when in doubt, up the body count

Garrett nodded, “I know he will, he’s doin’ good. It’s just weird doin’ all this shit without you,” He knew why she had to step down, but it felt different without her. “Not sure who’s harder: us or this soon to be kid,” He just hoped she’d still continue to put him in his place. “Wanna come over and organize my shit then?” He rarely let anyone into his place but if she was going to clean, then why the hell not? 

⁂

“I’m still around, Garrett.” Liz chuckled. “And you know if you ever need my opinion on anythin’ you just gotta ask.” Though the odds were that if they were doing something she didn’t agree with, they’d be hearing her opinion anyways. “Oh, it’s definitely you guys.” The woman teased, she would really miss being the person who was always at Garrett’s side, but she knew it was for the best. Not being VP took the target off not just her own back, but off her son as well. “Only if you don’t mind the fact that I’ll probably put everything away in a different place than where you’re used to.”

“You know how those pedigree squares work? There’s gotta be some blonde on your side too,” He didn’t know much about her past, or even her but he doubted that she had naturally blonde hair. “Why can’t we use my name? Nico Spencer sounds really good,” At least he was getting his last name. That was something. “I’m not lettin’ you walk home alone by yourself after this shit,” He insisted, even if she was better at protecting them than the other way around. Maybe he just didn’t want to be alone. “So I’m coming. We’ll just have to walk slow.” 

⁂

“Well my grandma was a blonde, so there’s a chance.” Liz told him, she knew she hadn’t revealed much of her past to him, but maybe having a baby meant that she should tell him these things. “We are not callin’ our son, Nico Spencer. So just forget that dream right now.” She shook her head, if she was giving him Wilson for the last name, she was not giving in to Spencer as the middle name. “I’m not lettin’ you walk home at all, you have a fuckin’ bullet wound.” She sighed, pulling out her phone. “I’ll call us a cab.”

“Well I’m glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t believe in all that catholic nonsense.“ The nurse returned somewhat relieved that the other’s views matched that of her own. One could never be too careful when it came to the conversational minefield that was religion. “In all honestly, I’d rather avoid all the crazies and the religious folk if possible.. I respect everyone has their own views and all but don’t tell me praying to these holy beads are going to bring about anything that I can’t go out and get myself, you know?” She added with a shake of her head before placing the beads down on a nearby park bench. As much as she didn’t read into it, placing such a thing in with the trash didn’t feel quite right.

⁂

“Trust me, you’ll never be alone in thinkin’ the catholic stuff is bullshit.” Liz said with a slight chuckle, glad to see she hadn’t offended the other with her views on religion. “Well then, I gotta list of streets for you to avoid if you want to hide from those types of people.” She teased lightly, watching as the other woman just set the rosary aside on a bench. Liz would’ve just tossed it out like the trash she thought it was, but she also respected that maybe the other thought that to be too harsh. “Either way, beads aren’t goin’ to help me out. We gotta do shit for ourselves in this world.”

special delivery - @elisabethduncan​

Jennifer walked down the street, crossing her arms over her chest as she kept her eyes on the area straight in front of her. She barely had recognized any of the buildings she had been walking by which is how she came crossing past Moonlight, barely noticing the pregnant woman, thanking her feet for stopping in their tracks before she walked right into her. “Sorry,” she said softly.

⁂

Liz was on her way out for the night, ready to just get home and relax after the day she’d had. She paused in front of the building, checking her phone to let Spencer know she was on her way back, when she glanced up, just in time to see Jennifer Krongold nearly walk into her. “It’s fine.” Liz said, her voice flat she she looked at the younger woman. “You should keep your eyes on where you’re going though, some people aren’t here won’t be so nice.”

⊰

“Nico,” The male echoed her admission with a slow nod to his head as their choice was one he could genuinely agree with. “Does it sound good when you yell it?” He questioned the brunette as the corners of his mouth twitched upwards in amusement. The unexpected thought of being responsible for a defenseless child caused a wave of nausea through the male. His position only put living extensions of himself in the line of fire and the proof was displayed with a bullet in the mentioned brunette.“I used after the shooting,” A hand lifted to drag along the length of his face as the traumatic experienced forced a retired impulse to discreetly present itself. The muttered revelation seemed to ease the tension in his shoulders but the lingering guilt forced his internal monolog to become audible. “She kept her promise,” He confirmed the vowed agreement they made to protect another in the event of a life threatening attack. Her precise step in his direction was the only indicator he recognized before the piercing sound of gunfire tore his frame to the carpeted floor. Miguel acknowledge the brunette would make a full recovery but the thought of losing his counterpart only weeks after their predictable reunion prompted an unhinged anger to gradually form. “Heart palpitations?” Her confession caused the male to turn his sights fully in her direction with a sheer look of confusion flashing across his features. “He’ll be compensated for putting others before himself,” The blonde male was a vital member to the medical team that was responsible for mending the injuries they sustained during violent encounters. “We wouldn’t have been able to do it without him,” 

