjoys suffocating.

She watches Mary take in the room, the petite brunette moving in a slow swirl on her heels, lip turned down and Ryan just knows it’s not good when they make eye contact.

“Nu-uh.”

“What do you mean nu-uh?” Confused, Ryan watches Mary storm past her and out the door. “Mary! Mary, what does that mean? Mary!?”

Mary breaks her housing contract. When Ryan tries to object she quickly learns that all 5’2 of Mary Hamilton-Kane is nothing to play against and a powerhouse forced to be reckoned with.

… It kind of gets Ryan hot under the collar watching Mary tell her landlord exactly what’s about to happen, and cutting a check like it's nothing in the process.

Assertive has always kinda been her type.

“You’ll be staying here.”

Mary says, showing Ryan around her penthouse in the upper echelon of Gotham City. The apartment is just shy the size of a department store, the lounge being big enough to take up most of the square footage, built in with four bedrooms, one now officially hers, one for guests and another used for office space and three huge bathrooms big enough to house a football team.

“Jesus,” the name slips under her breath as she takes it all in. This place is – is. It’s too much. “I can’t afford this.”

The carpet under her feet probably cost more money than she'll ever see in her lifetime.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not asking you to pay anything.” Ryan quickly gets shut down as Mary carries on, “until you can save enough money to get back on your feet. It’s the least I can do. Being this city’s vigilante is hard work. The last thing you need to worry about is where you’re going to lay your head at night.”

It makes sense, but still. “I’m not comfortable asking you - I won’t use you.”

“You’re not.” The med student emphasizes. Mary takes the box out of her hands and places it on a dresser. “My home is yours now, bestie. Stay as long as you want to.” And before Ryan can prepare herself, Mary’s arms are snug around her waist and her cover girl smile is beaming up at her.

This is going to be terrible.

It’s worse.

Far worse than Ryan could have ever predicted. Not only is Mary super considerate of her new roommate, but she makes her resources Ryan’s own. She’s never slept so good, ate so well or drank water so delicious for that matter. Until recently she thought water was just water but Mary’s fridge is full of this alkaline stuff straight from the mountains, and Ryan swears she can never look back.

“You want pickles?”

Ryan visibly gulps, sitting on the couch, eyes focused on anything other than Mary prancing around the kitchen in her underwear. Mary’s always been super comfortable in her skin but especially at home when she’s surrounded by her things in her place of peace and why shouldn’t she be, this is her home. Ryan wants her to go about as she normally would, actually prefers if Mary pretended Ryan wasn't there altogether. The last thing she wants is to intrude or take up space but she can only take so much. It’s been nearly a month of coming home to Mary asking how her day was, waking up to Mary smiling at her over homemade breakfast or passing out on the couch cuddled together after another failed movie night. There’s only so much she can take.

What they’re doing is borderline domestic. And Ryan’s too gay for this.

“…pickles?”

“Hmm – what?”

“I asked if you want pickles on your sandwich?”

"Uh, sure."

Handing her a plate, Mary plops down on the couch leaving no space between the two and licks the pad of her thumb, humming pleasantly at the taste.

Ryan bites the inside of her cheek. “So, what are we watching?”

Hopefully something gory, and bloody staring a cis-het white male. Anything to take Ryan’s mind off of Mary Hamilton.

Mary chooses Its Okay Not to be Okay on Netflix and by the end of episode 2 both girls are huddled together, simping hard for all the three leading actors. Mary is obsessed with Kim Soo-Hyun's entire face and Ryan’s pretty sure if Seo Ye-Ji stomped on her in six inch heels and dragged her through the mud, she’d thank her.

At least they can agree Oh Jung-se is a freaking king and is killing his role as Moon Sang Tae.

It's nearly midnight before they start to turn in, cleaning up the little mess they made, Ryan shuts off the lights and walks Mary to her room; the first door to the right.

“Night.”

It kind of feels like a date, which is absurd. She knows. But can you blame her when pillow soft lips press against her cheek and Mary breathes, “sleep tight, Ryan” in her ear. Its stupid. She’s being stupid, and seeing things that arent there. Or maybe she needs to get laid. Whatever she needs to do, Mary can’t be a part of it.

After weeks of failed interrogations the team finally manages to catch a break. A source looking to get out and start over leaks the warehouse location where a scheduled supply of ingredients are due to be shipped in at any day now. Niko of course makes Batwoman promise to protect him at all cost and that means working with the Crows.

“Where’s the shipment being dropped?” Sophie asks.

“Unimportant.”

The lieutenant cocks her head to the side, unsurprised at how this conversation is going. The Bat has never worked well with authority in this town, no matter who dons the emblem.

“The only thing I need is for you to make sure Niko is somewhere safe, undetected.”

“Is he at least willing to stand trial in the event you manage to catch this guy?”

“I think that all depends on if your team can keep him alive. Crow.”

The alley is dark, damp and the chill fogs Sophie’s breath as she sighs. “You're going to get yourself killed. I know you have something against my badge and everything it stands for, but it can do some good if you let it. Now, tell me where the shipment is and I can have my team there as back up in seconds. We can get this drug and these thugs off the street.”

That word makes Ryan's jaw tingle. Thug. Of course a Crow wouldn't understand that sometimes people do bad things to make ends meet, but it doesn't make them bad people. To a Crow they’re all the same and need to be locked away never to see the light of day again. Including her.

“Focus on our informant. If I need you for anything else I know how to find you.” And she’s gone, vanished in a cloud of fog.

“Nice job pissing off potential allies.” Ryan switches her coms off.

The warehouse is guarded heavily by six men up top, double the number at the bottom not including the others unloading trucks full of supplies. Photo analysis identifies them and sends the information to Gotham P.D. before she strikes.

“Hope you’re ready for this. If we’re lucky this can all be over tonight.”

“Don’t I know it.”

Taking it as his cue, Luke hits the lights covering the warehouse in complete darkness. Motion sensors switch on and Batwoman moves into action. The training her team insists she go through pans out as she’s able to take out four guys twice her size in fast compact moves. One guy goes over the railing after she cracks him in the nuts with the steel toe of her boot. His strangled whimper is heard all the way down, but hey, no one ever said this was going to be a fair fight.

The team at the bottom catches on and gun fire immediately follows, running across the bridge Ryan spreads her arms and flies through the air, her red and black cape bellows behind her as she sticks another perfect superhero landing. All at once it seems like twenty people are coming at her from all different angles but as always she's quick on her feet tying a handful of them up by their ankles and running through the rest with a non lethal taser, just enough to subdue until she can contain everyone before she starts asking questions.

“We ain’t telling you shit!”

Another guy spits on her shoe, the red of his blood splattering against her boot and she rolls her eyes. There’s no need to be nasty.

“Look, I’m trying to help you guys out here.” Spotting a pair of boobs in the corner, she course corrects, “and girls - theys? Whatever! I’m trying to help you all out here. This thing,” she holds up a box of snakebite, “is killing the community and while it may bring you all brief satisfaction, financially, what’s it going to do for your futures when you get caught, to your families?”

“Who knew the new edition of the Bat came with such a bleeding heart?”

“Well, she does. So if anyone here is willing to tell me anything that’ll point me in the right direction of your boss, I promise I can protect you, get you somewhere safe.”

From the little the authorities have been able to dig up about this gang, anyone willing to betray their leader either winds up dead or living their last days in a vegetative state. That’s why it’s so important to have Niko, no matter the length it takes to protect him, it was for the sake of Gotham.

“I said-!”

“I heard you the first time,” Ryan says, cutting him off, “And I don’t know what you’re used to but I’m only going to tell you how this is played once. I ask the questions and you give me the answers, if you don’t, have fun rotting in jail or better yet … I can let the little I do know out onto the streets.” She bends down right in front of the man and lifts his rabbit mask, exposing his face. In seconds she knows his name. “I’m sure your boss would love to know who’s ratting him out, huh, Robert Michael Humprey?”

The terror in his eyes says it all.

#ryan wilder #mary hamilton #batwoman #maryan

[roswelldetails]

Episode 2x04 - What if God Was One of Us

EPISODE SUMMARY:

AN ACT OF GOD — On the verge of a breakthrough in her quest to save Max (Nathan Dean), Liz (Jeanine Mason) turns to Kyle (Michael Trevino) for one last favor that could potentially land him in hot water. Meanwhile, Michael (Michael Vlamis) and Alex’s (Tyler Blackburn) investigation into Nora (guest star Kayla Ewell) leads them to a farm, where they meet a historian named Forrest (guest star Christian Antidormi). Elsewhere, Cameron (guest star Riley Voelkel) confronts Jesse Manes (Trevor St. John) about her sister’s whereabouts, and Isobel (Lily Cowles) uses her powers for good. Amber Midthunder also stars. Shiri Appleby directed the episode written by Steve Stringer & Christopher Hollier (#204). Original airdate 4/6/2020.

DETAILS:

Roy said that he took veterinary training, which is how he was able to help with Louise and Nora's injuries.

"How come it feels like you don't know what I'm saying, but you know what I'm thinking?"

Roy moved the truck (with the pods in it?) to the livery.

"Boss's wife won't let him blame the drought on God so that honor goes to his foreman -- that's me."

Kyle on The Science:

"You're telling me that Michael Guerin used pinball parts and a car battery to cause cutaneous perfusion?

(Cutaneous perfusion...i think it is circulation of fluid/blood through tissue, but it's a bit above my head)

The device Liz needs is a "Personal Genome Machine". She ordered it when she still worked at the hospital.

Before entering the Crashdown, Graham Green tapes a Missing sign on the door for Hank Gibbons (who Noah killed in 1x13).  Apparently someone covered it up.

The sign is HARD to read, but I think it says:

"All viable leads reported to Graham Green's UFO Emporium will receive a free keychain.  Make certain you subscribe to the Weekly Probe as we dive deeper into the untold stories of Roswell and answer the question on everyone's mind.  ARE YOU NEXT?"

Graham Green references that he's the "creator of last week's 39th most downloaded true crime podcast." (Assuming that this is the Weekly Probe, referenced on the poster).

Graham Green is opening a 1947 themed malt shop at the UFO Emporium

U.F. Doughs (the Crashdown's new donuts).

Isobel's been coming to the Crashdown every day for weeks.  (Note that this episode is the first one that really doesn't have a clear time context).

"Feliz cumpleanos, mama!" Happy birthday in Spanish, of course, but note Kyle's choice term of endearment for fic purposes!  And she responds in kind "Gracias, mijo!" (Mijo = male version. Arturo calls Liz mija = female version)

"A wild Michael Guerin finally emerges from his weeks-long hibernation in a lab and a library."

Again, non-specific time frame.

"When every other farm was struggling, the Longs experienced record-breaking crops.  Summer of '47. No one could explain it…till October '48. The day after that photo ran in the paper, the farm was devastated by a massive fire.  Foreman, entire staff killed. Whole place burned down."

"What caused the fire?"

"Well the paper called it an act of God.  Said it was a freak storm. Bolt of lightning strikes the barn the same night that my mom's caught and locked up in Caulfield."

Wyatt Long's horses are named "Diamond" and "Silk".

Jesse Manes' beer of choice is "Polestaff".

Cam's postcard from Charlie (Likely the reason she came back to Roswell) says:

"See you back in Roswell --Charlotte"

Top left corner says "Greetings from Roswell, NM".

It was mailed to Jenna at the Green Hill Motel in Dayton, Ohio.

Jenna says it's not Charlie's handwriting.

Isobel in the mindwarp: "And what's your dream, Arturo? What would be your miracle? What do you pray for?"

Arturo & Rosa's fight… 

"Did that fool give you drugs? I'll kill him!"

"Ow! You're hurting me! That's child abuse!"

"Everything I do I do to hold you up and you see it as abuse. I don't know what to do anymore!"

"Yeah right." Rosa falls down and laughs.

"This isn't funny! Sheriff Valenti won't give you any more chances."

"You should be happy. You wanted me to be on the field hockey team, remember? You said I should make friends and have good American fun."

"Who sold you the pills?"

"I stole them."

"Was it Frederico?"

"You wouldn't believe me."

"Tell me the truth!"

"It was Mom! She's either too high to notice that they're missing, or she knows and she doesn't care."

"You're lying to me. I don't know how to help you."

"So stop trying then. I'm beyond hope anyway, right? That's what everyone else in this town thinks."

"Maybe you're right. I'm going for a drive."

Arturo tried to register with Instagram as PancakePapi!! He ended up with PancakePapi58!

Scene with Steph and her dad...FIRST MENTION OF SOPAPILLAS ON THE SHOW!!! 🤤🤤🤤🤤 (They're the best...in New Mexican restaurants they're like, both an appetizer and a dessert.  They're like hollow fried bread that you eat with honey. Delicious.)  See here:

Plus it gave the show another opportunity to be authentically New Mexican through food references.  (Last season it was in episode 2 when Arturo asked,"red or green?" And Liz replied "Christmas!". In New Mexico that means half red half green chile smothering her plate.) Like so: 

1948...unclear how much time has passed, but Louise says months.

The kid's name is Walt.  (Walt Long?? Some other last name?).

Nora says that under the tarp is the "pumpkin launcher" and it's a surprise.

Nora says it's not safe for Michael here, "but soon."

"Hey do you smell that? It smells like rain.  It's what you smell like under all the grease and bourbon.  It's what your workshop smells like. Something alien happened here. Not that I can still smell it 70 years later."

"This is the best evidence I've seen that Max and Isobel's mother survived the initial firefight. This is something that you do with family."

"Nora's my mother. If she was here at the same time as Louise…"

Note - when did they confirm who Louise was or that she was Max & Isobel's mom? This has not happened narratively yet.

Since Walt was a young kid, Alex thinks there's a chance he's still alive (though at the end Nora definitely thought he died when the barn blew up. I suspect that Walt survived and is the key to the story...not fact, just speculation.)

Forrest: "The foreman, Roy Bronson, was definitely hiding something.  But it wasn't Little Green Men. It was Nazi spies."

"This is like Junior Year eraser room, getting caught by Coach Wiggins."

OG callback to the eraser room being the high school makeout spot. OG, "the eraser room takes our innocence." 

Rosa in Spanish "¿En serio?" Basically "are you serious!?!" Or "really?" When the blender shorts out (awfully similar to her first Noah nightmare in 2x01)

"...when Charlie told me she had stole classified documents, I reported her.  I thought I was doing the right thing and the military put her in prison."

"Right. Where she was safe."

"No. I… I didn't know who she really was when I turned her in. I didn't know what prison would do to her."

"She wanted you to turn her in, Jenna. She set you up to do so. She knew that as long as she was in government custody no one could get to her."

"Charlie fought in two wars.  Who was she afraid of?"

"A private securities firm, most likely.  You know that I met her? She was working on this genetic sequencing project that had the potential to save lives, but also destroy them. And there were some people out there who saw applications for her research that went beyond her intentions."

"She was doing research that could help save lives, and people wanted to use it to create a bioweapon."

"Well yeah, she created this pathogen that could seek out and dismantle specific sequences. Just think about it -- a smart bomb that could be detonated in the middle of a crowded city, only harm it's intended target. Think about the innocent civilian lives saved while you take out leaders of terrorist organizations."

"Or commit genocide. If her work fell into the wrong hands, it could quietly wipe out entire groups of people because they share a certain genetic code, while their neighbors go about living their lives.  Why do you know so much about this? What's your interest in my sister?"

"I believed that I had a use for her pathogen, at one time. But my fight is over now."

A few notes about this exchange.

Clearly Charlie's pathogen is the key ingredient in the smart bomb that Flint was developing, as discussed in 1x12.

Liz's "personal genome machine" can break down the alien genetics and give Project Shepherd what they need to use a smart bomb on the aliens. 

Don't forget, her lab is protected by Air Force security set up by "Alex's team". (Badbadbadbad!)

