MidnightGardenTales

((Requests are ALWAYS open))

My guidelines

?¿ Here for Pope Cody x Reader ?¿

🍃Enjoy🍃

🌿Jack Abbot x Fem!Reader🌿

• Anytime: Jack steps in when he witnesses a patient become less than savory…

• What’s the rush?: You and Jack barely have time alone anymore, so with the shift being as slow as it is (by some miracle) you decide to take advantage of this very much needed down time…

• Hopeless…: It’s Valentine’s Day at the Pitt! And amongst all the emergencies flooding in, Jack Abbot is faced with the biggest one: asking out his co-worker…

• IOU: When Y/N pushes herself to her limit during an all day shift, Jack Abbot snaps at her with no hesitation. But there will soon be a ton of regret…

• Phases: Love blooms in stages. Here’s every stage of Y/N and Jack’s relationship…

• Any Other Day: Jack and Y/N are newly established and still finding their footing, and with Valentine’s Day here, Jack is hoping for some romance. He’s a cheesy romantic at heart. Only problem? Y/N’s hatred for this day…

• Stay out of my lane: At just 21 years old, Y/N is a fresh faced resident of The Pitt. Her age makes her desperate to prove herself to all, but after getting off on the wrong foot with one Jack Abbot, she must learn to play nice. What happens when that determination turns to feelings though…

• Talk to me: Y/N works at a rehabilitation center because she believes in people. Jack works as a SWAT team physician because he knows people. What happens when a robbery/hostage situation call involves his whole world?

• More Than Enough: When Y/N faces a difficult patient, it’s up to Jack Abbot (and other members of the Pitt) to come through for their favorite resident.. (ftm!reader)

• Momma Abbot: When Y/N shows up in the ER at 1am, she causes a bit of a stir. But it’s a complete misunderstanding..

• Try Me: Y/N has been a part of the night shift for two months now. That’s two months of constantly beating around the bush with one Jack Abbot. When she finally tells him why they shouldn’t date, Jack proves why they should…

• What Are Boyfriends For…: When a bad thunderstorm hits Pittsburg, Y/N asks Jack to spend the weekend with her because it’s walking distance from the hospital. What she didn’t expect though, was for her ‘aunt flow’ to show up too…

• Oh Baby…: Y/N is still writing thank you notes to all that sent a wedding gift to her and Jack. But after a funny little trend reveals life changing news, Y/N heads to the ER to make sure. She just has to keep it from Jack…

• A Taste of His Own Medicine: Jack Abbot has been told all his life that one day, he’d meet someone that drives him as crazy as he drives everyone else. Well.. He’s tempted the universe for too long..

• Little Bird: Jack Abbot is a great boyfriend. He’s also a great fatherly figure. He swears he has this all figured out. But when Lena gets invited to her first ever sleepover, he’ll realize he has way more to learn..

• Oh, to be Young…: After telling Y/N she should ‘enjoy being young and single’, Jack Abbot will come to regret it…

• Daisy: Jack Abbot’s home from a military tour, and his best friend, Robby, has taken it upon himself to show him a good ol’ time. But when Jack calls it a night early, he’ll quickly realize how essential that decision was…

• Years: In Jack Abbot’s past life, he had it all. Y/N, a future in medicine, and a set of long-term goals. But life had other plans…

• Hot Honey: Y/N’s got a few nicknames around the Pitt. ‘Fluff’, ‘Sunny’, ‘Bubbles’. But Jack Abbot’s about to call her something entirely new. ‘Hot’.

• Your Doctor Boyfriend: Growing up, Jack Abbot was always told to ‘rub some dirt on it’ anytime he got hurt. That mindset has followed him into his adult life, but not into his relationship.

• Months: Y/N is slowly getting used to Jack being back in her life. For good this time, as he’s promised. But it’s been months.. And Jack really wants more..

• Waiting Room: At one point or another in their careers, both Robby and Abbot have had to tell a patient’s loved ones to hang in there and let the doctors do their work. But when Y/N is involved in a car crash, they’ll find it doesn’t feel good being on the other side of those words..

• You and Me: Jack Abbot being Y/N’s safe space/comfort person..

• I’ve Got You, Baby: No one at the Pitt knows Dr. Y/N is taken. No one at the Pitt knows Jack Abbot is taken. They’re all about to find out..

• Whoops: It was one stupid kiss. Which led into a dumb one night stand. Which then turned into a silly little coffee date the morning after. Now it’s a full blown relationship. One that her father, Robby, can never find out about..

• Bad Luck: After one misstep, Jack Abbot’s worst fear comes true…

• The Long Ride: Y/N needs a distraction, Jack Abbot is there to comfort..

• Unboxing With Bow: Big, tough, Jack Abbot has a particular way of unwinding. ASMR. And his favorite creator is now in the Pitt..

• My Girl: Y/N will always see the good in people. Jack Abbot will always try and protect her..

• Fancy Seeing You Here: Jack Abbot has just met the perfect lady, but she’s hiding a little fact about her..

• Happy Anniversary: After comforting a patient, Y/N gets sick. Luckily, she’s dating Jack Abbot..

• Hula-Hoop: Y/N’s almost done with her residency, and she swears she’s seen it all. But after an attack leaves her shaken, she’ll need comfort from her boyfriend..

• Oops: Jack Abbot absolutely adores his wife. But sometimes he wonders how the hell she made it this far..

• So, what are we?!: Jack Abbot is the perfect boyfriend! He just doesn’t know it yet..

• Butterfly: Jack Abbot just loves his girl..

• STOP!: Jack Abbot really likes the confidence boost the new night shift nurse gives him with her playful flirting. But… She’s not playing..

• Want Some Excitement?: Two years are a special accomplishment, but after making one major decision, Y/N begins to panic over the state of her relationship. Luckily, she’s not dating a loser..

• I Can Handle Her: You know that saying ‘that may be your daughter, but that’s also my girl’? Jack Abbot lives by that quote..

• The Doctor and His Nurse: You know what they say about a doctor and his nurse… (Jack Abbot’s version)

• You, Me, and Baby: Just Jack Abbot being the best husband/father there ever was..

• The Veteran x Veterinarian AU •

• The Shawn Hatosy Cinematic Universe •

🌻🌻🌻

🍁Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch x Fem!Reader🍁

• Always Around: While on shift, Y/N receives some life altering news, and it’s up to her boyfriend to pick up the pieces…

• The Doctor and His Baker: Dr. Robby finds his calm in the ED. His wife.. Finds horror.

• The Doctor and His Nurse: You know what they say about a doctor and his nurse…

🌻🌻🌻

🌷Dana Evans x Fem!Reader🌷

• Damn You: With Dana preoccupied, Y/N takes on patients alone. The result is a very much needed moment between these two women…

🌻🌻🌻

🐶Dennis Whitaker x Fem!Reader🐶

• Whoa: When Y/N takes a tumble at a parade, Dennis sees a whole new side of his work place crush…

🌻🌻🌻

🌧️Mateo Diaz x Fem!Reader🌧️

• Jealous: Y/N and Mateo agreed when they first became serious, it wouldn’t touch the work place. Now, Y/N has to watch starry-eyed Victoria Javadi look at her man. Can she play nice?

🌻🌻🌻

🫧Random Pairs x Fem!Reader🫧

• May the better… Person Win.: Everyone’s talking about the new girl of the Pitt, and after one measly encounter with her, Santos is seeing hearts. The only issue is, so is her superior, Frank Langdon…

Pope never had a quote on quote “normal” childhood 🥲 and he ends up with Reader who has had an amazing childhood, and one day they’re just spending the night in, trying to find something to watch and Reader puts on Disney+

Already, Pope is confused. What the hell is a ‘Disney+’? But he lets her scroll through the selections, getting a bit more curious at the colorful movie covers they pass by. She asks him curiously “Which one is your favorite?”

