DE OPPRESSO LIBER.

“Ow – nope – Ow, fuck,” Maverick grabbed his wrist, wondering why the punching bag had barely moved. There was a reason he never went to the gym; or exercised, ever. “How is this a workout? That thing weighs like fifty pounds. Is my wrist broken? Look at it; oh my god, there’s a bruise.”

It was the gun he noticed second as he opened the door for his sister in law. The first thing was the look on her face, as if she wanted to be anywhere else but there. Micah swallowed down his nerves and put on a smile as he pushed the door open further. “Hey.” Looking back in the apartment as if for a savior, he turned back to the older, intimidating woman. “Sophia’s not here. I can let her know you stopped by or uh if you want to wait? I’m not sure when she’ll be back.” He almost hoped she wouldn’t stay. The one and only time he had spoken to her had been the night of Sophia’s overdose, and he felt like he’d narrowly escaped with his life even over the phone. She’d accused him of giving Sophia the drugs and apparently her opinion of him hadn’t changed much. “Do you want something to drink? We’ve got water and sprite?”

“You must be Micah,” Danielle stated in a firm, rhetorical tone, as if the answer was already obvious to her -- and it was. “I’m not looking for Sophia,” the blonde told the man, who looked like he was about to shit his pants right there in the doorway. Taking his drink offer as an invitation inside, Danielle stepped across the threshold, her hands on her belt harness, almost as if she was trying to draw his attention to her Smith & Wesson. “I’m fine, thank you.” Dark blue orbs assessed her immediate surroundings before taking it upon herself to do a slow, subtle walkthrough of the apartment. “Mind if I take a look around?” It sounded as though she was on duty and had a warrant to search the premises, as opposed to a big sister who wanted to take an interested peek around her little sister’s new living quarters.

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Ruff day at work.

—with Atlanta PD K-9 Unit

Veronica’s eyes perked up when she answered. “Afghanistan?” She repeated looking at her. “You’re in the service?”

“Not anymore,” Danielle stated, a hint of nostalgia in her voice. “I was discharged a few years ago.” It was still hard to see herself as anything but a Green Beret though.

Danielle hadn’t talked to her youngest sister since the big reveal of Sophia’s marriage into the Lacroix family -- whom Danielle had run background checks on and seemed to be a collection of wild cards -- but, like a good big sister, she had been keeping her eye on the redhead from afar. After the younger Milestone moved into Micah’s apartment, Danielle had found the address, and since the residence was in her patrol zone, the veteran often found herself cruising by, just to examine the perimeter and make sure everything was alright. She tried not to be creepy about it, even staying away from Micah for this long, and mostly took to noting when they were or were not home from vehicle placements.

Once Danielle’s initial shock and disapproval wore off -- mostly soothed and rationalized by her wife -- the blonde decided that she needed to pay her new brother-in-law a visit. They had never officially met, save for a phone conversation upon Sophia’s overdose, and she knew that Sophia would appreciate the effort. 

Thus upon noticing Sophia’s car vacant from its spot at the apartment and Micah’s in place, Danielle pulled up with a sigh, taking a moment extra to remind herself to keep her cool. She still didn’t approve of this union, found it incredibly reckless, and doubted that it would last, but Sophia was living with this man, and she needed to know who she was spending vulnerable time with. 

Getting out of her car, Danielle approached the correct apartment in her uniform -- her gun not-so-subtly clipped to her belt -- and rapped her knuckles four times against the door before stepped back to await the man she had only seen in Instagram photos and DMV files.

Amelia didn’t know what to do, or say, or what there possibly was she could do to make this situation any better. All she wanted to do was to wrap her arms tightly around Danielle, to hold her and keep her safe. To make sure she would never go near bullets and catastrophes and people who were trying to hurt her again. The thing was, she knew she couldn’t do that. She had no right to do that, and she wouldn’t force something on Danielle she didn’t want.

Yet that was all she wanted to do in this moment. Because she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to live with this awful pain spreading from her chest into every last inch of her body the moment she realized she almost lost the person she loved the most. 

“You don’t have to be sorry.” She managed to whisper eventually, trying to stop herself from crying. She was stronger than her tears. But a single one managed to slip, and she roughly wiped it from the corner of her eye. “I’m just – I just – I can’t lose you, Danielle.” She whispered, shaking her head a little. “I wouldn’t survive that. And this is… this means I almost lost you. I just… need a moment.” She tried to smile, but she wasn’t sure if the corners of her lips actually managed to lift up. It felt forced, or rather as if she lost all control of her body.