Rosa describing her bipolarism. 

"I get these mood swings sometimes. Like, I can be happy and singing one minute, and then, all of a sudden, this darkness just closes in over me, and I have all these voices telling me that I'm worthless."

Jesse gives Cam the name of the security firm looking for Charlie.  We don't see the name of it. He warns her to be careful. "I may be hobbled but they are not."

"Now, you were hunting aliens, and I gave you Max's name. Why didn't you lock him up in Caulfield with the rest?"

"I don't know.  I guess I feel like there's a story unfolding in Roswell. Has been for more than 50 years.  You can't blame me for wanting to see how it ends."

Catherine Zeta-Jones in a laser maze -- Liz is referencing the 1999 movie Entrapment.

Liz trying to science-intrigue Kyle….

"Interesting historical footnote. There was an internment camp in Roswell. Nazi POWs built half this city.  Hence the iron crosses. My great-great grandfather BoDean's foreman got busted for hiding a couple of women here. According to him 'A couple Nazi spies escaped and strudeled their schnitzel for room and board right here on this very farm.  See, I was never really as into shooting squirrels as Wyatt is, so, when I came out here for summers as a kid, my cousin Kate and I -- we'd prowl the property for artifacts."

"You know, what we're doing you and me -- it doesn't only have to be for Max...once Max is healthy, we could use this genome machine to Target cellular apoptosis.  I mean, we could craft polymerase sequencing in human DNA. We don't have to stop. We have no boards, no restrictions…"

Apoptosis is also sometimes referred to as "cellular suicide" or "spontaneous single cell death".

Polymerase is like the building blocks of DNA.

In other words, Liz is really, really smart.

FORREST LONG!!!!!! 😂😂😂. 

Alex on the bullet shells: "These match the M1917s the airmen used in '48.

"They were scattered all over the property. Legend has it the Nazis we're building some kind of bomb in the barn. Then one night the Air Force showed up."

"The night of the fire."

"The blaze burned so hot it turned sand to stone. Papers say that lightning struck the barn and everyone died in the flames, but...that's bull.  See I think the Air Force covered up the massacre that happened when they discovered that weapon.

A few things on this scene… 

Forrest mentions his cousin Kate...Wyatt's sister who was murdered by Noah in 2008.  So Forrest is Wyatt Long's cousin. 

Substitute Nazi for alien and it's probably all based somewhat based in truth.  In the 1940s that definitely would have been a reasonably obvious way to cover it up, especially given the history that Forrest cites and the military culture in Roswell.

Note: POW = prisoner of war

The iron crosses Forrest references…

Article on the German POWs in the Roswell Daily Record…

Walt was hiding in the barn when Tripp made it explode.  Explosion looked shimmery, like the alien ship & tech. 

Also, more info than you ever wanted to know about the Roswell Army Air Field/Walker Air Force Base/Roswell International Air Center...including some info on the POWs.

Sheriff Valenti's theory on Noah's death:

"I think Max Evans poisoned Noah and left him in the desert the night of the lightning storm, and I think Isobel Evans was in on it."

Kyle says it would take gallons of acetone to poison someone.

Tripp was Alex's great uncle

Nora was working on a ship to take the pods home.

TRIPP MANES!!!  Full name is Eugene Manes III.

Alex finally gives Michael the piece of alien ship he's had.  He doesn't want to be another Manes man standing in Michael's way.

Cam's voicemail to Liz.

"Got a lead on my sister.  Give me a call when you get that tin-star-wearing E.T. awake, so I can curse him out for worrying us all. Good luck Liz. Bring Max home."

Arturo's Spanish to Liz and Rosa.

"Das gracias a Dios.  Gracias todos los dias."

Translates generally to "Thank God.  Thanks every day."

Isobel's monologue at the end:

"The idea of God always freaked me out. Like, apparently he made people in his own image, which, first of all, get over yourself. And also, does that apply to us? Does every planet have its own God? Let's say that we're all clones of the big guy in the sky. Well then, doesn't it stand to reason that we're all capable of slinging light? Well I guess by that same token we're all capable of tremendous wrath. We're walking contradictions. A never-ending mercurial rise and fall. Darkness and light. I guess the real miracle is choosing the light. Despite the ever-present darkness. Look at us. You're in the middle of a downright biblical desert, galaxies from where we started. I mean, our very existence is a miracle. I'm capable of so much more than I thought I was, Max. I really think that maybe I could do great things. I need you to come back, okay? I need you to be the thing that I can believe in. That doesn't let me down. I just need this one little miracle, and I promise I won't ever ask for anything ever again."

MUSIC:

1. LEN "Steal My Sunshine"

2. Spacehog "In The Meantime"

3. Duke Ellington "Take It Easy"

4. Maná "Como Te Deseo"

5. Oasis "Don't Look Back In Anger"

6. Ben Harper "Waiting On An Angel"

#roswell new mexico #rnm season 2 #episode details #long post #what if god was one of us #rnm 204

[purplesurveys]

1024

What would you say is your favorite food? Sushi. < Ahhh, this is a good one. My favorite is down to a tie: it’s either chicken curry or burgers.

What color eyes does the person you like / love have? Are they pretty? Dark brown. I’m not too sure what the second question is referring to but yeah, she and her eyes are both pretty.

What was the first television show you were obsessed with? Hi-5, omg. That show was my life in preschool and I always watched the 12 NN replay as soon as I got back home from school, back when I was still on a half-day sched. I was so hooked I remember having legit tantrums before starting Grade 1 because grade school meant full days in school and thus having to miss out on the show entirely.

Do you like Mexican food or any other foreign foods? For sure. All my favorites are Asian (Indian, Japanese, Indonesian, Chinese, etc.) but I also enjoy Italian, Mexican, Greek etc cuisines. I generally haven’t tried African cuisines but I really, really want to.

What color is the keyboard you are currently using? The keys are black with white lettering.

Do you own any of those ‘chunky’ and cute rings? Nope, not my style.

What are you planning on eating for dinner tonight if you haven’t already? I saw my dad cooking up something deep-fried; it was like his own version of katsu or something, or maybe it’s fish fillet? I’m not too sure what it is yet but I’m excited and will probably eat lots of it as I skipped all my meals and have only been running on coffee and vape all day - not good.

Do you own an iPod or MP3 player? If so, when did you get it? Technically I still do. Haven’t used it since high school. I got it when I was 10 back in ‘08; I was envious of the kids in school who had iPods, so I asked my dad to buy me one even though I wasn’t super into music at the time. Not the best kid in the world.

When was the last time someone took your picture? Last Saturday when my package came. Apparently online deliveries now require your photo to be taken upon receiving your package and I think it’s for the seller to keep track of their transactions. I’m not a big fan of the new procedure, but it’s whatevs.

Would you rather write a report or type it on a computer? Type. 

What color was the last jacket or hoodie you wore? Gray.

Do you receive more compliments or insults on a daily basis? Neither, really. I haven’t been talking to people a lot; and when I do it’s for work, where I receive neither compliments nor insults.

Who is the lead actress / actor from your absolute favorite movie? Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney, or Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

Can you recite the alphabet backward? [continued from last night] Slowly, but I’m sure I can finish it.

Do you eat chili when you get a hotdog, or do you like it plain? We don’t do hotdogs with chili here. I generally don’t see chili much where I live and I wouldn’t call it a common dish.

Would you say it’s easy for people to make you smile or laugh? At first I thought it was, but I’m slowly realizing that it isn’t.

What would you say is your favorite cereal, if you even like it? Cookie Crisp is the only one I like. I don’t have cereal often.

When was the last time you went on vacation? Where was it? It was a quick weekend getaway to Tagaytay and then Cavite, if it counts.

How many states have you been to in your lifetime? Zero.

Do you and your friends normally say you love one another? Yep, especially with Andi and Angela.

Have you ever been an outcast at your school or anywhere else? I was definitely one in early grade school, and again in Grade 6 when both my closest friends migrated in a span of six months, and I spent nearly all my lunch periods alone. Looking back on it, I’m really glad I powered through and made it here because I truly wasn’t happy at the time.

Do you own any dresses? If so, what colors are they? I have lots of sundresses and little black dresses because I was into those for a very long time at one point. Some of them are black, obviously, but I also have dresses in blue, maroon, and olive.

Would you say you drink more pop / soda than you should? I never drink soda as I’ve always felt like I spend more time complaining about how drinking it feels like burning my tongue and throat than actually enjoying it.

Would you rather have orange juice or milk with your breakfast? Water.

How many different colors has your bedroom been painted? Just one. The walls have been white ever since we moved here 12 years ago.

Do you cuss? If so, do you ever cuss in front of your parents? I’ll slip in front of them sometimes but I never get in trouble for it anymore.

Would you ever tell your mom about the things you’ve done sexually? Our humor together can be raunchy sometimes but I don’t think I’d ever do this. I dunno if she wants to hear I’ve had sex with a girl either.

Is there anyone out there who can make you cry very easily? Yes.

What was the worst news you’ve heard this entire week? *In the last week, hearing about the typhoon’s effects in other cities didn’t feel good. This entire country is literally only getting by with donations from the private sector because the government isn’t doing shit for cities and families who got severely affected by the typhoon; it’s almost depressing to hear and read about.

Have you ever been in a car wreck? I’ve been in minor car accidents but it would be too much to call any of them car wrecks. They had all just been tiny bumps or thuds.

Do you have your ears pierced? If not, what do you have pierced? Yes, my mom had my earlobes pierced when I was an infant. I don’t plan on getting any more new ones as I’m not really into piercings.

Has anyone ever told you that they think you have ADHD? Nope.

What is your biggest pet peeve? When people reach out first via text/IM then even if I get back to them in 5–10 seconds, it takes them a long time to get back to me. It’s especially annoying if they classify it as urgent, I drop everything to reply quickly, then they end up disappearing. Like why?

Do a lot of people understand you completely? Who does exactly? No, I like keeping a wall up. 

Would you say you’re really good at cooking and baking things? Haha no. But it’s something I want to be skilled in, definitely. I’d love to be able to make the food I usually just thirst over on the internet. I’m taking baby steps, like figuring out how to make certain sandwiches, but I have a long way to go before I can consider myself any good.

How is the weather outside right this second? It’s been a little cloudy this morning but it might start to get fair seeing how I’m beginning to see the sky turn blue. I’m just hoping there won’t be too much sun, period.

Do you have a lot of trees around your house? What about buildings? No buildings as I live in a gated village. We have a number of trees around, but I wouldn’t call it ‘a lot.’

Would you say either one of your parents are 'pack-rats?’ No. I have that title, and I believe I inherited it from my great-grandmother who was a bit of a pack rat herself, as I’ve been told.

Have you ever disowned anyone in your family? For what reasons? Kinda. I don’t associate with one of my uncles because he has a terrible drinking issue that he never got to permanently fix. Whenever I see him at family gatherings he just smells like stale gin or whatever it is he drinks, and it just ruins the essence of family reunions for me. As recent as Christmas Day last year he drove drunk and crashed into a car with an entire family, but as always his ass got lucky because 1) no one in the family got hurt, and 2) said family let go of the lawsuit they were planning to file against him.

Have you ever seen That 70’s Show? Do you watch it regularly? I tried watching the first episode but genuinely could not find it entertaining for the life of me. Sorry, Mila :(

If you could choose, what decade would you rather live in? I never really think about revisiting decades - they’re already behind, so what’s the point? As bad as the 2020s have been looking, I’m okay with staying here.

How often would you say you get sick? Once a year at most.

Is there anyone out there who has hurt you so much, you wish they’d die? I used to wish they would die, but I don’t feel that way anymore.

Has anyone ever called you a socio-path before? I don’t think so.

When was the last time you watched a movie in theaters? December.

Have you ever moved to a completely different state before? We’ve moved to different regions before.

Do you mind it when surveys ask you really personal questions? No. Isn’t that part of the point of surveys?

When was the last time you told someone you love them? Thursday or Friday I think, when Andi said it to me first and I said it back. I wasn’t having a good day and they were just looking out.

Which one would you like more: kiss on cheek / kiss on neck? Depends on my mood. Right now a kiss on the cheek sounds nice.

Does it bother you when people steal your stuff on MySpace? This never happened to me because I had Myspace for such a short time and I never caught it at its peak. Also, how do people steal your stuff over there? That’s pretty intriguing lmao

Do you have freckles? Do you like / dislike them? I don’t have any.

Who would you say is the best actor / or actress in your opinion? My biased ass would rally for Kate Winslet all the way, but some other great ones for me are Toni Collette, Emma Stone, Jodie Foster, and Natalie Portman.

How many times have you been drunk in your life? Many.

What would you do if the last person you kissed said they hated you? Be confused and ask them to give me a few concrete reasons. I don’t think too highly of myself, but I know I’ve never done anything to make me deserving of hate, especially with regard to us.

Do you ever think you might be pregnant? No, it has never been a worry of mine.

When was the last time you acted really immature? The weekend.

Do you enjoy watching comedies or horror movies more? Horror. I never watch comedies and the only subtype of it that I watch is romcom.

As a child, did you ever have an imaginary friend? Yeah but it lasted all of five minutes until I got bored with the concept.

Does anyone call you baby? Who would that be? No.

Can you rely on one or more people to take up for you? I have no idea what take up means. If this also means ‘stand up for me,’ then yeah I can.

#survey #surveys

[the-last-ghost]

Part 8 as promised! I hope you all enjoy it! Be aware, it does jump from many different viewpoints so be sure to pay attention to who is speaking! Thank you all for the support and as always, feel free to let me know if you have any question, comments, or concerns!

Part 8

           Falling… Always falling… “Impact in 10…” The cold, bland, autonomous voice started to say over the comms net. I slowly reach up and check the seal of my rebreather, taking a deep breath as I do so. “…9…” I close my eyes and unconsciously check the safety of my rifle. “…8…” Exhale. Magazine check; all good. “…7…” I open my eyes and look around, only to see my squad preparing themselves. There’s a silence hanging in the air; the kind of silence you would only notice if you were actively looking for it. No one meets my gaze. “…6…” We all know why we’re here; what needs to be done. I slowly lower my eyes to the floor. “…5…” It never gets any easier… At least that’s what I told the new guys. The others know I’m lying of course; there comes a point where you just become… numb. “…4…” I just hope they’re ready. “…3…” They’ll learn to blot it all out soon enough though. “…2…” If they make it that long… “…1…” I hope they’ll forgive me someday… Then the world seems to scream and buck around us. Red hazard lights illuminate the inside of the pod; it’s almost as if we’re already in hell… No, that can’t be right… I’ve already been there before; this is nothing new. The world around us rips itself apart with an earsplitting bang and then…  

           Nothing. I’m not falling; not now at any rate. I’m in bed; my kit strewn about me. I was re-organizing it, right? That’s right… I’m with Kate, Jax, and the others… I’m not… there. “Nightmares again Rheys?” I hear Jax call out from the cot three down from mine. A few of the others are up but I must have woken him up. “Yeah… sorry mate. You know how it is…” My voice slowly trails off, eyes far away. Of course he knows; he was there too… all those years ago. He gets up and makes his way to my cot and sits down on the edge. He whispers, “It still gets to me too. Whenever we have a close call, I’m always reminded of it… No one here blames you for it… We’re all still a little jumpy. Hell, it hasn’t even been a full day since we came aboard.” He drifts off there for a moment, taking it in even as he said it. The past few months have been Hell tracking them down and when we finally caught them… “…rendezvous with them somewhere. I just know it’s close-by. Should only be few more hours.” Jax says, clearly unaware that I spaced out. He looks at me and frowns; worry lines crossing his scarred face.

“You didn’t catch any of that, did you?” I stare up at the ceiling, trying to focus on… absolutely nothing. “Sorry Jax. I guess my mind is still a little muddled from the past few weeks. Sorry if I woke you.” I roll back over onto my side, hoping to get a little more rest but doubtful that I will.