There’s a pause. “What?” He asks as he lays his head on her lap, arms crossed over his chest.

“Movie, Andy. Which is your favorite..?” She asks again with a soft smile as she looks down at him. He averts his eyes and says nothing at first. Then shrugs. “Do you not have a favorite?” She chuckles, just teasing him really. She’s thinking the man who has a favorite everything, from cleaning products to foods, would also have a favorite Disney or Pixar movie.

“I.. Don’t know these things.” Pope finally says, voice a bit softer than he’d want it to be. Reader is shocked at the reveal.

“You.. Like any Disney movies?!” She asks to clarify. “Like.. No Alice in wonderland? Lion King? Peter Pan? Andy, you’re saying that you never watched Meet the Robinsons?!” She fusses as he blinks at her blankly.

“Are those… Movies?” He asks. Reader shakes her head in disbelief.

“Unbelievable. What were you watching as a kid?” She asks. Pope is silent for a second, feeling judged as he looks away from his girl again.

“Friday the 13th..” He admits. Reader covers her mouth a bit at the thought of this man once being a little boy and being subjected to horror instead of Disney.

“Oh, honey..” She sighs, stroking his chest lightly to calm him. “I’ve gotta show you literal art..” She says as if it’s decided. A Disney marathon will be started now.

Pope watches her scroll through the movies. “What about that one?” He points to a movie called ‘Up’.

“Oh, baby. You’ve gotta work your way to that one..” Reader says as she shakes her head before putting on Alice and Wonderland.

“This movie’s a little trippy, but I think you’ll really like it..” She assures, leaning down to kiss his temple. Pope melts more into his girl’s lap, settling in..

* * April 11, 2009 * *

Y/N knocks for what feels like the 100th time. The early morning air is crisp as she stands outside the dingy apartment door, waiting and hoping. It’s not a holiday, not a birthday, but she hopes she can still just drop by.

The door soon cracks open, and the smell hits her before the sight does. It’s something stale, sour, and almost chemically sweet. Then the sight fully registers. The entire apartment is pitch black, but it makes the woman stand out sharper.

Julia's eyes are glassy. Her hair is messy, some strands stuck to her sweaty cheek. She blinks at you like she's not entirely sure who she’s looking at right now. It doesn’t help that her eyes are squinting like she hasn’t seen the sun in days. She sways slightly in the doorway, and Y/N’s whole body goes cold.

She’s using again..

"Julia." Y/N’s voice comes out sharp. "Where's J?"

Julia blinks again, slower this time. It’s like the question has to travel a long distance to fully reach her. "J?” She asks, voice weak and raspy like she just woke up. “He.. He’s in his room. I think." She gestures vaguely behind her, the motion loose and uncoordinated. "We were watching a movie and I-" Y/N impatiently pushes past her before she can finish her slow and slurred speaking. The apartment is worse than she imagined. Dishes piled in the sink, mail scattered on the coffee table, a needle on the couch in plain sight. Y/N’s heart is hammering as she crosses the living room and kitchen, going straight to the end hallway. She throws open the door to J’s room.

Empty.

Bed unmade. A half-finished drawing of a rocket ship on the floor with crayons all around.

J's not there..

J’s not there!

"Julia." Y/N turns around, her voice is shaking. "Where is he?" She demands.

Julia is leaning against the hallway wall somewhat behind her. Her eyes are half closed, and something on her face flickers for a moment. Confusion. Which then turns into a silent dread. As if realizing she’s alone in this oven of an apartment.

“He was just.. He was right here..” She says weakly, like the chemical in her system is holding her down from showing anything more.

“Julia, where the fuck is the kid?!” Y/N snaps, having no time for this. She pushes past her, running out of the apartment only to see from over the railing a young J walking back through the apartment parking lot.

There’s a shaky sigh of relief that leaves her mouth as she touches her chest before she runs to the stairs, taking them two at a time. Her heart slams against her chest as she gets to the parking lot to really take him in.

J.

Ten year old J.

Holding a plastic grocery bag in one small fist. The plastic to thin enough for Y/N to see inside is just a loaf of bread and a carton of milk. He's wearing a red t-shirt and some black shorts, looking down at his sneakers as he walks, kicking a pebble.

The words rush out as she moves closer. "Oh, baby. Hey.." Y/N breathes, dropping to her knees on the graveled parking lot without a care. Her hands take his face in. Small and warm from the sun. He looks up at you with those dark eyes, Julia's eyes, Pope's eyes, and smiles brightly as he takes you in.

"Hi, Aunt Y/N." He holds up the bag. "Look! I got bread and milk. Momma and I ran out." He says, shoulders straightening as if he’s proud to be helping.

She wants to cry.

She wants to scream.

She wants to shake someone.

Instead, she gently pulls him into her arms and holds him tight. He lets her, his free hand moving to rest against her back as he rests his head on her shoulder. She pulls away fast, fixing her hair as she eyes him closer to make sure there’s no bruises or bumps.

He seems okay..

"Did you walk?" Her voice is thicker than she’d want it to be. Rougher. She clears it slightly in order to get herself together. "All by yourself?" She clarifies as J nods fast.

"Just to the corner store. It's not far." He says, voice soft as he turns to look back at the distance covered. "Momma was sleeping. I didn't wanna wake her up. I found money in the couch." He continues sweetly.

“Sleeping. Right.” Y/N sighs, letting the remainder of her anxiety out with that last breath before she stands back up.

Taking the bag from him, Y/N looks back at the building’s second floor balcony only to find that Julia is now standing there, leaning against the railing to watch them. Y/N’s chest is a knot of fury, but underneath that burn is.. Grief. Staring at each other are two women Pope Cody swore he loved.

But only one of them was still apart of his life..

"I wanna take you out today, J..” Y/N finally says, keeping her voice soft for him, even though her eyes don’t leave Julia. Not until the woman finally turns and walks back into the apartment.

“Let's drop this off inside, and then you and me are gonna get something to eat. Hm? That sound good? Burgers, fries. The works." She offers as she finally looks at the ten year old.

J considers the offer silently, then nods once, as serious as a little old man can be. He leads the way back up the stairs, his hand in Y/N’s.

When they enter the apartment, Y/N nods at him to go change into some swim trunks just incase. He eagerly rushes to do so and Y/N waits for him to disappear into his room before she drops the smile. She sets the grocery bag on the living room coffee table, turning to Julia.

"Are you insane?!" She hisses, quiet enough so J won't hear. "He walked to a corner store alone, Jules. Alone. He just turned ten, and he’s buying groceries with money he finds in the couch because his goddamn mother is too high to do it!”

Julia shakes her head. Her eyes try to focus on anything else, hands on her hips as she stands in the living room, fixing her jaw tensely. Something ugly crosses her face as she keeps her eyes beyond her old tenth grade science partner.

It’s shame that is quickly overshadowed by a defensive tension. "Don’t talk to me like I’m some piece of shit, okay?! I just.. I took something to sleep. I've been tired lately.” She says. Y/N’s eyes narrow, not buying it as her arms cross. Julia continues. “He knows the way, Y/N, he's done it before, he's a smart kid.” She states.

"Oh, spare me, Julia." Y/N huffs. "Don't tell me ‘he's a smart kid’ like that makes it any better. He's a smart kid because he has to be. Because you leave him to raise himself!” Y/N snaps quietly without thinking.