⁂

“Well the full name is Nicolas, so that’ll be what I yell.” Liz said as a smirk formed slightly on her lips. She could see how his body language changed after the joke, and she knew he was having the same thoughts she’d had when she’d been VP. How the position meant that anyone close to you, or important to you, they were at risk. In order to do the job well, you needed to understand that you and your loved ones would always be in the frontlines. It was the main reason why she’d stepped down, because she couldn’t handle putting her son at risk. The woman nodded at the admission of his using, though she chose not to comment as the look on his face seemed to speak volumes for how he felt. “Of course she did, because she’s a good woman.” Quinn held a strength in her that Liz had only seen in a few other people, it was one of the things that made Liz so fond of the other woman. As he repeated the phrase she’d chosen to describe the stress she’d felt when Spencer had been shot, she let out a sigh. “Yeah- The thought of losin’ him like that made my fuckin’ heart pound, okay?” She was merely trying to play off the true sentiment behind the words, that if anything had happened to Spencer, she would’ve been lost. “Just-” Liz looked over at Miguel, letting herself be more honest with the man than she ever was with most people. “He’s gonna be a dad Miguel, and I can’t do this parent thing without him, so please- Just make sure he’s as safe as he can be. At least while I can’t fuckin’ look out for him.” Once she’d said those words she immediately wanted to change the topic. “And let him take some time off when the baby comes, alright?”

        “You’’ll be here until you go into labor, Duncan,” Foster teased Liz with ease, chuckling toward the mental image it gave him. With the topic on hand, he’d rather be grinning and chuckling than thinking about the Royals and what they did to his family, to Alicia. “In all seriousness, I’m glad you and the baby are doing well.” Said with a nod, he took another sip of his drink before spitting out the new, lighthearted thought running through his mind. “How is it that I can literally see you in labor, sitting in on a serious meeting and saying something along the lines of keep talking, I can hold him in?”

⁂

Liz normally wouldn’t respond to the teasing, but she knew he was right, which was why she laughed. “Probably will, unless Spencer manages to keep me home towards the end.” She teased back, while Spencer really couldn’t get her to do anything, she’d been finding it harder and harder to get out of the house lately. “The baby and I are good.” She promised, her hand resting on her stomach, as if her hand was protecting her son even more. “We both know that is exactly what I would do.” Liz laughed softly. “He can move on my schedule, if we’re in a meeting, then we finish the meeting first.”

He nodded, happy she wouldn’t go telling anyone about the way to his heart. Liz really did have a special place in it, whether he wanted to admit it or not. She was his right hand woman for a while. “Ya know, Miguel’s got big shoes to fill. And I’m not talkin’ literally cause your feet are probably smaller than his,” He was glad that she seemed sort of happy about this. “So are you ready? Ready for all the work and shit? Cause lemme tell you, havin’ twins was a lot.” 

⁂

Liz smiled, a genuine smile, one that few people ever got to see. “I bet he’ll do just fine.” She nodded, Miguel had already done so much for the gang, and honestly, she was proud of him. “If he ever fucks up though just let me know, I’ll come down and use my mom voice on him.” She teased, while of course Liz would be around as much as she could be, she knew that with the new baby she’d need to take some time off work. “Oh come, I’ve managed all you boys around here, you really think one tiny baby will be much harder?” Liz joked, giving him a nudge. “I’m kiddin’, but yeah, I think I’m ready. I’ve been nestin’ pretty bad though.”

Riley squeezed the rag, and folded it over the side of the sink to dry. “Seriously?” They asked, raising a brow. “That would be amazing.” Riley smiled. They took a few steps towards her, leaning on the bar. Riley raised a hand and motined to themself. “I already look like a lab rat.” They joked with a chuckle. “What would you be willing to teach me?” Riley asked.

⁂

Liz nodded her head, now turning to look at the liquor on the wall behind them. “I mean why not, it’s a slow night, and we’ll need help behind the bar while we still have folks out of commission.” She told the other, chuckling as they motioned to themself and referred to themself as a lab rat. “Are there any drinks you really want to know? Otherwise I can just start with the classics, you know, the stuff that get’s made daily, and maybe we can get into the more exciting stuff another night.”