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             Rheys turns away and I watch her for a moment; I know she doesn’t want to sleep but exhaustion pulls her under anyway. It doesn’t take long before she’s tossing and turning again, no doubt dreaming about it again… I look around the crew bay we’ve been assigned and see the rest of our squad going about their own preparations; all while pointedly not looking at Rheys… they all know. With a heavy sigh, I slowly get to my feet and make my way back to my cot, lost on my own memories…  

         “What do you mean lost??” I demand to Anders, our comms operator. “Sergeant, the drop teams started taking heavy flak once they breached the lower atmosphere but according to Control, only a handful have successfully opened on their targets… Obsidian isn’t one of them…” He goes on with a steady flow of traffic, trying to keep us appraised of the situation but I don’t hear anything of it… There’s no way they could be gone… Not like that… “…1 and 3 have confirmed to have opened but taking heavy fire and-" I cut him off, suddenly aware of what he just said. “Did you just say that two of the pods have opened?” Only two… “Yes Sergeant, 1 and 3 have reported opening but they are reporting heavy fire at their location.” Even as he says this, I’m already issuing orders. They’re not that far away and we’re the closest team already on the ground… We can get to them before they get wiped out but only if we hurry. “Inform Control that we are going to move in and assist as needed. We’ve already done our job here, might as well be useful where we’re needed.” As he relays that to Control, I get the team ready to move, thankfully it’s an easy task. I can tell they’re a bit worried though, we’re not a heavily armed team, mostly sent here to recon and direct drops and fire as needed but that’s all over now. We’ve been down here for days already and no one has noticed so we at least have surprise and stealth on our side. “Sergeant, we’ve been given the green light to move in, but they stressed that we only engage if absolutely necessary. They don’t want to spook the target.” Spook the target…? I thought that they were supposed to take the town…

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         The world is spinning all around me, nothing is able to come into focus, and is someone… screaming? What's going on…? “…gotta get out of h-” The sudden sound of gunfire fills my ears as whoever was speaking let's off a burst of fire. What the hell happened…? Why am I laying on the ground? “We got hit on the way down Sergeant. You're hurt pretty bad and Salia and I had to pull you out of the wreckage.” I look over and can finally start to make out who spoke. Then it hits me, have I been talking out loud this whole time…? “Yes, you have Sergeant. But that's a good thing in my book.” Evans, my platoon doc says without missing a beat. “Collins is currently working the situation on site but we're under heavy fire and need to get you and the other wounded out of here.” Before I can ask anything else, I hear the cries for a medic over the chaos all around me and I realize that the screaming still hasn't stopped. “Doc, go deal with the others; I'll be alright.” I say as I try and sit up, only to realize I can't seem to move. “With all due respect Sergeant, you need my help more right now. You were unconscious for a hot minute after the crash and you've got a pretty nasty head wound that I can't clean up with you struggling like that.” He says, as I continue trying to get up. Only then do I notice that only one eye seems to be open and the left side of my head feels unnaturally warm. “Hey Doc…?” I start to say, anxiety and fear starting to creep into my voice as I process what he just said. “This head wound… Why can't I feel it…?” How bad could it really be if I can't feel it…? “Well, it’s bad enough that I'm staying here to try and patch you up. You probably can't feel it because of shock and the heavy dose of morphine I just gave you. Plus, you know, you've always been hardheaded to begin with.” He says with a laugh, no doubt hoping I'll believe it isn't that bad. He only ever jokes like that when he's genuinely worried… “Gotcha… but would that explain why I can't sit up?” I venture, not really knowing if I want the answer. I sense him stop what he's doing and can almost hear him thinking of a plausible lie to keep me hopeful. “Don't worry Doc, it's war. I can take it…” I say, turning my head slightly so that I can see him a little with my good eye.

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           “Sergeant, we just got our report from Corporal Micha of the scouts.” I look up from the charts I have spread out before me as Anders approaches. “It looks like the situation is pretty grim down there, to say the least.” He continues as he hands me the data-slate with Micha’s notes. It would seem that the towns anti-air batteries were able to strike down the second drop-pod and the remaining two adjusted their trajectory to crash-land to provide cover and yet… “Cannon fire? Is this confirmed?” I ask, looking to Anders to confirm. “This town, it shouldn’t have anything in the way of heavy ordinance. Even the anti-air wasn’t there two days ago when we last scouted here. What could have happened to-” I cut off suddenly, recalling what Control mentioned earlier. “Wait, didn’t Control tell us not to ‘spook the target’ or something?’” I say, looking through my notes. “Yes Sergeant, they weren’t very specific, and it did sound odd. Wasn’t Obsidians’ mission to take the town and hold it?” Anders says aloud while starting to search through his own comm-logs. “Well… ‘Spooking the target’ sounds a lot like there’s an HVT somewhere down there… Which would certainly explain the increased firepower.” As I continue to review Corporal Micha’s notes, I can’t help but think about the situation overall. Most of our drop-pods from the initial wave were all struck by anti-air and survivors stuck facing heavy ground forces at what would appear to be random, minor locations… like here for example. What should have been easily classified as soft targets, were now, seemingly at random, heavily fortified locations. Aside from that, this was a tertiary objective… Why in all the Gods did they Obsidian here…? “…of operations but it appears to have been changed last minute.” Anders voice cut through my thoughts suddenly. I look back over to him and see he’s holding his data-slate to me. “What was that? Sorry Anders, my mind was elsewhere.” I say, reaching out to take the offered data-slate. “No worries Sergeant, I was just saying that it appears that their orders were changed at the last minute, as you can no doubt see.” It’s true, looking over Anders’ logs, they originally were tasked with taking and holding the town for what I thought was to use it as a base of operations for further missions but it seems they were given more information than we were… go figure… “So, heavy cannon fire capable of damaging Obsidian’s downed drop-pods, sustained and accurate automatic fire from portable but reinforced locations, well placed marksman fire, and not to mention the surprising number of dug-in infantry… Plus they somehow managed to keep Obsidian, which is already down a whole squad, pinned near their initial landing site.” I make my adjustments to the charts before me in order to match it up with Micha’s report. “Now… What should we do to rescue them?” I ask aloud to my command team. “Any ideas?”

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           “Sergeant Rheys is alive, go spread the word! Parí, get that gun working, now! Hal, once she does, the both of you get it mounted up there on that lip and target the West Wing, third section. That blasted sniper has already hit two of us and I want his head!” I hear Corporal Mara yelling out, the steady stream of his orders clear for all to hear above the crushing noise of death all around us. “Private Terin!” I look over at the sound of my name being called out. “I need you to get with Private Varsa and on my mark, make your way over to Pod-1. Help free Varsa from his harness and get yourselves ready to move!” I’m already grabbing my kit and making my way towards Varsa before he finishes speaking. “On it Corporal!” I yell over my shoulder. “Be aware Terin,” Mara says, while grabbing my arm as I run by, “They are pinned down worse than we are right now, and I know Rheys will need all the help she can get over there. Make me proud, boy.” He lets go of my arm and gets back to yelling orders to the squad.

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           “Corporal Micha, do you see this?” I hear Benavos whisper on the comm-link. “Yeah, it looks like Squad 3 is finally getting up. Little surprise there… Wait… Mara, you can’t seriously expect the two of them to make it across that…” I muse out loud. “Rhodes, do you have eyes on the East side of Pod-3?” I ask over comms to my squad sniper. “Yeah, Corporal, I see them. There’s no way that they can make that dash. That’s easily 300 plus meters of open ground and the sniper on the West tower is pretty damn good…” Shit… If Rhodes is impressed, they really are in trouble. “I will say this, Corporal, he is easily within my range; just say the word and I’ll drop him.” I swiftly turn that down. We are here to recon the situation, not to engage… not yet. “We just need to get eyes on Sergeant Rheys and then we can adjust from there. Does anybody see her?” My team all keeps searching but no one says they see her anywhere. “Corporal, this is Sanders,” I hear Rhodes’ spotter call in, “I can make out what looks like Doc Evans and others pulling people out and… shit…” He cuts off suddenly and I pan my scanner over to Pod-1. “Damn it! That’s Rheys! Toki, get back to Sergeant Amanto and tell him Rheys is hit. Tell him it looks bad. Run now!” I call out to one of my scouts and watch as he takes off running. Blast it all… now what do we do?

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           “Listen Amanda… You’ve been hit pretty bad and in a lot of places. I…” Doc looks away, clearly not wanting to continue. “What he won’t say is that we had to cut your right leg above the knee in order to get you out of that crash and you’re on quite a bit of pain meds at the moment.” Kate Sparrow, one of Doc Evans’ Corpsman interrupts. “Doc, I can handle her, you go back to the others out front. They really do need you more, sir.” With a heavy sigh, Evans gets up and looks at me sadly before saying, “I know you don’t need me to tell you, but without help, a lot more of us won’t make it out of here…” Then he turns around and makes his way back to the drop-pod. “Sparrow, sit-rep?” I ask sullenly. “Well Sergeant, I don’t know much other than we came down hard and wrong. Corporal Collins took charge when we found you pinned and unconscious, but we are pretty damn close to the towns wall and we’ve been taking heavy fire ever since. Now, let me get you cleaned up some more and don’t worry. We already cauterized the wound but listen to me, you are out of this fight. What you can do to he-” She is suddenly cut of by a whistling that cuts across the battlefield. “INCOMING!!!” I look over just in time to see Evans running back before the world is overwhelmed in a flash of light.

#HUMANS ARE WEIRD #humans are crazy #humans are insane #humans are space orcs #humans are space australians #humans are space oddities #Humans are space fae #science fiction #scifi #story #short story #storytelling

[embklitzke]

UNSETIC Files: Lost and Found sneak peek

For two years, AJ McConaway fought to get her brother back.  One phone call changed everything.

Timothy McConaway isn't the man he was when he vanished.  Changed and broken, he is a man struggling to find his bearings in a world he no longer knows as he once did--a man whose existence has been utterly altered by two years of slavery and privation.

With the help of Tim's former lover Kate Berkshire and his UNSETIC partner, Brigid O'Connell, AJ embarks on a quest to help her brother rebuild his shattered psyche and broken spirit.  Before their journey ends, the four will uncover one of the greatest secrets ever kept, one that will alter their perception of their world forever.

Check below the cut for a sneak peek at the first chapter of UNSETIC Files: Lost and Found.

One

           “I’m getting sick of this bloody dodging bullets bullshit.”

           I choked on a laugh, shaking my head as I met Kate Berkshire’s glower head-on.  “That’s because you’re not getting any better at it.”

           “No, I’m getting worse,” the Irish soldier snapped, then swore, glaring at the medic to her left.  “What was that for?”

           “Stop your bitching,” Joshua Talmadge growled, not looking up from his work on Kate’s left arm.  “You’re lucky it looks like it’s just a through and through.  If it was any worse we’d be at U of C Medical trying to explain how you happened to wander in front of a bullet and oh no, please don’t involve the police, there’s no need to report anything it’s just a silly mistake no real harm done as you’re bleeding on a freaking gurney.”

           “I’m sure you could pull it off, Josh,” I said, patting the doctor on the shoulder.  He snorted humorlessly and shook his head.

           “Don’t patronize me, McConaway. You’re ill-suited to it.”

           “I don’t know, I think she’s pretty good at it.” Kate smiled weakly.  “Just a scratch.”

           “You could be bleeding out with your intestines falling out of a hole in your gut and it’d be ‘just a scratch.’”  I grinned ruefully—after all, there really wasn’t anything that funny about the hole in Kate’s arm—as I started to dig around for my cell, which had started vibrating in my back pocket.

           “Popular today, aren’t you?”  Kate waved me away with her good hand as she saw me digging around for my phone.  “Go take it. I’m not going anywhere until the good doctor’s done with me.”

           Don’t recognize that area code.  “It’s probably a wrong number anyway.  I’ll be right back.  Try not to piss off Josh while I’m gone, huh?”  I ducked out of the infirmary and into the hall.  We’d been back in the Portal Corps headquarters in downtown Chicago for maybe fifteen minutes, returned from yet another off-world foray that had probably resulted in more trouble than it was worth.  I glanced down at my phone’s screen again and shook my head as I tapped it and lifted the phone to my ear.  This had better be quick.  I don’t have time to break away from refereeing right now. “This is McConaway.”

           “Hello, Dr. McConaway?  My name is Brigid O’Connell, and I have some news about your brother.”

           My heart stopped.  Brigid O’Connell had been the name of the woman who’d led the search after Tim and Mat had disappeared over the deserts of Iraq.  They’d found Mat’s plane but no trace of him in it.

           What could she possibly know?  She’s not with the Corps.  I’d know if she was.

           “Doctor?  Are you there?”

           “Of course.  Of course.  I—I’m sorry.” I took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, trying to will my heart to slow down, to force my guts to cooperate. “I’m here.  I—what do you have to tell me, Miss O’Connell?”

           “It’s Lieutenant O’Connell, actually, and...he’s here.”

           “It’s nice to—wait, what?”  This has to be a dream, some kind of hallucination.  I got shot instead of Kate.  That’s it. I’m hallucinating because I’ve lost way too much blood and I’m dreaming this.

           “Here, you talk to her.”

           “What?  Wait a second here—”

           It was his voice, unmistakably my brother.  My heart thudded against my breastbone and every breath was a battle.

           How did he get back?  How is he—where is he?  There was a tremor in my voice as I dared to speak his name.  “Tim?”

           He sighed into the phone.  “Hey AJ.  Are you okay?”

           “No.  No, not okay. Where are you?”

           “Virginia,” he said.  “Alexandria.  Where are you?”

           “Chicago.  Where else would I be?”  I squeezed my eyes shut.  How had he gotten to Virginia without us knowing? Was there another Portal somewhere near there that we didn’t know about?

           Goddammit, there’s too much we don’t know.

           There were a thousand questions I wanted to ask him—chief among them was how the hell he’d ended up in Virginia without our knowing that he was back on Earth.  I couldn’t ask that question over the phone, though, especially not with O’Connell there with him, not without knowing what she might know about him, about what he’d been through.  I squeezed my eyes shut, sagging against the wall.

           “Sis?  You there?”

           “I’m here,” I said, voice coming choked from a throat so tight I could barely breathe.  “Are you safe?”

           “Why wouldn’t I be?”

           I caught a hitch in his voice and shivered.  We both know why—but do you remember that I know, that Kate knows?

           He said that he wouldn’t.  He was going to make himself forget so he could protect us.  Damn it all.

           “Just making sure,” I whispered.  “I...I need to see you.  I need an address.”  Kate would want to come with me.  Scott and Sierra would be expecting a report from us on the last run.  There wouldn’t be time to write one before I—before we—left.

           A thought struck me.  Had they known he was back?  Had he somehow shown up while Kate and I were on a run and they just hadn’t told us?

           No.  No, they wouldn’t keep a secret like that from us. If they tried, it would be a cover up of epic proportions.  Bryn would say something.  There’d be no hesitation.  If she knew, we’d know.  End of story.

           Scott and Sierra couldn’t have known—no one connected to the Corps knew.  That was for certain.  Last we’d known, he was missing, list somewhere among the Portals and the countless worlds.  Even the Cabal had seemingly lost track of him, though they hunted for him—he was a valuable asset as far as they were concerned.

           Tim rattled off an address.  I wrote it on my hand, struggling not to drop my phone as I did. My heart was going three times its normal speed.

           “You’ll be there?”  I asked, my voice still shaking.

           “I don’t know where else I’d go,” he said quietly. “If I’m not there, I’ll be here. Call this number if you need to.”

           “Absolutely,” O’Connell’s voice said in the background. “I’ll help her find you if you’re not already here.”