Julia's mouth opens slowly, as if in shock. It quickly shifts to anger though. "And who the hell are you to judge me, Y/N?!” She finally says. “You're not his mother. You're not here every day. You come by on birthdays and holidays and play ‘fun Aunt Y/N’ for what? A few hours? And then you go right back to your life in that goddamn house!” Julia snaps, voice getting slightly louder as she seems to strike her own nerve with that, eyes instantly watering as Y/N watches her cover her mouth in order to stiffen a sob. Silently, and at a loss for what to really say, Y/N looks away and towards the bedroom at the end of the dark hallway instead..

"J!" She calls out. "You ready to go, bud?" His bedroom door opens in that moment, and Julia looks away as he comes running over wearing a clean green t-shirt and red swim trunks.

"All ready, Aunt Y/N. Come on, I'm hungry." He takes your hand before stopping, as if realizing something. Y/N watches as J quickly moves to hug Julia. “We’ll be right back..” He whispers assuringly to her. Y/N can’t look at Julia as J kisses her cheek before moving back over to grab Y/N’s hand.

The two leave without looking back at Julia.

*

*

*

The diner is a greasy little place by the water. The kind with red and green vinyl booths and a jukebox that's been playing the same songs since before J was even born. But damn, does the food smell good.

J slides into the booth across from Y/N, his small hands instantly grabbing the menu with the concentration of a man reading the newspaper. Y/N can tell he’s mostly just making his choice based on the pictures..

"I want the burger..” He says as he points to the very much outdated picture. Y/N smiles.

“That all?” She asks.

J pauses to think. "With everything. And a chocolate shake." He finally says with a nod to fully confirm his decision.

"Everything? Even the pickles?" Y/N teases gently.

"Especially the pickles." J says as if it is that serious. Y/N smiles softly just as a lady comes to the table.

Y/N orders his food and just a coffee for her. The fight had completely soured her appetite..

When the food comes, J practically attacks his burger like it's the best thing he's ever eaten, ketchup smearing across his cheek. He talks between bites. About a show he's been watching, about a kid at school who can jump off the swing, about the drawing of the rocket ship he's been working on. Y/N seems to calm herself as she watches him indulge in being a kid..

After his food is gone, Y/N sets down some money and stands up. “I was thinking… We should check out the beach right now.” She points out, voice seemingly casual, but she knows J’s buzzing at the idea.

His entire face lights up when she suggests it, ketchup still smeared on his cheek as Y/N goes to wipe it off. “The beach? Like, the big beach?" He asks to clarify, scrunching his nose a bit but letting Y/N clean him.

"The big, big beach." She nods slowly as she finishes up and tosses the napkin on the table top too. "I know a spot. Quiet. No crowds and lots of ocean..” She smiles softly. J nods fast, eager to go.

The drive is short, the windows are down, the salt air fills the car, and J hangs his hand out the window, fingers catching the wind. Y/N catches herself smiling in the rearview mirror as she watches him.

The beach is empty when the two get there. Just a stretch of sand and rolling waves under the late afternoon sun. J hurriedly takes off his sneakers before Y/N can even fully park.

Once the car is parked and his door is opened, J hops out and runs as fast as his little feet can take him, sprinting towards the water like it's home.

He stops at the edge where the foam washes up, letting the waves chase his toes, then runs away, letting the water chase him before he then chases it.

Y/N sits on the sand, arms wrapped around her knees, just watching him. The sun catches his dark hair. His shadow stretches long across the wet sand. He finds a shell, examines it with serious concentration, and then runs back to show her. It’s just a broken seashell, black and grey lines along its pattern. But his eyes are bright as he puts it in her palm.

"Look, Aunt Y/N. It's treasure." He says.

"Whoa. Look at that. It is..” She agrees with no hesitation. “Real beauty, J. Good find..” She compliments.

“It’s for you..” He smiles softly at her. Y/N looks up at him before gently placing the shell to her heart, as if adoring it.

“I’m gonna keep it safe..” She assures gently before tucking it into her back pocket of her shorts, like it's the most valuable thing in the world. Because to her, it is.

She stays until the sun starts to drop, painting the water a hue of shimmer gold. By then, J's cheeks are pink, his hair is a mess, and he's no longer running around the shallow water. He’s quietly sat next to her, head resting against her as he lets the sound of waves and the warm sun lull him.

Silently, Y/N gets up and helps J walk to the car. She gets him in, noting how his head leans back against the headrest of the chair, half-asleep.

She drives back to his place slowly..

*

*

*

She looks better. Maybe it’s a trick of the light. Maybe it’s Y/N tricking herself.

Julia slowly steps out of J’s room. “All tucked in.” She mutters. The silence is so thick that it even squeezes around those three words. It refuses to be broken..

Y/N shifts a bit as she stands in the living room, the takeout from Joey’s Pizzeria is sat on the coffee table, the apartment a bit more clean now after a few hours away. No matter what, Y/N wanted to make sure Julia ate too..

She takes a deep breath and looks down, a glint catching her eye. It reminds her why she’d even come knocking on the door in the first place this morning.

"I wanted to tell you..." She trails off, as she holds up her left hand, letting the simple gold band catch Julia’s attention.

Julia's eyes… Go right to it.

And for a while, she’s just very still. For a long while actually. She doesn't say anything as her jaw works. Y/N can see it move through her head though. All of it.

This is what she’d fought for. This is what she had hoped for the day she called Y/N over while at the skate park with Pope all those years ago.

All those choices ago..

When she finally does speak, her voice is a bit emotional. "He asked you." It’s not a question. "Andrew actually asked you." She sounds proud. Like she didn’t know her brother had it in him.

“Yeah..” Y/N smiles a bit. Small and helplessly in love. "He did." She nods.

Julia walks closer, taking Y/N’s hand in order to actually examine it. Real gold. Real expensive. Yet it looks simple enough.

“You know what’s funny?” She asks quietly. “When you two first went out. On like.. Your first date? I watched him drive off to go pick you up, and.. A small part of me just thought.. ‘He's gonna ruin this’.." She mutters quietly. Y/N frowns at the confession. She opens her mouth, but Julia continues to talk.

"I thought.. He's gonna ruin her. That poor, sweet, girl.” Julia shakes her head. “He's got Smurf in his ear and blood on his hands and he doesn't know how to be anything else." She whispers, voice raw and honest as Y/N instantly feels sickened by the words.

Julia’s eyes lift to meet hers though, glossy with unshed tears. "But you..” She shakes her head. “You stood your own. You might just be.. The only good thing he's ever had. The only thing that can stand against Smurf. Maybe even stand against himself..” She notes.

A tear drops from Y/N’s eye as it clicks that she’d begun tearing up at Julia’s little speech.

Julia lets go of her hand. The kitchen clock ticks in the slight beat of silence before she starts back up again.

"Congratulations.." Julia says. And from the soft look on her face, she means it.

There’s more silence between the two women as Julia turns to go to the kitchen. Y/N shifts on her footing. "I want you there. And J." She finally says. The words come out before she can really second-guess them…

"Y/N.." Julia’s voice is careful now. "Smurf will be there. You know damn well-"

"I know." Y/N sighs. "But you shouldn’t care. You’re my guest. I want you there. Tomorrow..” She tries as Julia just shakes her head, turning back to the fridge..

“You're his twin, Julia. And.. You're my family too.” Y/N defends. It’s true. Y/N had no family. Not besides the Codys..

“And… J deserves to see his uncles. And watch his aunt get married." She continues, voice a bit quieter now as Julia turns to face her again.