Danielle didn’t know how to react to Amelia’s own reaction to her shooting. While it was clear that she was distressed, Dani wasn’t receiving a vibe that she wanted to be too close to the blonde, so she stayed planted beside them on the mattress. “Sure, yeah -- of course,” Danielle mumbled in encouragement, wanting to give them however much space or time she needed to come to terms. 

Jamie sighed softly once they were situated in their favorite position that managed to provide the ultimate comfort. When they were wrapped up in Danielle’s arms, their head on her chest to listen to her heartbeat and feel the warmth of her body heat up their own. As much as they loved their son, and they loved spending a ridiculous amount of time with him, there was just something about this intimacy between them they couldn’t get enough of. They also strongly believed that this was what a relationship needed to keep going despite the stress of a family, no matter how small or big. And they dearly hoped they’d manage to keep going like this forever.

“Sometimes? You mean all the time.” They jokingly said, reaching out for their glass of wine to take a sip. Even if Jamie hardly knew anything about wine, it tasted good enough for relaxing on the couch with their loved one.

Glancing up at Danielle as she voiced her pride, they could feel a rush of warmth cross through their chest – as happy and as content as they were in the current situation with Luca, they couldn’t deny that it sounded incredibly good to hear about how good they were doing. “You’re good with him too.” They replied right away, without hesitation. “You know, I still can’t believe just how good you are with him.” They added, voice light and almost teasing. It was the truth though, it still amazed them just how good Danielle was with the boy, considering how hesitant she had been at first to take care of a baby. “I actually think he’s pretty lucky he has us. And I’ll tell him every single day when he’s grown up.”

Danielle’s fingers inherently ran along the length of Jamie’s spine, occasionally disappearing into their hair and giving a brief massage of their scalp before descending back down. Smiling as she listened to her spouse’s voice, Dani rested her own head along the back of the couch, finding that for as stressed and cautious that she was every day, when she was holding her love, it seemed like the weight of the world lifted off of her shoulders. Even if just for the evening.

But as Jamie turned the compliment back onto her, Danielle peeked one eye open on a playful glare, wishing that they had just taken her praise without knocking the ball back to her court. Sometimes she just wanted to fawn over the brunette and their abilities -- Danielle had never really enjoyed boasting about herself. “I think the luck goes both ways,” she finally declared on a satisfied exhale. “Or three ways, honestly. We all came together -- or back together...” she paused for a moment, remembering how they had spent a brief amount of time apart. What a waste of time that had been. “ -- at the perfect time.”

Bringing her own glass to her lips, Danielle took a long sip, relaxing into the couch, before remembering that they had wanted to take a bath. Deciding to mess with Jamie a bit, a smirk found its way across her full lips. “May I make a suggestion, though?” She started, as if it was going to be a genuine reflection. “You really need a bath.” Pretending as if she was smelling something foul, Danielle reeled back in tease. “I mean, seriously, Jamie -- I know it’s been a long day but wow... What is this, the 1600s?” The tone of Danielle’s voice clearly portrayed her joking nature, and her spouse knew that she’d never genuinely say something like that to them. Besides, they always smelled like heaven. Waving her free hand in front of her nose, she scrunched up her features and tried not to laugh. “I lived with men for ten years straight and have never experienced this smell before. We need to do something about this. Before I pass out.”

      “Ahh, Amelia, if my memory is correct.” Hades hummed softly in thought before smiling. “I also remember hearing good things about her, so that’s a plus.” He softly chuckled, remembering when the blonde told him about her loved one. “That sounds great to me. I’ve wanted to meet her ever since you told me about her, Danielle.” He smiled before confusion and concern hit him. “A toddler?” He question, his eyes now darting towards her stomach. For a few moments, he was silent due to many questions running through his mind. Trying to answer them all, he looked into the soldier’s eyes and tilted his head a bit. “Are you trying to say that you had a baby with Amelia not too long ago or are you talking about a baby cousin, niece, or nephew of yours?”

“Actually, they’re going by Jamie nowadays,” Danielle answered, hoping that Hades would understand the implications. The blonde didn’t mind explaining the gender spectrum, but it would always stand that she didn’t fully understand everything that Jamie felt, so she always felt a bit odd trying to speak on their behalf. Jamie was the only one who could accurately depict or speak for themselves. His happy expression turned to confusion not long after, making Danielle smirk in amusement. If he was confused on how Danielle Milestone now had a child, well she was ten times as confused. And always would be. “He’s my son. Adopted at birth.” She clarified, though she hardly thought that detail mattered -- it was just a little background information to help him understand.