           “Not like I’ve got anywhere to go,” he said, his voice a little muffled.

           My eyes stung.  You could come here.  You could come home.  I glanced toward the door to the infirmary, biting down hard on my lower lip.  Why hadn’t he come here?  Why hadn’t he come home?

           There must be a good reason.  I’ll find out what it is.

           “I’m coming there,” I said.  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.  I’ll be there tomorrow, as early as I can.  I promise.  Don’t go anywhere.”

           “I won’t,” he said quietly.  “I’ll see you.”

           “Tim?”

           “Yeah?”

           “I missed you,” I said in a bare whisper.  “We all missed you.  I...I’m glad you’re back.”

           There was a long silence on the other end of the line before he said, “Yeah.  So am I, AJ. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

           “Love you.”

           “I love you, too.  Be careful.”

           He hung up and I stood there in the hall, staring at the wall without actually seeing it in front of me.  My brother was back on Earth.  He was home.

           Why hadn’t anyone told us before now?

           I knuckled my eyes and exhaled a shaky breath, counting to ten before I straightened.  Shoving my phone into my pocket, I headed back into the infirmary, hoping I didn’t look half as shaken as I felt.

           “That was a long wrong number,” Kate said before her gaze met mine.  Then she saw the look on my face and all good-humored teasing evaporated.  Her expression grew serious.  “What’s the matter?”

           I closed the door behind me.  “I just talked to Tim.”

           “Tim?  My Tim?”

           “He’s my Tim, too,” I reminded her.  “He was my Tim first.”

           Her complexion was ashen.  “Whatever.  You talked to him?  How is that even possible?”

           “Should I be here for this?”  Josh asked, glancing up from Kate’s stitches.  “Because I can go if this is classified six feet above my ass.”

           “It’s not,” I said, even though I wasn’t actually sure of that.  “It’s fine. Just finish up.”

           “He wants me to go get some x-rays,” Kate said with a slight glower.  “Something about getting lucky if I didn’t nick the bone.”

           “I just said it was a good idea,” Josh said. “You told me it hurt more than the last time you got shot and it hurt deep. That means bone or deep tissue damage. Do you want to be safe about this or not?”

           “You’re the one who was moaning about U of C Medical.”

           “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

           “Would you two stop bickering for twenty seconds?” I snapped.  “Kate, I’m driving to Virginia.  I’m driving tonight. Are you coming?”

           “Why—oh.  Is that where he is?”

           “That’s where he said he is.”  My lips thinned.  “How the hell did he get back to Earth without our knowing?”

           Josh frowned.  “Is he one of those ones the Cabal nabbed a few years ago?”

           “Yeah,” Kate said.  “He’s practically the only one we’ve ever had a chance of bringing back, too.”

           I could still hear the pain and regret in her voice when she talked about that missed opportunity, even though it had been the better part of two years ago—two years this coming June.  It wasn’t that it frustrated me any less, but she’d been clinging even tighter to the hope of bringing him home in those few days than I had.

           He’d asked her to keep a promise and I’d never quite been able to bring myself to ask her what that promise was.

           There’s no way that she’s just going to stay here if he’s back, if he’s within reach. There’s no way.  I just stared at her, waiting for the answer I knew was coming.

           She didn’t meet my gaze as she said, “I’ll cover for you. Call your uncle and get going.”

           “You’d bet—what?”  Wait, she’s not coming with me? “Kate—”

           “Scott and Sierra are going to need a report and I can make it for both of us,” Kate said quietly, finally lifting her eyes to meet mine. There was a familiar pain there, the deep one that I’d seen in snatches and glimpses since the day we’d left my brother on Mydiar.  “I had days with him back then.  You had five minutes.  Go.  Go see him and make sure it’s real.  Make sure we’re not going to lose him again.”

           My throat tightened.

           She doesn’t want to come with me because she’s afraid that it’s not going to last—that we’re going to lose him all over again.

           Truth be told, I was afraid of the same thing, but I had to believe that this time he was back for good.  I didn’t know how he’d managed it, but I was sure as hell going to find out.

           “Are you sure?” I asked.

           “I’m positive.”  Kate glanced down at her knees, shaking her head.  “I’ll fly out tomorrow or the next day.  Call me when you get there and I’ll call you about the flight or...or whatever.  Go call Chris and tell him you’re going out of town and then get going before Scott or Sierra show up and stop you.”

           “It’s going to be a lonely drive,” I whispered.  I was sure she’d come with me.  I didn’t plan on doing this alone.

           “You’ll be fine,” Kate said.  “Go.”

           I shivered, nodding.  This felt far too familiar.  “All right.  I’ll call when I get there.”

           “Drive safe.”

           I gave her and Josh each a tight smile and slipped out into the hall, heart thudding leadenly against my breast.  Kate was right.  I needed to get out of headquarters before Scott Andrews or Sierra O’Rourke caught up with me—otherwise, I wouldn’t be getting out of the city anytime soon.

           I booked for the stairs that would take me up to the rehabbed print shop’s foyer and Printer’s Row beyond.  If I was quick, I’d be able to make it to the L in time to be home before the sun went down.  I needed my car and a couple of changes of clothes from the house.

           It was out of the way, but I didn’t have a choice. I needed the clothes and the least I could do before driving east was let my uncle know that I’d be doing it. He’d come to terms with what I did every day—he knew about half of it, anyhow—but I knew it went hard on him when I was away.

           I was all he had left.  His brother—my father—was dead and the two boys Christopher McConaway had raised alongside me were missing and had been for three years.

           Do I tell him, or do I play the waiting game and spare his heart like Kate’s asking me to spare hers?  My lips thinned as I stepped out into the gloom of a February afternoon in Chicago, grimacing as I realized I’d left my coat downstairs before we’d left on our jaunt beyond the Portal.  It was still hanging on the back of my chair in my office, the one I shared with Carson Matthews, a cultural anthropologist whose father had been one of the ones kidnapped three years ago the same way Tim and Mat had been.  Carson was newer to the Corps, had only been with us six months, but he was catching on fast.

           I shivered in the wind and shook my head as I felt around in my pocket for my keys and found them.  Not going back down there.  If I go back down there, I’m going to get waylaid. There’s no doubt about that.  I’ll just make a run for the station.  I won’t freeze to death if I hurry.

           Sucking in a deep breath, I sprinted for the stairs to the Red Line station a block from where I’d been standing, hoping that my wallet was in the bag I was still carrying from the off-world run and that I hadn’t left it with my coat.

           Too late now.  Already made the run for it.

           I stumbled down the concrete steps and into the warmth of the subway tunnel, already shivering from the late winter chill.  It had been a relatively mild winter here in Chicago, but that didn’t mean it was much warmer than bitter cold—especially not this close to the lakeshore.  I dug around in my bag, hoping to find my wallet and eventually locating it in the deepest, darkest corner of the bag as I made my way to the turnstiles guarding the entry to the train platforms.

           I breathed a sigh of relief as my fingers closed around my CTA card.  Small favors.  That’s all I can ever ask for.

           I took the train from Harrison and hit my connections—Red Line to Blue all the way to Rosemont where I’d left my car. Sometimes I took the Metra all the way in and out of the city, but when I didn’t know when I’d be coming home, I liked the convenience of leaving my Jeep closer to downtown rather than at the Metra stations in Barrington or Schaumburg.  I stared out the windows of the train, at the city and at tunnel walls, fingers tapping against my knee in agitated impatience, all the way from the station where I’d gotten on the Blue Line to Rosemont, where my insane life with the Corps and UNSETIC had begun.  It felt like a long time ago.

           How am I going to tell him?  How am I going to break that news?

           I wasn’t sure if I was trying to figure out how to explain this to my uncle, or how I was going to break the news to my brother that our other uncle, our mother’s brother Peter, was dead.  I didn’t know which one would be harder.

           I closed my eyes and sighed.  Dammit.

           The train stopped at Rosemont and I got off, went hunting for my car.  Somewhere between there and home, I’d figure out how I was going to tell Uncle Chris.

           I really didn’t have much choice about that.

---------------------------------

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#UNSETIC Files #sneak preview #UNSETIC Files: Lost and Found #Lost and Found #AJ McConaway #Tim McConaway #Brigid O'Connell #Kate Berkshire #previews

[jbuffyangel]

Exhausted: This Is Us 3x05 Review (Toby)

This Is Us focuses on the Pearsons’ significant others in “Toby.” It’s an extremely packed episode, which probably means they need to focus on the supporting characters more frequently. There is a connective thread with Toby, Beth and Miguel, beyond just being married to Pearsons, finally being explored, which I am excited about. They each carry their spouses to the point of exhaustion.

Let’s dig in...

Toby and Kate

Chris Sullivan carries this episode on those big, broad shoulders and gives us a side of Toby we haven’t seen. At his core, Toby is caretaker and in that way reminds me of my husband who is also just as amazing.  But there are times I want to ask Toby, “Aren’t you exhausted? I am a glass half full, rainbows and unicorns type person, but even I cannot compete with Toby’s energy, positivity and enthusiasm. Toby is always on. He’s almost superhuman in that way.

Well, it turns out Toby is not superhuman and yes, he is exhausted. We see flashbacks of Baby Toby, who is the very definition of the cutest, and we learn Toby’s sadness has always been part of him. In fact, he’s very similar to his mother. Is depression genetic? If yes, then I didn’t know that. 

Anywho, Toby’s mother is overwhelmed with a new baby and fighting constantly with his jerk of a father.

“There’s so much of her in you it scares me.”

THAT IS NOT SOMETHING YOU SAY TO YOUR CHILD! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?

Unfortunately, Toby’s father does not view depression as a medical ailment and simply advises his son to get his “mopey” attitude under control because it won’t play well as an adult. What a prize this guy is.

Toby used his wonderful sense of humor to cheer up his depressed Mom as a child. Ugh my heart. As for Toby’s mother, just speaking from experience, sometimes you really just need “one damn day.” You’re doing great, sweetie.

Toby’s last live in girlfriend wasn’t able to handle his moods and she left him, which sent Toby spiraling deeper in his depression. Eventually, he started seeing a therapist, started taking meds and then he met Kate.

I would classify Kate the same as me – high maintenance. This works well with someone who gravitates more towards the caretaker role. But the focus needs to shift time to time, so your partner doesn’t feel short changed.

Toby spends a great deal of time cheering Kate up, cheering Kate on, and being her “rock” as she earnestly put it. However, Toby’s need to be Kate’s hero has led him down a disastrous plan of going off his meds. The sadness is coming back and Toby doesn’t know what to do other than pretend it’s not happening.

However, once Kate announces she’s pregnant (YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FINALLY SOME GOOD NEWS FOR THESE TWO), Toby’s rock wall of positivity and joy goes tumbling down. He sobs into wife’s arms. 

Letting go and succumbing to the depression isn’t weakness. It’s strength. Sometimes you need to drown before you can swim.  Sometimes you need to go deep into the hole before you can figure your way out.

It’s also a hugely important moment in Kate and Toby’s marriage. I always say marriage is not 50/50. Sometimes it’s 90/10 or 40/60. What you and your partner need day to day and year to year shifts. 

I think it’s fair to say though Toby has been carrying his share of emotional burdens. Toby can’t be sad because Kate is. Toby can’t worry because it’ll make Kate worry more. Toby can’t be angry because Kate is lashing out from pain and grief, so he just has to take it. It goes on and on and on, which is why I wanted to ask Toby, “Aren’t you exhausted?”

This isn’t Kate’s fault either. We can only know what our partner shares with us. Toby kept Kate out. He wanted to be the rock and she needed a rock. It was a mutually beneficial relationship until it wasn’t. That’s marriage. You have to grow and evolve with your partner.

Now it’s about what Toby needs. Toby needs to know he doesn’t have to be in control all the time. He needs to know Kate isn’t going to leave him when the sadness comes. Toby needs to let Kate all the way in. It’s her turn to be the rock.

Randall and Beth

I love you Randall. You are a deeply good human being. You are a blessing to all the lives you touch, but sometimes my friend, you leap before you look.

Randall and Beth are preparing for his first campaign event and my first thought was...

Beth just lost her job. Maybe this isn’t the best time to be piling on. Are they independently wealthy? That house is huge and it must come with a serious mortgage. Do they not have bills to pay? Everyone seems very calm about the whole no income situation. I would not be this calm. Then again, maybe Randall listens to Suze Orman and has 12 months of savings.

Side bar: Every time my husband and I saved whatever monthly sum Suze Orman said we needed she would then add another three months. For example, we’d save 3 months and she’d say save 6 months. We’d save 6 and she’d say 9. And so on. It made my husband very cranky and now I’m not allowed to watch Suze Orman because he says she turns me into a crazy person. End side bar.

Unfortunately, Randall just dives right in and tells the people who came for free barbecue all the ways they are wrong about their current council man. He has a bit of a faceoff with the restaurant owner who explains the current councilman saved his business years ago. People don’t owe him loyalty. They owe him their lives.

Yeesh. Yeah, probably should have put some quiet feelers out there Randall. Maybe a poll Jed Bartlet style. I don’t know what this means for Randall’s future as city councilman, but he’s not off to a great start.

What I really want to talk about is BETH. My queen is not doing great. She is putting up a good show of confidence in front of Randall about interviewing for new jobs and fielding six figure offers. 

Source: livelovecaliforniadreams

However, she broke down crying in an interview. She’s not expecting a call back and Beth is right.

What’s sad is Beth doesn’t feel like she can share this with Randall. She constantly has to be on like Toby. Beth is so busy nurturing Randall’s dreams and easing his anxiety there’s very left over for her – both in the relationship and within herself.

Of course she broke down in an interview! Beth honey you were fired from the business you helped build. Grab some booze and take a week off girl. You need it.

But Beth can’t do that. She has to support her family. If she’s worried then it means Randall will worry more. And on and on and on it goes.

Miguel and Rebecca

Poor Miguel. I think he’s been given a bad rap. He’s trying to so hard to be there for the kids and Rebecca, but he’s not trying to take Jack’s place. That’s impossible. He’s simply trying to keep his promise to Jack. 

Source: @livelovecaliforniadreams

There are people who are such a force in our life that it's difficult to imagine them ever dying. It's impossible in fact.

It’s an exhaustive effort from Miguel. Literally. He carries a piano upstairs and spends the better part of the day fixing Rebecca’s refrigerator. Then he gives a pep talk to Randall (which is not well well received) and lets drunk Kevin crash at his place. This was just one day. I’m sure it makes Miguel feel for Rebecca on a whole other level.

I understand the kid’s reservations to Miguel. Their guard is up. They are protective of their father and the hole his passing has put in the family. But I’m fond of Miguel for the same reason the Pearson children are guarded around him - he is not biological and he reminds me of my grandmother. 

My mother’s mom died when she was 19. Her father (my grandpa) eventually remarried. My mother liked her step mother and even grew to love her, but the day my sister was born my father had a tough conversation with my mom. He said, “I know this is going to be hard to hear, but Jeanne will be the only grandmother our children will ever know. So, I think you need to think seriously about the kids calling her Grandma.” My father’s mother was also gone by this time. 

My mom said it was hard to hear, but she knew her step mother would be an amazing grandmother. And she was. My Grandma Jeanne wasn’t my biological grandmother, but she was the only one I had and she was truly wonderful. I like to think she was a gift my Grandma Noella and Grandma Sara sent to us.

So, when I look at Miguel I think what a gift he is to the Pearson family. And it’s what Jack thought as well. It’s why he asked Miguel to look after his family.

Kevin and Zoe

This is a safe space. I am going to raise my stupid white person hand and say I too did not know what the pillowcase was for. So, thank you Kevin Pearson. Your ignorance illuminated my ignorance and I learned something! 

The scenes between Kevin and Don Robinson, Jack’s army buddy, are truly wonderful. 