"I want you there, Jules. Both of you.” She whispers. Julia’s eyes narrow slightly as she fusses with the water bottle cap absentmindedly. “That's a request from the bride. You have to follow it.." Y/N adds quietly afterwards, as if there’s no room to argue after that.

Julia looks at her for a long moment. Something behind her dark eyes softens as she chuckles. Like she can’t help herself. "You're insane, you know that? You've always been insane.." She mutters, half joking as she shakes her head.

"Have not..” Y/N argues shamelessly, smiling as Julia snorts.

“Marrying into this family? Yeah, you are..”She says bluntly as Y/N bites her lip. She couldn’t argue that. Julia notices and sighs deeply. “Can I just.. Think about it?" she finally decides, making Y/N nod fast. It wasn’t promising, but.. She’d take it.

*

*

*

* * April 12, 2009 * *

“Pregnant?” Pope asks the second Baz’s plus one leaves the space so Baz can take some shots with just Pope and Y/N.

The wedding had been a real simple courthouse ceremony. It wasn’t the kind of nuptial 9 year old Y/N had dreamt about, but Pope was there.

And that made it the one 17 year old Y/N had dreamt about.

The after party was being held in the backyard of the Cody Residence, and right now, Y/N stood between both men in a silk gown with spaghetti straps and her hair pinned perfectly. Pope’s hand stays on the small of her back as they all stand behind the table holding the wedding cake. The photographer assures them that it’s just a few more pictures and then Baz can go back to his ‘date’..

“I’m pissed, man.” Baz sighs through a toothy grin, eyes forward. “She said she was on the pill..” He mutters as Y/N fixes her jaw a bit as to not freak out on him. Pope only shakes his head a bit.

“I mean.. Y/N’s never lied to you about that type of stuff, right?” He continues as Y/N sighs deeply through her nose, moving her head a bit closer to Pope’s chest. Mostly just to put distance between her and Baz..

“Can’t say she has..” Pope mutters flatly, focusing on the camera instead of his brother.

“No. Because she’s a good girl.” Baz says through his false smile.

“Awe. I’m flattered.” Y/N says, making a show of giggling for the final few shots. “Now get away..” She says, scrunching her nose in delight at the camera before turning to Baz. “You disgust me.” She states, act dropped. He rolls his eyes at her before walking away from the table.

“You okay?” Pope asks, voice soft now that they’re alone. Y/N looks over at him and instantly, her mood is lifted.

“So much better now..” She says quietly as she wraps her arms around his neck. He instantly grabs her waist, yanking her closer with a sheepish smile.

“Hi..” He whispers the second their faces are close. It makes Y/N giggle.

“Hi..” She says sweetly as she uses one hand to absentmindedly play with his curls. He leans in to kiss her just as she sees Julia stand close to the glass doors that look out into the backyard.

Y/N smiles wide, pulling back eagerly. “Julia’s here..” She says. Pope stiffens a bit and turns to follow Y/N’s gaze. Julia is scanning the party before she finds Y/N’s eyes. In that split second, her shoulders slump and she gives a small smile before turning to leave.

Y/N pauses at that. “Where is she..” She trails off, moving away from Pope fast to go follow her.

“Y/N..” Pope tries but she walks inside and finds Julia walking out the front door.

“Jules!” She says as she chases after her. Julia turns to face her. A cab is already waiting out front. “Where’s J? What’s going on?” She asks, smiling a bit nervously.

“I came alone. Just in case. I.. I just wanted to see you in the dress.” Julia explains, voice getting a bit soft at the end. “I left a card already. It’s in your bedroom.” She assures.

“I don’t care about that. Stay..” Y/N tries.

“I really shouldn’t..” Julia whispers. Her tone lets it be known that even just this had been a lot for her. Y/N frowns at that, watching as she turns to walk away.

She stops though, looking back at Y/N. “I don’t blame you. Or Pope. Smurf wanted me gone, and she got what she wanted. She knew he’d never let go of you. That even with the world on fire.. He’d choose you.” She explains softly. Y/N shifts a bit on her own two feet. She knew that was true. And sometimes it scared her. Because she felt the same way..

“Would you do the same for my brother? If it ever comes down to him and another person?” Julia asks, curious now.

Y/N doesn’t even have to think about it. But she does hesitate at how fast the answer came to her.

“Without any doubt..” She admits finally. Julia eyes her closely and hums.

“God help whoever the other choice is..” She says before walking away. Y/N frowns deeply, watching Julia get into the cab and disappear down the road. Leaving her standing in the front yard, in a silk gown, all alone. Sheepishly, Y/N sits on one of the big rocks that outline the garden of the front lawn. She’d not ready to go back in there. To face everyone..

“You okay?”

Y/N turns to face Baz’s date. She’s sheepishly holding something behind her back, giving a little smile to show she means no harm and doesn’t want to pry, but she’s also not gonna go away.

“Yeah. Yeah, all good.” Y/N says as she quickly sits up more. “You having fun?” she asks, wanting to switch subjects.

“Look.” The girl begins, not one to beat around the bush. “I don’t know what’s going on, or who that girl was, or.. Why you’re sitting out here on the dirty ground in your beautiful dress..” She pouts a bit before continuing. “I don’t know.. Anything. But I do know.. That you need a friend..” She states simply before slowly lifting a bottle from behind her back. “And a shit tone of wine..” She adds quietly, smiling a bit giddily at her. Y/N can’t help but chuckle as she finally gives in, nodding for her to sit next to her.

“You’re too kind.” Y/N sighs as the girl pops open the bottle.

“Someone should enjoy drinking tonight..” The girl jokes as she nods to her still flat stomach. Y/N eyes her as she drinks from the bottle. She hums softly, swallowing the sweet wine before speaking once more.

“I don’t… Remember your name..” She mumbles sheepishly after a moment of just watching her.

“Oh! It’s Catherine. Catherine Belen..” She smiles as she holds out her hand to shake. Silently, the two women shake hands before settling into this… New life around them..

*

*

*

* * August 2, 2016 * *

The rain is light tonight.

It hits the windshield as Y/N watches from the driver’s side. She can’t wrap her head around all of this. This week along has been so much.

Her thumb brushes over the seashell lazily, the one that’s been in her car for seven years and still as warm as the day it was put into her hand. By the boy who’s now running around with the Cody men. As if he’s built for this life. Then again.. Y/N never thought she’d be built for this life.

Yet here she was.

“There’s something you’re not telling me..”

Y/N shakes the memory from her head as she gets out of the car and rushes to the motel room door. She knocks hurriedly on it. “Cathy! Cathy!” She calls out. “I know you’re in there. I’m not leaving until you-“ Y/N stops her threat the second the door opens. The chain keeps it from opening fully as Catherine stares at her, nose a bright red and cheeks tear stained.

“You know you got the whole family going nuts?” Y/N whispers as Cathy eyes her wordlessly. Suspiciously.

“What?” Y/N whispers.

“Did you know?” She asks finally, voice so quiet that Y/N can barely hear her over the soft rain of tonight.

“Know what? Cathy, you’re.. You’ve got Baz worried. Normally, I’d say screw him, but.. Where’s Lena? Is she okay?” She asks slowly.

“Y/N did you know what they did!” Cathy fusses more, making her jump a bit at the desperate and broken tone of her good friend.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about..” Y/N says as Cathy softly cries again.

“They killed my..” Cathy’s voice breaks a bit as she breathes shakily, fanning herself. Y/N frowns deeply.

“Can’t you talk to her?”

Y/N looks down, pushing the quick flashes of her earlier conversation to the back burner. She has to focus. “Cat. I don’t know.. Anything.” She whispers as she watches her. “But I do know.. That you need a friend..” She states before slowly lifting a bottle of wine into Cathy’s view. “And a shit tone of wine..” She whispers quietly.