Jamie laughed at the mention of a Christmas gift, “He’ll be a month old? What could he possibly need, he doesn’t even have likes or dislikes. Any gift he gets is really your gift.” He teased. Jamie shook his head, “Of course shit will go sideways, but that’s not the point. If things don’t go sideways, then someone is cheating.” He admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. “Shit like that isn’t easy, it’s how you work through it that matters.” He added, though his eyebrows quickly raised as she admitted to have only just realized her true feelings for him. “Oh.. wow” the pause between both words was used for him to process how to even react to this situation. “So, alright then, how do you feel?” He asked before quickly adding on, “Now that your mind is caught up,” he chuckled lightly. 

⁂

“Babies need lots of things, hell even diapers make a goof Christmas gift for a one month old.” Liz joked lightly, though she knew that once Nico was born he’d probably have everything he’d ever wanted and more, since everyone in the gang was so invested in her pregnancy for some reason. “Yeah well, if Spencer ever cheats on me, he’s a fuckin’ dead man.” She told him, and she meant every word of it. The way he paused after her admission made her want to take it back, this was why she never told anyone her feelings on anything, because they always paused to process the fact that she had genuine feelings for something. Or someone, in this case. “I don’t know.” Liz sighed, pushing her fingers through her hair. “I mean, if this goes wrong- We have our son to worry about and I don’t know if I can do this shit on my own.”

//

Skylar swallowed at the other woman’s words as she adjusted herself on the stool. nodding her head slowly at her words. “I’m the only one who got out of there… awake and alert.” She told Elisabeth in a soft tone, one that if it had gotten any higher it would have cracked. “I don’t need anyone worrying about me.”

⁂

Liz nodded slightly, while she hadn’t been close by when the shots had been fired, she had been told all about everything after the fact. She knew Skylar had been incredibly strong, but that didn’t mean she didn’t need to be careful. “People are goin’ to worry about you no matter what, don’t give them any more reason to.”

“People aren’t gonna know he’s my son then,” He chuckled, though it definitely was easier to take care of a kid that had shorter hair. He knew how much of a pain in the ass it was to take care of his own hair. “I guess for now unless somethin’ that sticks out to the both of us comes up,” He figured that this was probably the only name they were going to agree on, however. “Nico Spencer,” He didn’t even care that much about his own first name, he just wanted to annoy her. “Whatchu think?” 

⁂

“You never know Spence, there’s a chance he could come out blonde.” Liz told him. “Then he’d look like you even if he had short hair.” She simply nodded as he agreed to stick with Nico unless something else stuck out to them, though she knew nothing else would stick out to them. Liz rolled her eyes as he tried to use his own name as their sons middle name. “Oh hell no, we are not usin’ your name for his middle name.” She said, shaking her head as she pushed herself up to stand. “Either way, I can see that you’re not dead, and our son is pushing on my ribs, so I’m headin’ home. You comin’ home tonight, or just sleepin’ in your office in case they need you?”

Nina had been spending some time baking at Sterling’s to keep busy and it was something her mother had always done at her bakery when thing’s were bad. It was a way to help out in her own way even it wasn’t how people normally did thing’s in the gang. She figured she needed to start handing out the amount of cookies she had baked, since she wasn’t eating them herself. Nina left a couple plates at Sterling’s before she headed over to see if Liz was around. She knew she was closing in on her due date , so she figured the former VP was at home. She also missed Liz even if the other woman rarely showed her hand when it came to how she felt about others in the gang. The pornstar knocked on the door holding the plate in her hands, feeling a little silly, but she at least wanted to see if Liz was around first before walking away/ 

@elisabethduncan​

⁂

Liz had been spending more time at home lately, not really by choice, but it meant Spencer wasn’t freaking out about her, and there was still a decent amount of work that she could get done at home. Plus, though she’d never admit this, she liked that when she was home alone she didn’t need to try to act tough, especially now that she was nearing the end of her pregnancy. If she was sore or tired, she could just be those things without needing to worry that someone would perceive her to be weak. Today was definitely on the worse end of the spectrum, and she was fairly certain Nico had bruised one of her ribs with the amount of kicking he did the night before. The knock on the door caused the woman to groan, this was why she never told anyone where she lived, because otherwise they just showed up. Forcing herself up to the door, she pulled it open to see the other woman standing outside. “Nina?” Normally Liz would’ve been in better spirts, having always liked the younger woman, but today she was tired which made her temper a bit shorter than normal. “What are you doing here, and who told you where I live?”