Source: livelovecaliforniadreams

There’s so much pride in Robinson’s voice as he reveals the truth to Kevin. Jack hid this piece of his life for a good reason, but there is so much to be proud of as well. It’s really a defining moment in the series, where Kevin realizes how much of a hero his father was and how little he really knows about his time in Vietnam.

I was kind of scratching my head when Robinson said Jack never wrote him back. Does that sound like Jack Pearson thing to do? I shrugged it off though and just chalked it up to Jack trying to leave the war behind like Don said. But then, he finds Kevin and gives him the letters. Robinson had to measure the promises he made to Jack versus the wishes of his son. Not an easy decision, but I think he made the right one. Those letters are going to be illuminating.

Source:  wondersprince

As for the photograph and the woman with the necklace, the same necklace Kevin wears with his father’s dog tags, I’m not sure what it means. Obviously, this person is incredibly important to Jack or else he wouldn’t have kept the necklace for all these years. Could it have been romantic? Sure. If it was does it mean Rebecca wasn’t Jack’s true love? No, not at all.

Keep in mind Vietnam was pre-Rebecca. Jack was pretty clear when he met Rebecca he knew immediately she was “The one.” However, we love many  people in our life. It’s okay to carry pieces of them with you, which is what I think Jack has done. He kept a piece of this woman with him, just like he kept a piece of Don Robinson with him when he place his hands on his children's’ faces and said, “Breathe.”

Stray Thoughts

I think Randall’s dual culture upbringing is strength. He is a black man who was raised in white culture. I think it gives him unique perspective and he belongs in both worlds. It’s not an either or. Maybe this makes me naive but it’s what I think.

Holy crap is this how in vitro really works? It’s so friggin expensive and the success rate is so low! Wow. Sending snuggles to everyone who has every struggled with infertility. You are not alone.

Randall unbuttoning his shirt is all the reason I need to vote for him. Done deal.

Randall: All his lemonade froze Beth.

Beth: Yeah but he was stupid baby.

I love everything about them. I ship it like Fed Ex.

Three hours to get ready Kate? Just as an FYI - that’s all over when you have a baby. You’ll be lucky to get a shower.

Nobody had fun at prom? Man, can teen Pearsons catch a break at some point?

A+ on the prom dresses. Absolutely what I wore in high school. We were slaves to fashion in the late nineties. ;)

I’m super confused. So, Randall’s date wouldn’t go to prom with him because her dad is a racist asshole? How does that work? You are in the dress. The hair is done. Randall Pearson is looking gorgeous in a tux and has a corsage ready to go. You tell dad to go to hell and get in the damn limo kid. Where is her mother in all of this??? What is wrong with people????

Kate’s impression of Adele is dead on.

Rebecca is such an amazing mom. Kate doesn’t give her nearly enough credit.

#this is us #kate and toby #this is us 3x05 #randall and beth #toby damon #beth pearson #miguel rivas #rebecca pearson #kevin and zoe #kevin pearson #kate pearson #randall pearson #this is us season 3 #this is us season 3 review

[kiss-my-freckle]

Timeline notes

1x1 -

Ressler: Raymond “Red” Reddington attended the Naval Academy. Top of his class. Graduated by the time he was 24. He was being groomed for admiral. Then in 1990, Reddington’s coming home to see his wife and his daughter for Christmas. He never arrives. This highly respected officer up and disappears from the face of the earth until four years later when classified NOFORN documents start showing up in Maghreb, Islamabad, Beijing. These leaks were traced to Reddington. This guy’s an equal opportunity offender, a facilitator of sorts, who’s built an enterprise brokering deals for fellow criminals. He has no country. He has no political agenda. Reddington’s only allegiance is to the highest bidder. Tech: They call him something in the papers. Cooper: “The Concierge of Crime.”

2x1 -

Aram: So he’s looking for someone who lived in D.C. before 1990, has a prescription for Lipitor through Medco, downloads World War II documentaries on Netflix not Amazon and has a digital subscription to both the Wall Street Journal and CatFanatic.

Naomi: I had a life, you know? My daughter had a life with a house and a dog. And then I woke up one day. You can’t imagine what it’s like to have a man like Raymond Reddington turn your life upside down. They accused me of being a part of it? Somehow, I was a suspect. Put my life under a - a microscope every call, every charge. My assets were - I finally convinced them I was innocent. They said I had to go, give up everything. I remember it was a Wednesday afternoon. My daughter wasn’t even out of school yet. And by Thursday, we were in Philadelphia, fending for ourselves.

2x2 -

Liz: I confirmed your daughter was placed in protective custody with her mother in 1990. The Marshal service lost contact seven years ago. She is unaccounted for.

2x8 -

Berlin/Kirchhoff: It was in ’91. The Soviet union was falling apart. A small group of us. Members of the Politburo, the military, KGB, Stasi. Had a plan to push back the progressives, to stem the tide. We were meeting and discussing strategy when a bomb. Red: The Kursk Bombing. Berlin/Kirchhoff: Fifteen died. And with them, our resistance. Rumors began that the Americans were involved. One name emerged. Yours. You came after my daughter. You exposed her as a dissident. She went to jail. After that, my loyalty was questioned. I was exiled to the Gulag, where, one by one, her bones were sent to me.

Liz: You’re working with Berlin? Red: I need to talk to you about a bombing in the Soviet union Kursk, 1991.

2x10 -

Several TV news people: We are just now getting word of a story developing out of Hong Kong. Sources say authorities there have apprehended legendary criminal Raymond Reddington. He’s been on the FBI’s Most Wanted list longer than any other fugitive, but tonight, sources are confirming Reddington was arrested in Hong Kong just hours ago. Reddington was once a rising star at the Pentagon. Sources say he was being groomed for admiral when, on Christmas Eve, 1990, while on his way home to visit his wife and daughter, Reddington vanished. Reporter: Four years later, Reddington resurfaced and was charged with treason in absentia for selling top-secret American intelligence to foreign states.

3x4 -

Red: I was completely swept up in the idealism of the theatre owner - a pipe-smoking cream puff of a German named Gerta. She read “Mother Courage” to me aloud - the whole play in one sitting. A brilliant exploration of the politics of war and those who profit from it. Sadly, it was 1991, and audiences were going in droves to see “Cats.”

3x11 -

Liz. Who is this guy? He claims he’s Reddington? Samar: Yes, and we can’t disprove it with DNA because there’s nothing on file from 1990 when Reddington disappeared.

Devry: March 8, 1985, I ran point on an attack on the Beirut home of Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah. June 1989, I coordinated Operation Minesweep, which provided back office support and oversight for Naval Intelligence operations in Kuwait carried out by the 160th SOAR.

3x16 -

Red: Velov is the one who lied to you, Lizzy, not me. Katarina Rostova committed suicide in 1990.

4x13 -

Red: I first met Stratos Sarantos when he was running guns to Cypriot resistance fighters in 1987. For more than 20 years, he’s overseen my shipping concerns from the Bosphorus to the Suez Canal.

4x16 -

Cooper: Kathryn Nemec is missing? Aram: Yeah, she disappeared in 1991, just dropped off the grid.

Aram: Kathryn Nemec. But she’s been missing since 1991.

5x19 -

Red: In 1990, the KGB and the CIA had almost nothing in common except the mutual determination to hunt down one individual. Jennifer: You. Red: Being a fugitive from American law enforcement is a lot easier than being a fugitive from the two most powerful nations on Earth. And anyone close to a target of theirs becomes a target themselves. Jennifer: Family. Red: Especially family. Unless they’re abandoned on the side of a road on Christmas Eve. Jennifer: After you left, we went into Witness Protection. Red: Put where the Cabal wouldn’t find you.

6x1 -

Liz: Raymond Reddington is a fraud. An imposter who took our father’s place over 30 years ago. The FBI can trace this Reddington forward from ’95. And I know for a fact that our father died five years before that.

6x5 -

Jennifer: It’s not the data, but it turns out the file names were coded using patient-intake dates. October 3, 1991. Liz: The date Reddington was admitted?

6x9 -

Sima: As the ranking officer on that Reddington Task Force, were you familiar with an incident that occurred involving the U.S.S. Gideon in March of 1990? Ressler: I was. Yes. The U.S.S. Gideon was an Ohio-class submarine sunk by the Soviet Navy while on a secret mission in the Barents Sea. 134 men were on board. They all died.

Red: If you found his archives, I need the tape of a phone call he recorded on December 7, 1990.

Cooper: Reddington told us to look for a very specific needle in this haystack. A recording taken on December 7, 1990.

Cooper: We’ll start over. Samar: Uh, I don’t think we have to. December 7, 1990.

Samar: It can’t be a coincidence that Reddington is looking for a recording made on December 7th, and, on December 11th, an assassin injures Bailey and murders a man who appears to have been his lover. Liz: Maybe he used the tape to try and blackmail someone who didn’t take kindly to being blackmailed.

Nuss: A month before the incident, a corporate account was opened in a Cypriot bank known to work with Soviet intelligence. The only person with the power to withdraw funds was the company president. Sima: And who was that? Nuss: Raymond Reddington. Sima: I’m sure many accounts were opened in the weeks prior to the tragedy of the Gideon. What makes you think the activity in this account was connected to it? Nuss: Because a front company for the KGB wired $3 million into the account a day before the incident, and another $3 million the day after it. One week later, the entire amount was withdrawn. Sima: By Reddington? Nuss: Yes. Using fingerprints and a password.

Red: You said the withdrawal required fingerprints and a password. Nuss: It was done remotely. Red: So if someone had a copy of my fingerprints and knew the password, they could have made the withdrawal, and no one at the bank, nor yourself, would have known the difference? Nuss: I, uh - suppose that’s possible. Red: Yes. You know what else is possible? That I was framed by Katarina Rostova, which I could prove if Your Honor would grant me even the shortest - Judge Wilkins: All right, the court will stand in recess.

20, 25, 30 years

Cooper: Remember, he’s been off the grid for over 20 years. (1x2) Cooper: Reddington has brokered some of the most comprehensive international criminal activity in the past 20 years. (1x2) Red: I’ve been moving comfortably through the world for the past 20 years without a trace, and now some two-bit spy killer is gonna put my life and business in jeopardy? (1x3) Fitch: Ray. It’s been, what - 20 years? (1x10) Red: No traffic. No cars to come help. Just me and a car full of gifts. It was more than 20 years ago. (Christmas Eve, 1x14) Tom: Best I can tell, their paths have crossed at key moments in the past 20 years. Quantico, Baltimore. (1x16) Naomi: If you’re looking for him, I can’t help you. You have to listen to me. Reddington - I haven’t I haven’t seen him in 20 years. (2x1) Samar: He’s been on the run for 25 years. His arrest was bound to happen. (2x10) Liz: They put a bullet in your chest, and you have no idea how. You’re the most cautious person I know. The FBI couldn’t find you for 20 years, but they did. (2x21) Aram: Because it was listed in the Fulcrum. 25 years ago, Hanover was a low-level staffer on the Hill. (3x3) Hitchin: I know about the Fulcrum. I’ve seen the list. It’s 25 years old. (3x5) Red: Your past three months have been what my life has been like for the past 25 years. I’m often exhausted. (3x11) Cooper: He disappeared 25 years ago. Could’ve had surgery. (3x11) Dom: I could’ve spent the last 30 years just being her grandfather - you selfish prick. (3x20) Kirk: I’ve been imagining this moment for the last 25 years. (3x23) Red: I know what it’s like to be hunted. I’ve protected myself for 30 years. (4x1) Red: I’ve been disappearing for over 25 years. I don’t need your help to disappear. (4x7) Tom: From 30 years ago. Clearly, it was flawed. (Kirk's DNA test, 4x7) Cooper: But she’s been missing for 25 years. (Kate, 4x16) Liz: He stole it from me 25 years ago. That’s why we needed you to get it back. (Fire memory, 4x19) Red: Understand this was 25 years ago now. I was younger, myself. Intent on building an empire, intent on becoming the powerful criminal the world had been told I already was. (4x19) Red: Nikolaus has been on my payroll since I introduced him to you 25 years ago. (4x19) Liz: From 25 years ago? No. But then, you wouldn’t be very good at your job if I did. (4x19) Red: I’ve spent 30 years building an intelligence network of spies, informants, patriots, traitors. (4x20) Liz: Kaplan spent 30 years tending to his messes while Reddington built his criminal empire, and it took her five months to surgically dismantle it. (4x21) Kate: I’ve been his cleaner, keeper, and confessor for 30 years, and I’m prepared to tell you everything you need to know in open court. (4x21) Dom: My own granddaughter three feet away after almost 30 years, I couldn’t say a damn thing to her. (5x13) Jennifer: Perhaps you’ve heard of him. His name’s Raymond Reddington. He’s been on the FBI’s Most Wanted List for 20 years. (5x18) Garvey: Everything you believed for the last 30 years has been a lie. You’ve spent a lifetime hiding for no reason. (5x19) Sutton Ross: For 30 years, I’ve wanted to be in the same room as Raymond Reddington, the bastard who tricked me into selling the Chinese a dodo bird when they were looking for an eagle. (5x22) Liz: Why he came into my life, why he took your life, why he spent the last 30 years pretending to be Raymond Reddington. I’m gonna figure all that out, and then I’m going to destroy him. (5x22) Liz: Raymond Reddington is a fraud. An imposter who took our father’s place over 30 years ago. (6x1) Liz: We haven’t seen him in over 30 years. He became a fugitive when we were kids. (6x1) Liz: Raymond Reddington. Not the real one, the reinvented one. The one who’s been Raymond Reddington for 30 years, longer than anyone else. (6x2) Aram: 30 years on the run, and a beat cop picks him up at a pretzel cart. (6x2) Sima: You’re aware that, for almost 30 years, he’s maintained a vast criminal empire - (6x3) Red: Getting caught after 30 years? The odds were, I’d be caught after three. (6x4) Red: Officer Baldwin, I’ve been evading the police and law enforcement for almost 30 years. (6x5)

#dialogues

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch42: Maybe Baby Part 1- I Made That

Intro: Katie and Emmy both meet a new friend, and Tony and Pepper welcome their baby girl to the world. As the family enjoy the happiness the new addition brings, it leads Steve and Katie to a big decision of their own…

Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut! (NSFW) No under 18s. Teeth rotting fluff…

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 41 Part 2

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

May 2019

“Come on, Emmy, throw me a bone here!” Katie sighed as she sat in the chair of the coffee shop. “I can’t do anything about it if I don’t know what’s wrong.” She paused and rolled her eyes. “Jesus I sound like Steve.”

Emmy sighed and looked out of the window. “Why do I have to go back?”

“Because.” Katie said, rubbing at her temple “Look, you’ve already been out of school for like nearly a year, and it’s only for a couple of months and then it’s gonna be summer.” “So what’s the point of going then?” Emmy persisted. “Can’t I just wait and go back in September?”

Katie let out a groan, dropped her head into her hands before she heard a soft chuckle. She looked up to see the woman who was behind the counter had come across to clear away the empty mugs on the table. “She sounds just like my daughter.” The red haired lady smiled. “Nothing but back chat.” “I thought a hot chocolate and a muffin would help.” Katie side eyed her foster daughter. “Clearly I was wrong.”

Emmy scowled at her in response.

“The Decimation screwed a lot of things up” The woman sighed. “Tell me about it.” Katie breathed out. At that point the woman was joined by a girl who was the spitting image of her, Katie assuming it to be her daughter.

“Oh.Em.Gee!” The girl spluttered, looking at Katie “You’re Katie Stark, I mean Rogers!”

Katie grimaced and glanced around the shop. There were only three other people in and as they looked over she let out a relieved noise as they simply nodded to her and turned back to their drinks. “Brooke!” The woman chastised before giving Katie an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry, you’re clearly here for a quiet drink and-” “It’s fine.” Katie hastily said, glancing at Emmy who was looking at the girl, frowning.