Cathy watches her closely before slowly sniffling and nodding. The door shuts before opening wider.

Y/N slips inside the motel room, looking around. “Where is Lena?” She asks again, voice quiet.

“Bathtub. Only way to distract her was to.. Build her a pillow fort in there.” Cathy sighs, rubbing her hands on her jeans as Y/N nods slowly.

“You wanna tell me why you’re in a motel outside of town?” She asks gently as she walks over to the motel dining table that has packaged paper cups on it.

“I’m tired. Lena is going to be seven, and.. I have her around people who.. I don’t even know..” Cathy whispers as Y/N pours the wine silently. She then hands Cathy the bottle with a soft smile on her lips. Cathy snorts humorlessly but takes it.

Y/N sits on the bed next to her as she drinks straight from the bottle. “You know Baz.” She tries as she eyes her cup before looking back at Cathy.

The older woman laughs bitterly. “Do I?” She whispers, hurt in her voice before she shakes her head, eyeing the bottle. “I don’t know how you do it.” Cathy sighs. “How you can.. Stay. Around those people. I..” She breathes shakily through her mouth in order to keep herself from full on sobbing.

“Y/N, they killed my parents..” She finally whispers. Y/N is silent for a moment as she lets that sink in.

“I..” Cathy pauses to chug more wine. “Ugh..” She breathes shakily as she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. “I want nothing to do with any of them..” She mumbles, feeling a twist to her stomach that she soothes with more wine.

“I can’t make you go back.” Y/N finally whispers.

“I.. This family..” Y/N begins. “It’s not for everyone..” She sighs.

“There’s something you’re not telling me..”

Cathy opens her mouth to speak, but the twisting in the pit of her stomach has grown to an obvious nauseous feeling. She slowly sets the bottle down on the nightstand beside her.

“I met Andrew at 17. And I knew from our first date… That I wanted him. Forever. The good, the bad, the ugly. And trust me, there’s been a lot of ugly..” Y/N sighs as Cathy hums quietly, feeling the discomfort grow.

“But I chose him. Because.. Women are strong creatures. Everything they do.. Has a reason. So even when the world’s on fire…” Y/N trails off.

“Word around town is Cathy’s workin with the cops..”

“I’ll always choose him.” She sighs, as if a choice has been made. A choice she never wanted to make. Cathy opens her mouth but a sharp pain shoots through her left arm in that same moment..

“Smurf. There’s something you’re not telling me..” Y/N says, tone hard as both women watch Baz pace the driveway, trying Catherine’s number for the 50th time in a row. Smurf watches her son silently before turning back to Y/N.

“No more swim time for you?” She asks, corking her head to the side as Y/N glares at her. She’d been enjoying some alone time with her husband in the backyard pool when Baz came storming out there asking her if she’d heard from Cathy yet.

‘Fuckin clothes are gone! Her and Lena’s..’ He’d said before storming back into the house to try the phone again. The look on Smurf’s face had said everything Y/N had feared. Silently, she slipped out of the pool to follow her inside the house.

“What’s going on?” Y/N asks. Smurf gives her a false smile.

“Word around town is Cathy’s workin with the cops..” She says simply, as if it’s as right as rain, as obvious as the blue sky. Y/N feels her heart sink.

“No. No, she.. She does that and we all go down.” Y/N tries quietly.

Sure, she and Baz weren’t on good terms right now, but.. Turning in the whole Cody family.. She’d be risking everyone. J, herself, Lena..

Pope.

“Are you feeling it yet?” Y/N asks, voice soft and calm as Cathy looks at her, tears in her eyes as she slowly shakes her head, feeling sick.

“It’s Digitalis. Synthesized from Foxglove flowers. Infused in the wine..” Y/N confesses quietly as Cathy tearfully looks towards the wine. The wine only she’s been drinking.

“What you are feeling… Is a cardiac arrhythmias in your heart..” Y/N continues slowly with an apologetic look as Cathy goes to get up but instantly falls back down on to her knees, breathing hard into the motel carpet and gripping at her chest and left arm while wincing at the pain.

Y/N can’t look away. She owes it to Cathy to watch her. Watch her as she struggles to crawl towards the bathroom. “No..” Y/N says as she gets up fast and grabs Cathy by the ankles, yanking her back. “Let her sleep.” She orders. Cathy tries fighting against her, but the pain is too much.

“It’s okay. The cause of death will look like a heart attack..” Y/N whispers as she strokes Cathy’s hair. “And digitalis is very hard or even impossible to test for. So Lena won’t ever have to know. No one will..” She assures her as Cathy makes a quiet moan sound.

Y/N sits back to watch her. “I know this doesn’t give you much assurance. But.. Andy and I are gonna take real good care of Lena. Die knowing that..” She whispers as Cathy struggles to take her final breath..

“Can’t you talk to her?” Y/N asks. Smurf snorts at that.

“There’s no reasoning with her.” She shrugs simply. “I guess we can just wait and see what she does.” She continues softly as she watches Y/N closely who is already lost in her own thoughts.

“You know.” Smurf begins. “Women are strong creatures. Everything they do.. Has a reason. Men kill for less. Men would kill for a sandwich..” She chuckles quietly as she shakes her head before walking towards the kitchen to get started on dinner. “But women?” She turns back to face Y/N once more. “They’re the real protectors..” She says simply before fully walking away.

*

*

*

* * August 3rd, 2016 * *

“You got Lena back..”

Smurf sounds earnestly joyous at the sight that Y/N has also been tenderly watching from beyond her coffee cup.

Pope continues swimming with Lena, letting her crawl on to his shoulders before squealing when he falls back into the pool with her clinging to him. Craig is eager to show off a backflip in the pool and J is smiling a bit from his chair, watching how crazy his family is.

“I paid Cathy a visit last night. Talked her into letting me take Lena while she figured herself out..” Y/N says, voice calm as Smurf watches her closely, smirking a bit.

“Oh?” She asks, slight humor to her tone.

Honestly? Y/N couldn’t get clean last night. No matter how much she scrubbed. How hot the water. But she was learning to live in this new skin now. Pope had kissed it this morning, so maybe that was all the cleansing she needed..

“Yeah.” Y/N mutters before fully turning to face Smurf now as she holds her mug with both hands. “And I uh.. made sure to slip something into her pocket..” She continues. Smurf slows her movements at that. “You know, in case she’s ever found.” She adds calmly.

Smurf’s eyes narrow at that. “What?” She asks.

“What?” Y/N mocks her question. “Do you wanna know what it is?” She asks before eyeing Smurf closely. “Wanna know if it’s… Your other earring? Or.. Your hair tie? Maybe even some DNA?” She continues, voice calm and feigning curiosity.

Smurf is silent for a bit before quietly laughing as she shakes her head. “You don’t wanna blackmail me..” She says slowly, glaring up at Y/N now.

The kitchen is empty and quiet besides the two ladies. The Cody family is outside, none the wiser to the tension building between them.

“Why, Smurf? Because I’ll end up next to Cathy?” Y/N asks, completely unfazed. Maybe that’s what happens when you take a life..

“I talk back to you and I’ll end up like Julia?” She continues, angry tears almost springing to the surface, but she holds them down. Smurf stares at her for a long moment before smiling as if amused. “I don’t know what you’re insinuating..” She whispers, looking her directly in the eyes. A small part of Y/N wants to learn how to lie like that.