Veronica smiled taking the card and looking at it. “Where were you in high school.” She teased putting it in her wallet. 

Danielle raised her brows at the rhetorical question, amused by her own internal monologue. The girl looked like she was in high school just last year, at most. And last year, well, Danielle was... “Probably in Afghanistan,” she answered with a smile.

“I’m sure you all do,” Maya replies with a shrug and downed another drink. “Yeah I have, but I was working late and didn’t have time to stop by before they closed,” she replies trying to be very careful with what she was saying while speaking to the blonde. She didn’t need to raise any more suspicion than she already had tonight because of the asshole that had grabbed onto her. “And with my answer I’m guessing you’re doing the same after a long night of work. Don’t you have like a family to get back home to or something?” she asks fishing for information. 

The comment was dripping with subtext, but Danielle didn’t touch it. She knew that many people had issues with cops -- mostly due to the bad seeds. But weren’t there some in every profession? She thought it took away from all the good that they did, but she wasn’t one to press her beliefs upon others. Everyone had their own experiences. “Where do you work?” The blonde asked, mostly to make small talk, and took a sip of her drink. Quirking her brow at the other woman’s final question, Danielle had never been one to involve her family when it came to strangers. This stemmed from her time in the military and knowing that the least information given was best for their safety. “Don’t you?” She turned it back around on the other, though the ring on her left hand weighed a little heavier now. While she wasn’t ashamed of wearing it, Dani did find that the open implication of there being someone she cherished so deeply was unnerving, had she come across someone who desired to manipulate said bond.

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Happy second birthday, sweet boy. You’re a blessing that I didn’t even know I wanted or needed. Mama loves you.

—with Luca Milestone

“Or maybe I just need better friends.” Veronica said shrugging a bit. “I don’t think I’m ever gonna forgive them for this. This was the worst date I’ve ever been on.”

Danielle smirked, having been thinking the same thing, but unsure if she should say it. After all, she didn’t know them -- or even the girl in front of her. “Well,” Danielle reached into her back pocket and withdrew her business card, handing it over. “If you ever find yourself in a bad situation like that again,” the cop’s orbs flashed to the card stock and then back up, “i’m just a phone call away. Ass-kicking optional.”

When Danielle first started tugging at the shirt she was wearing, Amelia couldn’t believe her eyes. Was she really about to undress just to stir her away from the topic of why they were even here together in the first place? It actually took the brunette a moment to notice that there was something wrong in the other’s movements, that they weren’t as swift and smooth as they usually were – in fact, they lit up the need to reach out and help her. But Amelia stayed still, keeping her hands to herself as she waited for whatever Danielle was trying to do here.

Her eyes landed on the white gauze packaging right away – and her heart dropped in her chest, seemingly swallowed by a big black hole in the floor. She was used to injuries. She saw them every single day. But she only ever saw them on people she didn’t know and care about so deeply. Just knowing that Danielle was hurt in turn hurt every single cell in her body, and her throat felt incredibly dry as she watched the other slowly reveal what was hidden underneath, unable to figure out whether she wanted to see it, or rather not. 

Her stomach turned around as the wound was eventually revealed, huge and painful, and so close to the heart she loved so much. “Oh God”, she whispered, unable to say anything else as she simply stared at the wound, the reality of what this meant dawning on her. This was absolutely awful. This was the worst thing that could happen. And it clearly almost cost her her girlfriend. It was one of the many reasons why Amelia wasn’t happy with Danielle’s job – but so far, she hadn’t realized just how dangerous it was. Or rather: She didn’t let herself realize. “Danielle, you…” But she couldn’t form any other words. Her head felt empty, filled up with fear to the very brim. There was nothing she could say to make this better anyway.

Danielle didn’t like upsetting Amelia -- it was the worst thing she could do. But she really had no other option here. Even if it wasn’t today or tomorrow or the next day, Amelia would eventually find out what happened to her. How could she not, when Danielle had a huge gaping wound in her shoulder? It was inevitable, and Dani wasn’t the type to push things off or procrastinate. 

“Yeah...” She finally responded as the brunette took in the injury. The only reason she had shown it was because she knew Amelia was used to looking at bodily injuries due to their major. But after a moment, the blonde moved the tape back in place so that she could keep the area more sterilized, since it was still very much in the process of healing.