The woman looked at her daughter before she glanced at Katie, then to Emmy. “Brooke here goes to MS in Brooklyn.” she offered suddenly.

“What’s MS?” Emmy looked at Brooke.

“The Maths and Science Exploratory School.” Brooke nodded. “It’s really cool. Before the err…well, before they used to do all sortsa stuff…” “Brooke, why don’t you take Emmy into the back and show her some of your work and the website?” the woman offered “If that’s ok with you.” She looked to Katie. “Fine by me, what do you think Em?” Katie asked.

Emmy gave a nonchalant shrug. “Whatever.” “Manners!” Katie looked at her sternly. Emmy had the good grace to look a bit abashed when she stood up and turned to Brooke.

“Sorry, yeah I’d like to see.”

Katie watched her go before she looked at the woman “Thank you.” The lady smiled and nodded to Katie’s mug “Refil?” “Please.”

“Coming right up.”

Katie leaned back on the comfy sofa and pulled out her phone. She had a message from Steve, asking her how it was going. She responded with three words ‘Fucking hard work’ before she slid her phone away as the woman came back with two mugs.

“Mind if I join you? Might as well take a break whilst we’re quiet.”

“No, of course not.” Katie gestured with her hands and the woman took a seat on the chair at the other side of the table.

“I’m Jennifer by the way.” She held out her hand “I own this place.” “Nice to meet you.” Katie smiled “I would introduce myself but…”

“My loud mouth daughter did it for you.” Jennifer rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sorry about that. I wasn’t sure she would recognise you and I didn’t want to draw attention to you by warning her not to say anything…”

“Don’t worry about it” Katie shook her head “I mean it’s not like my identity is a secret. It’s just not everyone is particularly pleased to see us now-a-days. They seem to flip from either thanking us all for our efforts or screaming at us that it’s all our fault.”

“People are idiots.” Jennifer said simply “Anyone who blames you guys for any of this needs to get a check of themselves.” Katie smiled, sipping at her coffee “You know this is a really good roast. I’ll have to tip Steve off about it, he’s a coffee fiend.”

Jennifer smiled and then she looked over to the counter before glancing back “So, sorry for being nosey but I know you didn’t have a kid before, well, you know.” “Oh, she’s fostered.” Katie smiled. “I’ve known her since she was eighteen months old and she lost her last foster carers in the snap. We took her in for a night and she never left.”

“That’s good of you.” Jennifer smiled

“Least we could do.” Katie glanced at her coffee “When I look round and see what others lost, it brings it home to me how lucky I was, you know. I mean don’t get me wrong we lost people we cared about, a great deal. But my brother, my family, my husband, all still alive.”

Katie trailed off and thought to their baby. It had struck her on the first anniversary of the snap a few weeks earlier that their baby would have been with them now. Either a boy or a girl, blue or green eyes, blonde or dark, they’d never know.

“You can’t think like that.” Jennifer shook her head. “It doesn’t matter who you didn’t lose, you still lost. Hell, everyone lost, and everyone hurts, regardless of whether it was 1 person or 10. It doesn’t feel any less shit.” “You lost someone?” Katie looked at her.

“My dad.” Jennifer looked at her hands “My mom died a few years back and my husband was killed in Afghanistan not long after Brooke was born. So now it’s just us” “Sorry.” Katie bowed her head as the woman wiped at her eyes “I didn’t mean to…” Jennifer waved away her apology and smiled “Don’t be. It is what it is.” At that point the two girls came back into the main part of the shop, and Emmy was clutching a pile of paper.

“We printed some info off, mom.” Brooke said, “So Emmy can read it later. And we exchanged numbers, so she can text me later if she has questions and stuff.” “Good thinking!” Jennifer smiled.

“Right, you ready to go?” Katie looked at Emmy. “Steve’s cooking so we should go make sure he hasn’t burnt the compound down.”

“You live in the Avengers Compound?” Brooke looked at Emmy, wide eyed “Man that’s awesome.” Emmy smiled before she looked at Katie “What’s Steve-o making?”

“I think he said he was doing carbonara.” “Oh, that was good last time he cooked it.” Katie smiled, pulling on her jacket. “Yeah, it was actually.” She stood up and smiled at Jennifer. “It was really nice to meet you.” She reached into her bag for a twenty to pay but Jennifer waved it away “On the house.” “Oh, no.” Katie protested, dropping the twenty to the table, but the woman picked it up and handed it back. Pursing her lips, Katie spotted the tip jar on the counter and quickly strode over to it, depositing the note through the slot before giving the woman a smug look. Jennifer laughed and shrugged before she reached over the counter and handed Katie a business card.

“My mobile number is on there.” She smiled, “If you ever fancy a chat or a drink some time, anything at all.” “Thanks” Katie beamed. “That’s really kind of you.”

“Bye!” Emmy waved as they exited the shop. She turned to Katie as they walked to the car. “They’re nice.” “Yeah, yeah they are.” Kate smiled “Come on, let’s get home before we’re late and we get the eyebrow of disappointment.”

****** The last week in May brought some unusually cold and wet weather for the time of year, which wasn’t surprising as the climate was still all over the place. It was normally the time of year they celebrated Tony’s birthday on the 29th with a BBQ or something, but there was none of that this time. Not least because of the weather, but more over that his birthday was overshadowed spectacularly by the arrival of his daughter, Morgan Hope Stark some four days earlier on the 25th.

“Guys.” Katie gulped, tears welling in her eyes as her baby niece gently stirred in her arms, her eyes not opening as she moved her hands gently, “She’s…” “Amazing, I know.” Pepper gushed beaming up at Katie from where she was sat, propped up in the hospital bed.

“I made that.” Tony bragged, his chest puffed out. Katie knew how genuinely proud he was simply by the affectionate gleam in his eyes. Pepper rolled her eyes playfully, sharing a look with her sister-in-law.  

Steve’s arm curled round Katie’s waist as he gazed down at the baby in her arms, smiling gently as he smoothed the blanket down to get a closer look. She had a light dusting of dark hair, Tony’s cheekbones and Pepper’s nose.

“Wanna hold Uncle Steve?” Katie asked, looking at him.

“Erm, yeah, sure, that ok?” Steve looked at Pepper and Tony.

“Just don’t drop her.” Tony narrowed his eyes “Or throw her, she’s not a shield.” “Tony, you’re such a dick.” Katie sighed, passing the precious bundle to Steve who gently took her, supporting her head with his large hand.

As Steve cradled the tiny baby in his large arms, filled with wonder at the miniature human he was holding, he suddenly felt a lump in his throat. 

This would have been them.

As Morgan curled her hand around his large index finger the lump grew larger and he fought to keep the tears that had sprung into his eyes from dropping down his cheeks. 

Across the room, Tony curled his arm round his sister’s shoulder and dropped a kiss to her head as she wiped away the single tear that she herself had shed hastily before Steve saw.

Steve collected Emmy later that evening from Brooke’s. Emmy had decided to go to MS after all, and as such the two girls had fast become inseparable during the week and often at weekends too.

“She’s been ever so well behaved and polite.” Jennifer smiled, handing Steve Emmy’s rucksack. Steve nodded and gently placed a large hand on the back of Emmy’s head

“Good.”

“Gerroff.” she shrugged him away “I’m not six.” Steve rolled his eyes as he looked at Jennifer and raised an eyebrow “Clearly just us she gives back chat to.”

Jennifer chuckled “And they say it’s gonna get worse as they get older” “I can’t wait!” Steve replied, sarcastically. The woman laughed, Steve thanked her again and they headed to the car.

“So what’s Morgan like?” Emmy asked as Steve set off back up the main road to head out of Manhattan and towards the Compound. “Does she look like Tony?”

“A little, more like Pepper really.” Steve smiled

“Phew.” Emmy grinned and Steve gave a snort.

“Katie got some photos so she’ll show you when we get home.” Emmy glanced out of the window at the passing trees before she turned back to Steve “Do you think you and Katie will ever have a baby?” Steve’s knuckles tightened on the steering wheel as he took a deep breath, and he instantly regretted it when he felt Emmy recoil in the seat next to him.

“I’m sorry.” she began, and Steve cursed himself for being so damned easy to read. He hated it when she got scared and fearful that she’d done something wrong. Every time they tried to discipline her for misbehaviour she would end up trembling out of deep rooted fear she was going to get a beating.

“Sweetie, I’m not mad, and you have nothing to be sorry for.” Steve sighed, “It’s just, well,” he bit his lip “,in the Snap, Katie and I lost a baby. Katie, was pregnant and we didn’t know.” “Oh.” Emmy frowned, looking back at her hands “That’s sad.” “Yeah.” Steve said with a small smile. The simple words she had used were spot on, there was no other way to describe it. “Yeah it is. But, we got you to look after and you can throw some spectacular tantrums so it’s kinda like having a baby in a way.”

“Rude.” Emmy glared at him, and he couldn’t hide the smile on his face at her indignation.

The two of them arrived home to Katie declaring from her spot on the sofa that she didn’t want to cook so had ordered take-out Pizza much to Emmy’s delight, but one look at his wife told Steve she’d been crying. As soon as their foster daughter was out of earshot and had gone to her room he sat down next to her and turned to face her.

“What’s wrong, Sweetheart?”

“I’m fine.” She shrugged, and Steve quirked an eyebrow.

“You forget Mrs Rogers, I can read you like a book.” He snaked his fingers in between hers and she took a deep breath “Talk to me, honey.”

“Just seeing you there with Morgan before, I couldn’t help but feel that…” she stumbled over her words as her tears began to form again “That could have, should have been us, you know?” Steve sighed and gently reached out to her, pulling her to his chest.

“I know.” He whispered softly, dropping kiss to her head “I know.”

“They would have been coming up for six months old now, give or take.” Katie sighed gently and his arms tightened around her. Taking a deep breath he decided to voice what was on his mind and dropped his head slightly, nudging her face up with his nose.

“You know, we could always…” He trailed off, and she licked her lips as she looked at him, understanding immediately what he was suggesting.

“I dunno.” She sighed, “I mean I like the idea, but…” “But?”

“I’m scared, Steve.” “What of?” “Well, that something will go wrong.”

“Why would it go wrong?” he frowned.

“It did last time.”

He sighed. “Katie, nothing you could have done would have made a difference. Once he snapped…”

“Do you really want kids?” She cut him off, looking at him.

“Yeah, I do.” He answered honestly “I wasn’t that bothered about it before but now, well with Emmy being here and Morgan, the thought of our own child, running around, one that’s half me half you…I can’t even begin to explain how amazing that feels.” Katie looked down at her hands and Steve took a deep breath. “But if it’s not what you want then it doesn’t matter” He gently titled her face up to look at him.

She looked at him, her eyes locked onto his and her words were almost a whisper. “I do want. I want a baby with you.” His eyes flashed and he gave a grin. “Well that’s good, I’d be worried if you wanted one with someone else.” “Jerk.” She scoffed, hitting his chest as he laughed before she took a deep breath “Maybe we could like try but not try.” “I’m not following.” Steve frowned.

Katie sighed. “I don’t wanna get hung up on it.” She shrugged “No pressure. So maybe not try as such, just don’t try to stop anything.”

Steve smiled, if he was honest, a baby to him should be borne out of love and not some kind of weird planned parenting mission. 

“Is that ok with you?” she looked at him. “Oh, Kitten.” Steve’s face split into a huge grin and he took her face in both his hands “It is very, very ok.”

******

August 2019

“Thor came here?” Katie asked as she looked at Tony, the two of them sat on his porch. Katie was bouncing Morgan on her knee whilst Emmy was busy helping Pepper feed Gerald, Tony’s newest addition, an Alpaca.

“Yup.” Tony nodded “He came to see Morgan. He’s errr, changed.” “Changed?”

“Yeah, erm, he’s a little bit portly.”

“Portly?” Katie stopped what she was doing until Morgan let out a screech, encouraging her to continue. “As in…” “Fat.” Tony nodded.

Katie snorted “Bullshit…” “Straight up Kiddo. Apparently he’s got his brewers working on a new beer. Clearly been sampling it a little too much.”

“Other than that how did he seem?” Katie asked. Despite herself she couldn’t help but wonder how the man she had once been good friends with was holding up. Tony took a deep breath “Ok, I think. I mean it was a surprise him showing up. I haven’t seen him since, well, that day at the compound.” “He took what happened really hard” Katie sighed. “But the rest of us had to move on, he needs to do the same. I tried to talk sense into him…” “You punched him in the face.” Tony raised an eyebrow. “He deserved it.” “I know.” Tony paused “And for what it’s worth, he hates himself for it. He told me.” “Well maybe he should apologise.” Katie shrugged, and that was the end of the conversation. They stayed for a few hours before heading back to the compound and, given that it was a nice night Katie and Natasha retired to the large garden area and the hot tub for a girl’s night in.

“You talk to Steve today?” Nat asked, pouring Katie a glass of wine from the ice bucket at the side.

“Not yet.” Katie shook her head, turning from where she had been watching Emmy playing fetch with Lucky to look at her “I’ll speak to him later. He’s ready for home though. Keeps moaning about how the chef doesn’t make Mac and Cheese as well as me.”

“He loves it really.” Nat grinned.

“Yeah, he does.” Katie smiled “It’s nice to see him so focussed, you know with something to do.”

“When’s he back? Feels like he’s been gone for ages”

“He has, it’s been almost three weeks this time” Katie smiled, “But he’s home in a couple of days and on that I got a favour to ask. Could you maybe have Emmy for us? Thought we might go out or…” “Or stay in?” Nat raised her eyebrows, smirking.

“Something like that.” Katie snorted.

“Yeah, no probs. We can have a girl’s night in my apartment.” She nodded over to the pre-teen who was running across the lawns. “She’s never any trouble.” “Thanks Nat.” Katie smiled, sipping her wine and pulling a face at the sour taste.

“How’s she been recently?” Nat nodded to Emmy.

“Good.” Katie nodded. “The nightmares have pretty much stopped. She still gets a bit reserved now and then but I think getting her back to school has helped a lot. She’s a bright kid, good at art as well as the technology and science. Should see her and Steve when they get going.”

“Yeah they seem pretty close.” Nat smiled.

“She’s like his shadow when he’s here.” Katie snorted. “I don’t get a look in.” She took another sip of her drink and shook her head. “Does that taste right to you?”

“It tastes fine, but then so did that Tuna you said was off.” “It was off.” Kate grimaced, nodding to the dog that was currently splashing in the shallows of the river, after his ball “Even Lucky wouldn’t eat it.”

“Well I ate it and I’m fine” Nat shrugged.

Katie took another sip shook her face before tipping her wine into Nat’s glass “I can’t drink that. It’s nasty.” “Errr, that is a fifteen year old vintage, stolen from Tony’s old stash in the cellar!” Natasha grinned.

“Don’t give a fuck what it is, it’s gross.” Katie shrugged, standing up and stepping out of the tub. “I’ll stick to the beer.”

She pulled a Bud out of the fridge, twisted the top off and threw it into the garbage. She took a swig as she walked back outside and, as she sank back down into the water, Nat took a deep breath and leaned forward.

“I got an email from Rhodey. More bodies have turned up, this time in Johannesburg, some drugs baron and his cronies.” “Clint?” Katie asked, pausing her beer half way to her mouth as she nodded.

“It’s his MO.”

Over the past six months more and more bodies had been turning up, along with numerous witnesses, which led them to the conclusion that Clint was acting as some kind of vigilante, hunting down Crime Lord Syndicates and taking them down one by one. Natasha at first had point blank refused that it was him, until one of Rhodey’s contacts had sent an extremely clear shot from some CCTV footage. There was no denying, it was Clint. Natasha had been heartbroken, locking herself away and refusing to speak to anyone, emerging only when Steve threatened to kick her door in. She’d opened it, red eyed but with a glimmer of a smirk on her face and called him a “bossy, interfering bastard.”