She watches Smurf for a moment before she nods slowly. “Okay.” She takes a deep breath through the nose as she turns back around to open a random kitchen drawer. “Whatever you choose to do with me.. You just make sure you get a higher prescription first..” She whispers as she turns back around to face Smurf and set down the empty pill bottle in front of her. The older woman freezes a bit, keeping her poker face on even as she realizes Y/N had found her stash and flushed it, given how the bottle is empty..

“Because if he finds out you did anything to me..” Y/N shakes her head slowly. “It’s gonna take more than those to keep him from ripping you apart..” She whispers simply, voice so quiet, it’s almost like she’s mouthing to Smurf.

“You think he’ll touch me?” Smurf challenges. But that tone doesn’t match her eyes.

“I don’t know. He chose me over his twin once. You really think he’ll choose you over me?” Y/N scrunches her nose at the thought. “Do you like those odds?” She asks as Smurf looks at her, unamused.

“Those pills never touched him. Did they..” She says calmly, nodding to the empty bottle. They weren’t always empty. In fact, at one point, Smurf was hoping slipping them into Pope’s food could make him disoriented and.. Maybe even a bit more dependent on her. Unable to move out, unable to try for a damn kid. Unable to be Y/N’s..

“You randomly becoming okay with the idea of Pope and I moving out? I knew something was going on. So hell no, those pills never touched him.” Y/N admits. This has been almost two weeks of knowing, of switching his plates with Craig when no one was looking.

Smurf slowly nods, letting her fascination show. This is what happens when you survive long enough in this family.

“Okay.” Smurf finally says, voice light and pleased. As if Y/N had just won a game.

“What do you want?” She asks patiently..

The halls of PTMC were alive tonight.

Everyone was buzzing. Everyone could feel it. Even people who had no idea what had just happened over in trauma bay 2 could sense the excitement.

“Have you seen her?”

“She’s so chunky. Ugh, my heart..”

“She’s got Jack’s eyes..”

“She’s got Y/N’s pout..”

The words are hushed between all the workers of the Pitt as Robby steps into the room. “Best room in the house, upstairs. All set up for transport.” He says, eyes still wet as he watches his best friend, his emergency contact, his brother.. Hold his first born..

Everyone’s hearts were heavy at this early morning delivery. Y/N hums, exhausted, but fighting the sleep all to watch Jack coo at his daughter. He hadn’t let go of the pink bundle since the moment McKay put her in his arms.

“You hear that, squish. You get the best room..” Jack whispers to his barely awake daughter. Feeding time had settled her right back into a deep slumber, but Jack is sure they’re communicating through looks and soft noises alike.

“Yeah she does. Gotta secure my position as favorite uncle.” Robby smirks and eyes Y/N gently. “You doin good?” He asks as she’s stuck watching her daughter. She’s gone from crying out of pure happiness to crying out of just feeling overwhelmed. And now, a somber nervousness has formed in her gut.

In her now empty stomach.

Her daughter was here. And with that came this.. lack of protection she could no longer offer her. The eight pound and three ounce bundle of joy is no longer safe beyond her mother’s flesh. And where does that leave her? In her father’s arms? For how long?

“Y/N..”

She blinks, realizing her eyes are watery again. She sees Robby watching her as Jack moves closer, using his free hand to stroke her hair back. “You know what, Squish?” Jack whispers ever so softly as their daughter quietly moans in her barely awake state. “I think momma misses having you..” He says quietly as he carefully slips her back into Y/N’s waiting arms.

Y/N has comforted moms before. Told them it’ll all be okay. That they need to relax because the baby will feel all of this during chest to chest, but here she was, softly crying as she kisses her daughter’s head quietly.

“Shh, baby. Let’s get you two upstairs. You need sleep..” Jack whispers tenderly, kissing his wife’s forehead longingly as she kisses their daughter’s forehead with the same devotion. She looks up at her husband.

“I’m so..” She starts to laugh quietly. It just bubbles to the surface to stand alongside her fears and her happiness. It’s a reminder that she’s feeling everything. Raw to every emotion there is for a human to feel. “Tired..” She finally lands on because it’s the easiest thing to explain. Who else would understand besides the person going through it?

Jack quietly laughs with his wife, softly shaking his head. Their adventure began at 10pm. Y/N hadn’t been feeling good, so he’d left work early to be with her instead. She’d met him at the front door where he jokingly asked ‘Squish’ if she was getting ready to meet them. Y/N’s due date was in four days.

Y/N had teased him about not rushing her, but that didn’t stop Jack from playfully complaining that he wanted to meet her. He never could wait for things. As if tired of her father’s nagging, Y/N’s water would break as Jack was helping her get to the bedroom for bed.

And Abigail Ross Abbot was born at exactly midnight…

*

*

*

Jack took maternity leave for the first month and a half. It wasn’t asked of him, he had put in those days the second he learned Y/N’s due date. The NightCrawlers completely understood, and even though Jack didn’t follow through on his original promise to name his daughter after her, Joy still agreed to pick up his shifts. As long as the ‘next one’ had her name.

Y/N winces a bit as she sprays the cooling water on her crotch while sat on the toilet. At this exact moment?

There would not be a next one.

Jack Abbot would be lucky to be kissed again after all of this is.. Healed.

She listens to the baby monitor as she slowly gets herself up after drying herself carefully. Abigail is fussy over the speaker, but her husband is calmly speaking to her as he rocks her.

“So demanding, Squish. Where did you get that from? Hm?” He teases quietly. “It was from momma, wasn’t it?” He whispers as Y/N playfully glares at the monitor while washing her hands.

She then leaves to the nursery, leaning against the doorway and playfully holding up the second baby monitor to silently show she’s heard everything.

Jack chuckles at that, watching her with the same tender eyes he’s been using on her these past three weeks since she gave birth. “There she is. Beautiful as ever..” He says.

“Jack…” Y/N mumbles. She felt a mess. In more ways than one. Physically, emotionally, mentally. She felt just as chaotic as the house was. She’s yet to clean anything, and even though Jack is pulling his weight with laundry and cooking, there’s a small piece of her mind that thinks.. She can’t even keep a house together. How then hell is she gonna be a good mother?!

She knew what he was doing with all the compliments and soft eyes. She worked on the third floor. Birthing and Delivery. She’d given mommas their fair share of compliments to keep their morale high, but now she’s realized how little that does.

Can’t really trick a brain that’s already tricking you..

“I mean it. Thank god your momma said yes to being with me. Imagine trynna get your looks from anyone else, squish. We’d both be doomed..” Jack continues as he lifts her slightly. The brown eyes she got from her dad look at you as she quietly coos, comfortable in her father’s embrace. Y/N fights back against a timid smile, slowly moving closer so she can take Abigail. Jack gets up and slowly lowers Y/N to the rocking chair.

“I’m gonna get started on dinner. You two ladies don’t move an inch..” He says as Y/N frowns a bit. He tries to hide it, but she sees the dark circles under his eyes.

They match hers.

She couldn’t have asked for a better partner to be sleep deprived with though..

*

*

*

Now enjoy these headcanons:

• Before Jack goes back to work, he meal preps like crazy. His shift is a solid 7pm to 7am, but on the off chance that Y/N gets peckish through the night while feeding Abby, he wants her to easily find something. Plus! It makes breakfast time easier too. He does it weekly so if there’s a bowl that went untouched he fusses at Y/N about it. He wants her to eat.. •

• Jack has his desk full of photos of Abby and Y/N. Before any case that needs his attention, he kisses his fingers and presses them to his favorite picture, a photo of Y/N half asleep in the hospital bed with Abby inside her hospital gown for skin to skin time. It’s good luck. •

• They say after a woman gives birth, she needs a change to her identity. For Y/N, that came in the form of a haircut. Nothing too drastic, but then she cried, thinking it was too much. Jack spent the rest of the week telling her how beautiful it looked on her and how he absolutely loved it.. •

• Y/N catches Jack checking her out still. Doesn’t matter how exhausted she looks, what mystery stains she has on his t-shirt that she’s wearing because it feels looser than her clothes. He just has these moments where he looks at her with the same eyes he’s always giving her. Always with a soft smile. She’ll bashfully mutter a ‘what?’ and he’ll say softly ‘you’re just.. So amazing..’. He’s always in amazement over his wife’s body. It made a life for crying out loud.. •

• Jack becomes a master at the art of doing everything one-handed. He holds Abby with one arm, and the other is fair game. Eating, texting, cooking. He even started practicing juggling as a joke. Y/N is impressed with how good he’s gotten at that one.. •

• The days tend to blend into one another, especially in the early weeks. They often have to ask each other what day of the week it is, but it's always followed by a laugh and a ‘who cares’. •

• Jack celebrates the small victories of their parenting journey. It’s contagious for Y/N. ‘Abby latched? Amazing!’, ‘She slept for a solid hour? Yay!’, ‘She pooped today? That’s my squish!’ •

• Along with celebrating his ‘Squish’, every little step in his wife’s recovery journey is also celebrated by Jack. He makes her feel proud of her progress, no matter how small. ‘You found the time to shower today? Look at you!’, ‘You’re wearing the jeans? Fuck, baby, you look gorgeous..’, ‘You cooked this?! Baby! This is fantastic!’. •

• Y/N has moments of self-doubt and feeling overwhelmed by the new responsibilities of motherhood. Jack is always quick to remind her what an amazing mom she is, though. He’ll randomly call her throughout the night to check in, leave her small love notes to see when she is laying in bed with Abby. It’s always small, sweet, messages talking about how strong she is, and how much he loves and appreciates her. He makes sure she feels seen and valued beyond just being a mother and his wife.. •

• Even with a newborn, Jack tries to carve out little moments for just the two of them. It might be ordering takeout after the baby is asleep and watching a movie, or just having a quiet conversation while snuggled up in a hot bubble bath. He wants to ensure their relationship still gets attention.. •

Jack Abbot:

Sundays were Jack Abbot’s sleep in days. And that was tricky for Y/N. Because Sundays were also street market days.

And Y/N loved going to the local street market.

She sits against the headboard, watching the innocent snores of her husband while chewing on her bottom lip. Now, she could go alone if it wasn’t for Jack loving the Street Market too.

He mostly went for the baked goods and coffee.

He’d be so upset if he woke up to her gone, or worse, back from the market with things he didn’t also have a hand in picking out. It was a destresser for them both. A ‘Lazy Saturday’ activity if you will.

But Y/N was anything but destressed in this very moment. The fear of losing out on the good veggies/fruits/baked goods kept her every cell buzzing with an urgency she hoped Jack could feel. Looking back over, all she’s met with is the drooling and bear snores of the man she loves.

With a heavy sigh, she gently nudges him awake. He grumbles nonsense as she relentlessly pokes and prods at him.

“Jack. Jackie..” She mutters as he quietly slurs something that sounds like a ‘yeah’, but she can’t be certain.

Pressing her lips together, an idea comes to mind. “Christy called..” She begins innocently as he again hums, only half listening in his sleep state.

“Paul stepped on a nail.” She continues, referring to Jack’s old military buddy who he’s still real good friends with. Y/N and Christy talked from time to time as well, both finding a casual friendship amongst the chaos their husbands conjured when together.

“Oh.. No..” Jack mutters, waking up a bit more at that detail.

“You were sleeping, so.. I just said they should yank it out. Drench the whole thing in rubbing alcohol and patch it up with something thick. Like a towel..” Y/N says innocently, smiling wider as she watches her husband come out of sleep mode and go straight into doctor mode.

“You what?!” Jack asks, eyes wide as sits up fast, quickly going for his phone. Y/N giggles. That’s the only thing that stops him from making a call to Paul and trying to stop whatever the hell was in motion.

Sighing, he settles, realizing he’s been played. “You’re evil..” He mutters, voice rough from just waking up, but a twitch of a smile is clear on his weathered features as he watches his wife laugh in a giddy excitement.

“Maybe. But it worked! Let’s go, before the last sourdough is gone..” Y/N urges as she gets up from the bed, showing she’s been dressed. Rubbing his tired face, Jack smiles mostly to himself, giving in..

Andrew “Pope” Cody:

“You remember what you’re gonna say?” You whisper to Lena as she giggles from behind her hand, nodding excitedly.

When Pope’s niece had first come to you with this idea, you hesitated for only a moment before deciding it was all harmless fun. Harmless fun that was needed after the stressful two weeks of moving.

The house was great, area was even better, but Pope had worked himself to the bone to get you guys into this nice beach house in the first place, and honestly.. You all needed a good laugh right about now. The house was a 25-30 minute drive from the Cody residence and Lena’s private school, and had a backyard that led right on to the beach. Pope liked that the most. He could sit outside the back patio and just watch the waves. That’s where he was right now when you and Lena walked into the kitchen.

“Uncle Pope!” Lena calls. He quickly looks over at the glass sliding door, eyebrows knitting together in concern as Lena holds her skateboard.

When Lena first started showing interest in Pope’s collection of boards, he went out that very evening and bought her one of her own to practice on. It wasn’t some toy store board either. It was an actual skateboard from an actual shop. Hefty and professional.

You watch from behind the counter, innocently cutting the veggies needed for dinner as Pope walks in to the kitchen.

“What’s the matter?” He asks gently as Lena does her best frown.

“I was skating earlier. I think I skated over something gross though. The wheels are all sticky..” Lena explains. You can’t help but smirk. The girl is a pretty good actor. It kind of makes you worry about her teenage years..

You shake the thought though as Pope hums, going to grab at the board, but you quickly speak up before he can. If he examines the board, he’ll realize nothing’s wrong with it.

“I know what you can do..” You say. “Just take it upstairs to the shower and wet it. Use some soap too. It’ll get it all nice and clean. All the pro-skaters do that.” Your voice oozes a confidence that almost breaks into laughter when you see the look of pure horror on Pope’s face.

You cover your mouth, trying to hide the amusement as Pope gives you a look that’s a mix between ‘what?!’ and ‘have I taught you nothing?!’

“Okay! I’ll be right back..” Lena smiles brightly, shrugging innocently before turning to walk out of the kitchen.

“Wha.. No!” Pope says fast as he moves over to snatch Lena up and physically stop her. Lena breaks first, laughing as you soon join in. Pope watches you both, completely lost now.

“It was a prank, honey.” You have to explain gently.

“We got you good, uncle Pope!” Lena laughs, laying her head back on his shoulder as he holds her up from behind still.

“It.. So, the board is okay?” Pope asks to make sure. You both nod. “And you’re not gonna wet it, right?” He asks. Again, you both assure him that all is fine, and the board is safe.

“Because wetting a board-“ You cut Pope off with a soft smile.

“I know. Trust me, I know.” You assure with a certain nod.

You knew everything about skateboards because you have dated this man since you were 17 years old. You’ve sat through so many of his rants and rambles, you’re sure you can open up your own skate shop with the things you know.

You walk over and kiss his cheek sweetly as his arm stays wrapped around the waist of a ten year old Lena, holding her up like she weighs nothing.

“We just wanted to have a little laugh..” You explain gently as you put your hands on his left shoulder to really tuck into his side. His free arm wraps around you as he settles now, knowing it was all just a joke.

“That… Was a good one. You got me.” He says sheepishly finally as you and Lena playfully celebrate, high-fiving while he shakes his head at you both.