“Any leads on where he could be?” Katie asked

Nat shook her head “he doesn’t want to be found. But then, when have I ever listened?”

They drank and talked until late in the evening, probably more than they should have done which is why the next morning Katie woke up with a killer hangover and barely made it to the toilet. She threw the contents of her stomach into the bowl before standing up, splashing cold water onto her face and heading to make sure Emmy was up and getting ready. Sometimes, being a responsible adult sucked.

Once she had managed to get Emmy packed off to the summer day-camp her School was running, she grabbed a slice of toast and an orange juice and felt ready to face walking and talking at the same time. She called Steve quickly, who wasted no time in telling her that they’d drunk called him the night before. Katie groaned as he laughed down the handset, before the conversation grew slightly more serious and he said that Rhodey had filled him in on the murders in Johannesburg. They discussed it for a while when he declared he had to go and after promising to speak to him later that evening, sober, Katie cut the call.

She headed down to the common room to find Nat was already in there.

“Hangover too?” Natasha looked at Katie pulling a face. “I feel like shit. How much did we drink?”

“Enough.” Katie sighed “You sank two bottles of that wine, I went through a full crate of bud.” “And that was before the vodka.” Nat groaned, dropping her face into her hands. Katie grimaced, picking up a bottle of water and taking a long drink before they got down to business, looking over some plans for an old School they were intending to acquire to make into a half way hours for the older teenagers that had been left without homes or families in the snap. Too old to be in an orphanage or children’s home, Natasha had pointed out they probably needed somewhere they could live independently, but safely. It was a great idea and one Katie was fully behind.

“I’ll get it typed up into a formal proposal this evening,” Katie nodded to Nat “then we can start the ball rolling. All goes according to plan we can get the Real Estator on the phone tomorrow and push ahead with the purchase”

Nat nodded. “Yeah, about that.” Katie groaned “You’re going to Johannesburg aint you?” “I have to.” 

“Nat…”

“He’d do the same for me.”

“When?” Katie sighed, knowing there was no point in trying to talk her out of it. “This evening. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”

“Just be careful,” Katie said, “and prepared. Chances are you won’t like what you find.”

“I know.” She said, her eyes tearing over. “But I have to try.” Katie nodded, dropping a hand to her shoulder as she picked up the files and laptop before leaving her to her thoughts.

She was sat in the office working on the proposal that evening when she heard the jet taking off. Glancing out of the window Katie watched as it shot into the grey sky and vanished behind a cloud. Emmy paused to look up from where she was outside on the lawn with Lucky before she tuned to look at Katie, mouthed the universal sign for “I’m hungry” and Katie grinned, deciding to call it quits for the night.

**** Chapter 42 Part 2

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #Katie Stark #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers fic #steve rogers fanfiction #mcu #mcu fanfic #chris evans #chris evans characters

[aion-rsa]

Line of Duty Series 6 Episode 7 Review: H Unmasked At Last

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This Line of Duty review contains finale spoilers.

Ian Buckells, as I live and breathe. There we were, thinking you a workshy wally with one foot on the golf course and the other skidding on a banana skin, when all along… you were, well, that, but also tapping out OCG orders on your secret laptop in your secret millionaire’s pad and secret Gran Canaria timeshare. DSU Buckells. The Fourth Man. Line of Duty’s Keyser So-So.

The Buckells revelation played out for viewers just like it did for AC-12: What? Him? The sight of his curly mop in the interrogation room cut our kite strings and brought us thudding back to Earth. There’d been no mwahaha mastermind behind it all. No Moriarty-like spider of crime. The big bad was a greedy oaf who hid his criminality undercover of thickness. Since the death of Tommy Hunter, it’s been a machinery of small parts, one of which was called Ian. What better way to make the point that corruption is banal? 

As TV twists go, it was unglamorous but honest and well disguised. When Buckells’ name came up in that trio of bent Lawrence Christopher investigators, he was instantly discountable next to the sexier distractions of Thurwell and Osborne. Thicky Buckells? As if. That one couldn’t organise a jam sandwich, let alone multiple OCGs. Or so he’d have us believe. No, Buckells wasn’t top of many people’s suspect lists, and to quote Kate, what does that make us look like? I’ll tell you: snobs. This whole exercise was a lesson from Brummie Jed Mercurio in prejudicial attitudes towards the Birmingham accent. There are clearly more brains than anyone allowed for behind Buckells’ twang, though not an ounce of conscience. 

Conscience came into the finale in a big way thanks to Ted Hastings, who didn’t just talk the talk on accountability. Ted’s conscience marched him into Carmichael’s office, where he put his hands up for the leak that led to John Corbett’s murder. A vacuum of integrity, she only shrugged. Carry the fire? Carmichael doesn’t even carry her own coat. 

If this does turn out to be the last ever episode of Line of Duty, at least we know that Ted won’t go to his grave unshriven. His real confession was made earlier to Steve and Kate in one of several emotional speeches with which Adrian Dunbar tore the roof off this episode. Exasperation. Indignation. Desperation. Ted’s pain was a foghorn reverberating through his every scene. 

You could understand his position. All that work, all those deaths and bolt cutters and balaclavas and shock twists, for AC-12 to finally solve the Vella murder and unmask H. Then what? Nothing. No commendation or reversal from the CC, just another ‘rotten apples and lessons learned’ public statement. Business as usual. Worse than usual. The series was pointedly left on the sour note that AC-12 has never been weaker in its fight against corruption. 

Read more

TV

Line of Duty: Will There Be a Series 7?

By Louisa Mellor

TV

Line of Duty Series 6 Episode 7: H, The Fourth Man, the End of AC-12 & All Our Questions & Theories

By Louisa Mellor

Though the war wasn’t won, the finale did offer some victories in battle. It punished the HMP Brentiss goons, and shook up Fairbank, now the Compo of corrupt coppers. It also rewarded some ill-used victims. Farida went back to work. Terry moved into a loving home. And Jo’s present whereabouts may be classified, but any fool can see that witness protection has lodged her in lesbian heaven. (That sunny-Golden-Retriever-knitwear-wellies-and-redhead paradise couldn’t have been more different from whichever bleaksville coastline Gill Biggeloe washed up on last series. The system may be pocked by wrongdoing, but there is at least some justice in Line of Duty’s world.)

Steve and Kate’s ending was also reassuring. They’ve got each other, Steve may also have “copper’s wife, me” Steph, and they’re both getting professional help to cope with the fallout of almost a decade of playing the leads in the hottest crime thriller around. 

Some time off at a spa is due, surely, for that white van switcheroo stunt. Finally! After countless ambushes by the OCG over the years, at long last AC-12 turned the tables and got there first. The baddies were expecting to find Jo in the back of that prison vehicle, but instead got a faceful of Fleming. Triumphant.

That wasn’t AC-12’s only win. Forced to sit inside the unbearable fartcloud of Buckells’ smugness for most of his interview, they boxed clever with a three-punch attack that wiped the smile from his face. Did he and/or Osborne order the murder of Gail Vella, Ted asked. Fail to answer and Buckells would be seen as not cooperating, losing his right to witness protection. Admit to it, and he’d be charged with conspiracy to murder and thereby lose his right to immunity from prosecution. “Nobody makes mugs of AC-12,” crowed Ted, a man who’s clearly never been on Etsy.

It felt like an ending-ending. So has this whole series, with its concentration of returning faces and fan-pleasing Ted-isms, and the increasing volume of its protest. If this is the end, then viewers weren’t short-changed. Far from it. Series six indulged its audience to an insane degree, continually throwing the ball for us as we joyfully ran and fetched, ran and fetched, saliva and madcap theories flying. 

This finale’s ‘plus ça change’ cynicism was to be expected – the first run ended on a similarly wry note. Less expected was this series’ earnestness. Through the mouthpieces of Gail Vella and Ted “What has happened to us?” Hastings, the police thriller delivered a polemic against the degradation of moral standards in public office. By ending on a speech about the blind eyes that have to be turned for villains to hide in plain sight, it transcended the diverting search for H and bent coppers, and tapped into a regrettably urgent theme of now.

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[an-anaemic-pen]

Project Phoenix Chapter 16

Greige | Lamé

The Manifestation || The Power Play || The Green-Eyed Fly || The Middle of The Night || The Alternative || The Attic || The House || The God of Mischief || The Kill || The Night || The Collar || The Training || The Week Without A God of Mischief || The Routine || The Whole Truth

Greige | Lamé

Summary: Kate’s a normal teenage Midgardian girl; except there’s a Loki in her attic, and now S.H.I.E.L.D.’s after her, and also, she has powers. Apparently, she’s meant to save the world.

She just wanted to finish school and maybe fall in love—at least she’s accomplishing one of those.

Relationships: Gen, F/M (Loki/Original Female Character)

Rating: M (Graphic Depictions of Violence, Underage if you squint bit—nothing occurs while characters are underage, Sexual Content)

Mood: Hot Cargo, Illumina Anthology

When Kate awoke, the world was rumbling.

It took her a few moments to open her eyes, but once she did, there wasn’t all that much of a difference. Wherever she was was dark, and she felt the world lean to the right.

It took her a moment to recall what had happened before she’d gone to sleep. When she did remember, a sinking feeling hit her, and she could feel the color drain from her face.

She was almost willing to call out to Loki—or at least whisper to him because she wasn’t sure she had the strength to speak. He lied to me, not just a white lie, a big lie, she thought, and some resolve welled up within her. She would figure this out on her own. She didn’t need him to protect her.

It wasn’t too long before she succumbed to sleep again. Her muscles ached, and she felt too weak to even think.

When she next woke up, she was still in the dark space. It wasn’t moving now, and when Kate expanded her mind, she felt no beings inside what she identified as a van. She tried to lift her arm. She was strong enough now, but she found something cold restraining her.

She was far too weak to call upon her powers, and just expanding her mind had severely weakened her.

Something behind her opened, and light flooded the little room. She squinted in a desperate attempt to see out, her head awkwardly turning to see outside.

“Well, looks like someone’s awake.” A man climbed in, and the van swayed slightly. Another man joined him.

Kate groaned. “Where am I?”

The first man—or maybe it was the second—shushed her, almost sweetly. “We can worry about it later.”

A third entered. Kate heard him doing something, but she didn’t have the strength to turn her head.

The first man lightly caressed her cheek, clearing her hair out of the way. “Sleep.”

Kate felt a little prick in her neck, and she felt the heaviness in her eyes and her body. It wasn’t even a minute before she drifted off.

She felt sick to her stomach, a side-effect of withdrawal. Kate opened her eyes, but the light made her head hurt. Her only solution was to shut her eyes again, and she quickly drifted off.

Loki had been counting down the days until he could return to Midgard. He’d never felt the pressure of time—the impatience for such a short period to end—like he did now. If she was still angry, he could always quell her with seiðr, but he wanted her to trust him. Using his magic on her was the last way to do so.

He was sparing with a soldier when a servant walked up, bowing to him. “Your Highness, the Allfather requests your presence in the Great Hall immediately.”

“Has he said why?” he asked as if he didn’t already know.

“No, Your Highness.”

Loki nodded his head. “Very well.” He waved the boy off, leaving the training area to head for the Great Hall.

Of course, he’d never enjoyed working with the mortals—all the rules and regulations and will to keep every little thing alive—but it was an excuse to be on Midgard, so he sat through it with an unapologetically-sarcastic smile. He would slip away to see Kate whenever possible, though he could never stay long.

Loki arrived in the Great Hall shortly after, looking up at the Allfather expectantly. “You called for me, Father?”

At his side was Mother. She looked solemn but satisfied.

“Your mother and I have decided upon your punishment. You should thank her—my original ruling was much harsher.”

Loki bowed his head briefly. “Thank you, Mother.”

Odin seemed content with his use of manners. “You are to live on Midgard—”

His face screwed up. That part was new, probably a jab from Thor that the Allfather had taken seriously.

“—and work with S.H.I.E.L.D. compliantly for ten years.”

Mother cut in. “Five.”

“Eight.”

“Three.”

“Five.”

“Three.”

Odin sighed. “Three years. Until that time ends, you are exiled, and no longer considered a Prince of Asgard.” That part was new, as well. “If you are seen in the Land Eternal, you will be thrown in the dungeons and left there. Thor will be checking in on your progress, and if he tells me of any resistance or mischief, the title ‘Your Highness’ will never grace your ears again.” The last sentence held a little more venom than those previous.

What had Loki done that angered Thor so greatly? “When does this begin?”

“Tomorrow. Your Mother insisted upon allowing you goodbyes.”

He thanked his mother again. Although he would never admit it, sometimes he didn't know what he would do without her.

When Kate next awoke, she was able to open her eyes for more than a millisecond. The first thing she sensed was her wrists, manacled with golden manacles to long black chains, although she couldn’t tell how far they stretched.

The second thing she noticed was the same manacles on her ankles, her feet bare, as well as a giant collar around her neck. She could only assume it was gold as well.

The third thing she noticed was the little pill sitting on the table in front of her. There was a cup of water beside it. Kate blinked. Beside the cup and pill, there was a note.

She had enough strength to lift her hand and dragged the heavy chains with it. She picked up the note.

This will help. -Coulson

Kate rolled her eyes, quickly shutting them again and letting herself sag in defeat.

Kate opened her eyes again. Her stomach was tying knots of hunger so tight it hurt.

There was a man in front of her. It was one of the ones who had brought her here, wherever here was. He had the little pill in his palm, the cup of water in his other hand.

“Take it.”

She cleared her throat. “What is it?”

“Energy—currently, what you need.”

Kate lifted her hand. Her wrists felt cold, and her hands were half-numb.

She didn’t know much about probably-illegal imprisonment, but she did know she needed to humanize herself to hopefully create some sort of pity. “How long have you been watching me?” She took the pill and cup from his hands but decided she would not do anything with them until he answered her question.

He raised his eyebrow. “That’s classified.”

She fiddled with the capsule. “But I have to leave a footprint across the internet—it’s not like I search everything through an internet browser that constantly changes its i.p. address. And I know the microphone is always listening and the camera’s always watching. So, how long have you guys been watching?”

“Do you know who we are?” As he shifted, she glanced at the nametag on his uniform. Snyder.

“The government, one way or another. You’ve got an American accent, so I’d say the American government. Otherwise, they’d be sending in teams to rescue their poor little helpless citizen.” Sarcasm probably wasn’t going to help, Kate realized belatedly. Too late.

He didn’t respond.

“Did you know about Micheal?”

He hesitated but, in the end, answered her question. “Yes.”

She kept her tone as innocent and unemotional as possible. “Then why didn’t you stop him?”

The man thought for a moment. “There are things you don’t understand, kid, forces at play that we’ve gotta roll with.”

What a cruddy government official, Kate thought, and inwardly smiled. She did her best to ignore the hurt that twisted in her heart, the betrayal from a branch of government she didn’t even know actually existed up until just a month ago. “I’m not a child.”

There was a loud beep, and Snyder looked up. He began to walk around the table. “Take the pill; it’ll help.”

Kate blinked. She tried to turn her head to follow him, but the heavy metal collar prevented her from doing so. She blinked slowly, and put it in her mouth, swallowing it with a small sip.

The water cooled her entire throat, and her stomach thanked her for digestible content.

She only then realized just how badly she had to pee. Kate finished the water, her hand shaking from lack of strength, and took a few moments to actually look at her surroundings.

She ended up having to turn her entire body in order to see anything, and she saw the chains were fastened to something in the far corner of the room. It looked like they could retract.

There was a small cot, the table and chair, and in the corner directly left of the door was a toilet. The only thing keeping her from being completely exposed to the camera above the doorway was a divider, made of the same thing she saw in schools and public restrooms. Beside it was a sink, a mirror hanging above it.

Kate stood from the chair. Her legs shook, and she was only able to stumble forward a few steps before they gave out.

She realized then that she was in different clothes, a baggy jumpsuit she imagined inmates would wear, except her’s was a dull

instead of the classic bright orange.

On the left side of her chest was S.H.I.E.L.D.’s iconic emblem. So much for secrecy, she thought.

She pretended to look confused, but forgot about it soon enough and made her way over to the sink. She was barely able to pull herself up and leaned most of her weight on the porcelain for support. Along her nose, lips, chin, and smeared across her cheeks was dry blood. When she rubbed her nose, any evidence of a breach in the skin was gone—healed, she realized. Her hair was oily. So I’ve been here a few days.

The bar of soap was tempting—her entire body felt dirty—but she knew it could wait. Her bladder, on the other hand, probably couldn’t for much longer. She made her way over, having to rest on the cold seat for much longer than she would have liked before she pulled herself up and washed her hands and face. It took far more effort than she would have liked to simply stand up without help, but Kate managed and made her way over to the cot afterward.

She flopped down, her body aching all over, and promptly fell asleep.

When she awoke, much more alive and energized than she ever expected to feel again, there was another pill and cup of water waiting for her. When she stood, her muscles didn’t hurt.

It was slightly annoying to drag the chains across the freezing tile floor, but it was more of a nuisance than anything else.

There was another note. We’ll talk in a few days, don’t ask the guards questions. A pill every meal and a shower every day at noon. -Coulson

Kate took the new pill awaiting her. Coulson had been right; it did help her.

As if on some sort of cue, there was a beep, the same she had heard when the guy—her guard, apparently—had left, and two people walked inside her room. Both of them had been in the van with her, but the third man was nowhere to be seen. “We’re going to take you to the showers.”

One of them held a fancy set of chains made of gold, blue tech glowing in the subtle cracks. Asgardian, Kate realized. She recognized it from Loki’s memories.

The door shut behind the men and they removed her chains somehow, attaching the gold ones so her hands, feet, and collar were manacled together. She could not run.

They stood on either side of her, leading her out of the room once the door opened again.

She did her best to memorize the way they went. It was some sort of facility, from what she could see, with basic cinder block walls that left the entire place feeling cold.

“Where are we?” she asked.

Neither of the guards replied, and they turned left. A few people passing by—they all had the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem and nametags on their jumpsuits—gave them looks, but they went otherwise undisturbed.

After another left and a right, they reached a door labeled ‘showers.’

Then it’s noon, Kate thought. She obviously hadn’t seen the sun as of recent, and her body clock was beginning to get out-of-whack.

One of the guards—his name was Jones—stayed at the door and Snyder opened the door, gesturing for her to enter. She did so, and he followed behind her. He led her through the steamy room and to the corner stall, where he took her chains off and shut the door (thankfully an actual door, rather than a stall) behind her. She noticed there was no lock.

In front of her, there was a shower, with a curtain acting as a barricade between the changing room and actual shower area. She could hear other people showering not far away, but this particular stall did not appear to have been used as of recent.

On the bench lay a new set of clothes—underwear and deodorant included—and a towel and washcloth. On a small shelf in the shower was a bar of soap, razor, and little containers of shampoo and conditioner.

Kate did her best to ignore the little patch of some sort of bacteria growing in a crack in the grout. She set to undressing herself, although having to go around the shackles and collar was annoying, but she managed.

When she looked in the mirror, she saw the collar was, as she expected, gold as well. She inspected it, but couldn’t find any sort of welding point, let alone a way out. Kate sighed and inspected herself absent-mindedly. The note hadn’t alluded to her ever leaving the room, so she might as well spend as much time out of it as possible.

As if he could read her mind, Snyder spoke through the door. “By the way, you only get a half-hour in here.”

“What if I don’t get out?”

“Then I will forcefully take you out, dress you, and return you. I will knock you out if need be.”

Kate didn’t bother replying and stepped into the shower.

Her first thought was to simply cut herself with the razor and bleed to death. Let them think I’m settled, she thought, then strike when they don’t expect it. It was a good idea.

Loki probably wouldn’t expect it, either.

Kate caught herself and rolled her eyes. She decided to hold onto the feeling of twisted satisfaction she felt at the idea of him eventually realizing she wasn’t coming out; perhaps he would hear from Thor of a S.H.I.E.L.D. prisoner meant to be someone committing suicide and realize he would have to start all over again. The thought made her smile as she let the hot water run over her body.

She took the time to let the water run over her skin, scraping her nails up her arm to see how much grime had collected. There was enough to make the stuff beneath her nails appear discolored, so she set to washing her hair immdiately—she could think later.

Loki was told everything would be provided by Tony Stark himself, so he wasn’t allowed to bring anything with him. Of course, he still managed to smuggle a few items, the most important being the lock of hair he’d kept.

Strange, yes (Kate would most certainly think so), but she hadn’t mentioned it since he’d pulled it out of her trashcan, so Loki knew he was in the clear. He hadn’t taken the whole chunk, of course, just a small lock the width of her tiny pinky finger. He’d braided it to keep it from thinning. He would have to wait until she was enraptured by his very presence to even consider showing her the little oddities he’d kept over the different timelines, but he didn’t mind.

With the braid in a pocket he’d hidden with magic, Loki went to Midgard with Thor.

Heimdall’s aim was as precise as always, and they landed in an area that was very clearly designated, due to the number of mortals with weapons pointed directly at him.

“What a warm welcome,” Loki commented.

Thor was quick to reply. “It wasn’t as though the last time you were here things went so well.”

Coulson held up his hand, walking up to the gods in front of him as though they were common mortals like himself. Loki inwardly sneered. The audacity of mortal pride had always annoyed him, and the only exception was his mortal. “Your Highnesses.”

Thor laughed. “Your Highness,” he corrected. “My dear brother has been demoted.”

Loki desperately wanted to stab him.

Coulson raised his eyebrows slightly, but remained otherwise indifferent. “I’m certain you already know the terms of our agreement?”

His smile was paper-thin. “That I do. The Allfather made sure to be thorough, although I’m certain you will remind me of them anyway.”

Coulson smiled. “Of course.” He turned, beginning to walk forward.

Thor began to follow, and Loki rolled his eyes, begrudgingly following as well. Had Thor truly submitted to such a sublime race?

He could feel the weapons still trained on his back as he walked through a door. Coulson began to rattle on about his job as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.—what was expected of him and what he was to do on a daily basis. Loki preferred the freedom of godhood.

“—After the first few months, we’ll let you go on off-base missions. You’re going to have to go through a check with the council and Fury before any of that happens, though. Stark’s giving you a month to settle into your apartment. I think you’ll find that’s plenty of time.”

“Apartment?” He had expected a cot in a small room, rather than a full suite to himself. Perhaps the mortals did know who they were dealing with.

“You’ll have a kitchen and living space, as well as a bedroom and ensuite bath. Stark says it’ll be small compared to what you’re used to, but you’ll be able to sustain yourself fine.”

So, he was to be treated not as a prince, but rather a peasant. It had been too good to be true, of course, as most things in his life were. Loki knew it was best to grin and bear it. If he was complicit, he was more likely to be able to slip away unnoticed.

Thor clapped him on the shoulder. “Look on the bright side, brother, you have more to your name than I on this little planet.”

Loki sneered. They went into an elevator and Coulson continued his rambling. Loki drowned it out, staring at the buttons instead. Briefly, he wondered what they would do if he opted to press every single one of them.

That would most likely result in the title ‘Your Highness’ never gracing his ears again, so he refrained from acting on the impulse.

Impulse had always been more of Thor’s way of life, anyway.

The elevator stopped before their destination. A woman was waiting in front of the doors as they opened; she briefly halted in surprise, but ultimately entered the elevator with her eyes downcast.

“What floor?”

“Fifteenth, sir.”

Coulson nodded his head with a smile and Loki rolled his eyes. Thor smiled as well, and the woman did her best to make herself small in the corner behind him. Loki laughed to himself; at least she was afraid of him. Wise girl.

If he ever decided to wreak havoc upon this facility, he would perhaps not kill her, or mame her in the very least. Well, if he actually recognized her, that is; she was not particularly striking. In fact, she looked average in every way—not overly tall or short, thick or thin, pretty or hideous. The most striking thing about her was her hair color; he believed mortals would describe it as ‘irish red.’ Although, compared to Kate, her hair was still average.

Loki saw a blush cover her cheeks at his glances and he decided a bit of silent mischief couldn’t possibly get him in trouble. He sent a little spark of magic towards her, just a small image that was planted in her thoughts.

Her blushing only increased, and she shifted nervously. Loki smirked, making sure she saw it and knew what he had done. She looked too timid to report him to any sort of ‘higher-ups’—not that there was much to report, or that anyone would believe her.

She left quite quickly, and once they were alone again, Coulson continued his explanation. It was practically dull enough to make him fall asleep, and the halting of the elevator finally stopped it. “You get the penthouse all to yourself,” Coulson added finally, and showed them out.

There was a short hallway, then a door that had to be opened via keycard. Loki assumed he would not be given one of those. The suite was white—sterile—and the only decoration was a framed picture. After a bit of staring, he recognized it as the decimation of Manhattan. He smiled.

“Courtesy of Fury,” Coulson commented. “As a reminder of a time past, and a hopefully-better future.”

Loki rolled his eyes.

The mortal clapped his hands. “Well, that should be about it for the day. I’ll allow you to take a look around and figure everything out. If you need anything, just press the button beside the door.” With that, he and Thor left.

The cupboards were generously filled, surprisingly, (at least they knew how to feed a god), and there was a remote just begging to be explored. Loki picked it up and leaned back against the counter to examine it.

The buttons were set into little sections, small labels indicating what they would effect. There was a single button for the windows—the view was nice, although he liked the comfort of the dark and opted to dim them—but the other sections had multiple buttons. There was control for the living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, television, heating/AC, and general lighting. After walking through each room and seeing just what every button did, he was satisfied.

After a few hours of staring at the ceiling and thinking, the door opened. Snyder brought in her third pill, getting a cup from the little plastic dispenser she’d seen on portable water fountains which sat beside the sink and filling it with water.

He left the pill and cup on the main table. Kate’s stomach hurt. “Coulson mentioned meals in his note. Will I get meals?”

Snyder left without answering her and Kate pursed her lips.

She stood, looking at the pill. She didn’t feel a particularly strong need for energy, and her body clock—if it was actually working properly—told her it was around dinner time. Kate sighed and took the pill. She was going to throw it in the little trash chute she’d discovered behind the toilet, but hesitated. In case I ever want it, she decided, and pulled another cup out of the dispenser. She put it on the floor beneath the sink, dropping the pill inside and drinking the water.

Kate sighed and stared at the cup and her barren walls. In movies, prisoners always scratched tally marks along their walls to count the days, but she didn’t have a writing utensil, nor would these walls work.

She looked at the cup again and cocked her head when an idea popped into her head. She bit the plastic along the rim, weakening it with her canines before grabbing it with her molars and tearing.

The plastic came apart, and she kept tearing until she got a decent sized chunk off of the cup. She threw the rest down the trash chute and licked her lips. The least painful place to draw blood would probably be her mouth, but she didn’t think she could get enough blood to make a satisfactory tally mark. Kate dug her nail into her middle finger and watched the tip turn white as the blood rushed away from the pressure. A fingertip would be best, she decided, but she chose to use her pinky finger since it was the least useful.

She took a deep breath, digging into the pad of her finger. Tears welled in her eyes, but she managed to break the skin. Kate washed the blood from the plastic and left it beside the cup with the pill. She watched a bead of blood well in the little cut, half entranced, and walked up to the wall left of the door. She stood on her tiptoes and ran her pinky down half of the white tile. The scarlet was rather aesthetically pleasing, she noticed, and then washed the cut.

She flopped down on her bed and fidgeted with the heavy chains until she was some semblance of comfortable, then shut her eyes.

“This is your allowance.” Stark pulled up a small application on the datapad he had so graciously gifted Loki. “You’ll get one-hundred dollars weekly, and you can spend it on whatever the hell you want—drugs, girls, shoes, whatever—as long as it doesn’t endanger anyone.”

“What of food? Does that get taken out?”

“No. You buzz down and ask for food and someone will bring it up for you. Same with any necessities. Someone will be monitoring your spendings, and if you spend anything on necessities, it won’t be taken out.”

“What exactly are necessities?”

“Food, clothes, anything not taxed.”

Loki sighed. “Wonderful. Now, leave.”

Stark let out a little huff of laughter. “Yeah, that’s not going to work around here. You use your manners, and you still don’t have all that much power. Get used to it, Reindeer Games, because it’s not going away anytime soon.”

Loki rolled his eyes.

“By the way, I should tell you: if you try to smuggle anything, anything at all, past security, it will be confiscated, and you will have to return it personally with a nice little smile and an apology.”

“You assume I will be caught.”

Stark laughed. “Yeah, after outings you’re going to be strip searched.”

He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying Loki’s reaction, which was a mix of discomfort and offense. Loki grabbed the mortal by the neck, raising him up so they were eye-level. “If any of your lackeys lay a hand on me, you will find this entire building razed to the ground, your company with it.”

Stark quickly grew blue in the face. He looked like he was trying to say something, so Loki dropped him. After he spent a few moments gasping, he looked up. Loki smirked. Where you belong. He raised his eyebrows expectantly.

“That’s the one chance you’re going to get. You lay a hand on any of my lackeys and, as I believe Daddy put it, the title ‘Your Highness’ will never grace your ears again.”

Loki glared down at him. He hated that the mortal was right almost as much as he hated the mortal himself.

Stark stood. “I have more important things to do than exist in the same room as you, so have fun in your role as another one of my lackeys.”

Loki was fuming as Stark used his keycard to open the door. “Will I get one of those?”

“Once you learn how to behave, yes.” With that, he left.

So, he had until that night to ‘learn to behave’ and get back to Kate on time. Challenge accepted.

It took far more than one evening.

It was three weeks and a day before they gave him his own keycard. Up until that point, he spent most of his time in his chambers or with agents when he was permitted to leave ‘under the required amount of supervision,’ as Stark put it.

But, in the end, he had succeeded and now had slightly more freedom. As soon as he had the card, he took it and the debit card Stark gave him and left.

Loki hadn’t realized how much he missed fresh air until he breathed it again. Sadly, that wasn’t until he managed to slip away and use his seiðr to teleport to Kate’s general location. It was taxing and using the Bifröst was easier, but it was all that was available, so it would have to do.

Loki shapeshifted into a crow, finding her house and landing on the roof, where he shapeshifted into a fly. It wasn’t difficult for him to fly down the chimney and he got inside with relative ease.

There on the couch sat his little mortal, a cup of coffee balanced on her knee while she read a book.

He would have smiled, were he not an insect.

It was a Saturday, so she would be expecting him. Loki hesitantly cast out his mind. He met the dog first, who was closer to the hearth. The little beast felt abandoned, with an undertone of rage.

Loki had felt the thing’s thoughts before, and they’d never felt like this before. They were always happy-go-lucky and content. He hit Mars next, who was on the lower shelf of the coffee table. She looked to be lounging, but her entire being was on high-alert.

A sinking feeling hit him. When he met Kate’s mind, he was greeted by metal. Loki flew into the air. He was so quiet he disturbed neither the cat nor dog, but he was enough of a distraction that Kate looked up at him.

As her grey irises flickered across her eye, he saw the slight mechanical movement. It was so subtle no mortal would pick it up, but even with a fly’s kaleidoscopic vision, he saw it. He saw the little jitter as miniature gears shifted and how her reaction was slightly more delayed than it should have been.

He was too late.

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