Sammy Bryant:

“Oh! You will never believe what happened today..” Y/N states, slowing her stirring as Sammy looks up from the salad he was tossing.

Y/N and Sammy have only been dating for two months at this point, but things were definitely going great so far. Sammy found himself waking up looking forward to these moments, late evenings when he’s off the clock and can actually come over and hang out with his girl.

“What?” He asks, assuming she’ll bring up a funny work story or maybe something she saw on the news earlier.

“My friend Grace, you remember Grace, right?” She asks, making Sammy nod fast to assure her.

“Well, she called me earlier today. Crying. She was so scared because a cop had pulled her over for ‘speeding’.” Y/N begins, using air quotes already.

There was something special about today. And it wasn’t the fact that Sammy was going to be spending the weekend with her starting tonight. No, it’s because today was April First. And Sammy didn’t seem to notice.

And Y/N couldn’t possibly let this opportunity pass..

“Oh no..” Sammy says, voice tender. “What was she going?” He asks curiously as Y/N shrugs.

“Don’t know. She was freaking out on the phone with me while she was waiting for the ticket..” Y/N lies casually. “But! I told her what to do.” She shrugs happily.

“Oh?” Sammy chuckles as Y/N hums proudly.

“Yup. I’m dating one of LAPD’s finest, so.. I’m basically an expert on these things.” She brags playfully as Sammy blushes a bit while sheepishly covering the salad. He uses the kitchen rag to fully clean his hands before walking over to his girl.

“Is that right?” He chuckles. “What’d you tell her?” He asks as he holds her waist. She covers the pot before turning to fully face him.

“Told her to drive away.” Y/N says casually. Sammy freezes at that.

“What?” He asks. He had to have misheard her..

Y/N almost laughs right there. But she has to stay strong, she’s gotta keep the prank going. At least a bit more. But his shocked face resembles that one Pikachu meme and he’s still holding her by the waist as if he’s unable to move.

Y/N nods, certain of herself. “Yup. Told her to just leave. Everybody knows that if the cop can’t physically give you the ticket in your hand, you aren’t actually written up.” Y/N smiles like it’s common knowledge as Sammy lets go of her slowly to rub his face once with his right hand. As if he needed a second.

“Funny enough, she hasn’t called me back yet. I wonder how all of that ended.” Y/N wonders out loud as the cherry on top. Sammy’s eyes widen a bit.

“Probably with her in a holding cell..” Sammy says, crossing his arms around himself.

“Oh, you think the cop caught up with her?” Y/N mutters dryly as if that’s a bummer. Sammy opens his mouth only to then squint his eyes.

“You’re.. You’re messing with me.” He says, sounding only half certain though. As if he’s just hoping that she is. Y/N breaks in that moment, giggling as she nods.

“April fools, baby.” She says as he sighs in relief, laughing a bit mostly out of assurance as he goes back to hurting her.

“You got me good..” He sighs, resting his forehead on her shoulder as he shakes his head a bit at himself. “Should’ve known..” Hs smiles.

“Yeah. I’d never tell a cop my trusty life hack..” Y/N snorts like that’s just dumb. Sammy pauses once more to eye her, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smile but he settles it, unable to know if she’s messing with him again.

“You don’t actually speed away from cops, do you?” He asks to make sure.

“Dinner’s done!” Y/N smiles instead, happily slipping from his grip to go set the table.

Brett Richards:

“Hello?” You ask casually as you hold the phone to your ear. No one was on the other end, but you were hoping your boyfriend was overhearing your ‘conversation’ already. You’d seen a few partners do this same thing online and while you weren’t recording it, you were curious to one thing.

How would Brett react to you giving emergency advice?

Brett is who you called for any emergency. His matter of fact, tunnel vision way of solving issues is what made him a great leader. You… You knew your way around an emergency, sure, but people usually settled on calling your boyfriend a bit more..

“Slow down..” You say as Brett looks over to you as you sit at the kitchen table while he washes the dishes from breakfast.

“Oh shoot..” You try your best acting, covering your mouth a bit to really sell it. Brett watches you closer, mouthing a soft ‘who is it?’ as he watches the way your eyes widen.

“Damn, is it really big?” You ask, pulling the phone away slightly. “Bryce is camping. Says the fire pit is getting a bit out of hand.” You mutter as he quickly turns off the water and grabs a dish towel to dry his hands.

“Oh!” You say, pulling the phone back to your ear. “You know what will really help? Soda. You’ve got a Pepsi or something there? You just pour it on the flames-“ Brett is quick to cut you off.

“No!” He says, quickly going for the phone as you get up from the table to move away from his grasp.

“No soda? Really? Oh, only beer? That works too..” You continue on the phone as you run around the counter away from Brett who is now chasing after you.

“God no!” Brett says. “Y/N, give me the phone!” He says fast as you finally break down laughing. He manages to get to you finally and grabs the phone.

“Don’t do any of that! You need.. Hello? Hello?” Brett pauses as he takes the phone from his ear, realizing it’s not on as you continue your laughing. He sighs and gives you a playful glare.

“The look on your face..” You practically wheeze. He huffs softly, grabbing you up as you squeal.

“You think you’re so funny, huh..” He mutters as he starts to tickle you, making you scream for mercy.

Terry McCandless:

“Hey, Gabbie..” Y/N says over the phone as Terry struggles with the wine bottle. Vacation has never looked so good on her man. He needed this break, this time to just.. be.

The two lovebirds had been in the pool that’s in the backyard all day, skinny dipping much to Terry’s utter delight. It’s not often Y/N gives in to his ideas, but this Florida Airbnb is absolutely beautiful and she knew Terry worked his ass off all year just for this vacation.

Plus, she loved how his face lit up when she told him on the plane ride over here that she hadn’t pack a bathing suit.

Lunch was laid out and the wine was cold enough to break open right now, and Y/N couldn’t help but want to mess with him a bit.

She took a pause on the phone, as if listening to someone. There’s no one on the other end..

“Slow down. What happened?” She asks again as she fixes the towel around herself. Terry pours the wine in two glasses, humming along to the CD playing on the living room stereo. The volume is low enough that Y/N knows he hears her.

Terry dances over to where Y/N is sat at the kitchen table, still letting it all hang out. She stiffens a giggle at her dork of a fiancé, shaking her head as she grabs her wine glass and clinks it with his.

“What?!” Y/N gasps softly. “Pulled over?” She shakes her head as if at a loss for words. Terry settles in, still on cloud nine. Y/N wants to pout at the fact that he hasn’t broken from his sun bliss.

She decides to keep going with the prank.

“Oh come on. For what?! Cutting off a cop car..” Y/N mutters. Terry snickers at that, popping fruit in his mouth.

“The guy’s just upset he got cut off by a girl.” She argues as Terry silently shrugs like that might just be it.

“You know what? All you have to do is reject the ticket. Yeah, if you say no, they have to throw it away. They legally can’t give you a ticket that you don’t want.” She says casually as Terry laughs lowly at that, shaking his head in amusement.

Damnit! Why wasn’t this working?!

“Yeah, Terry told me so.” Y/N continues confidentially.

“I sure as hell did not..” Terry laughs a bit more as he shakes his head.

“Terry! Shh..” Y/N whispers, watching as he puts his hand up to show he won’t get involved further. “What? Yeah just do it. Terry agrees.” She continues, trying not to break character as Terry continues to shake his head at her.

“Let me know how it goes..” Y/N says sweetly before ‘hanging up’. She watches as Terry digs into his food, finally dropping the act.

“Really?! You’re just gonna let me give that advice?!” She asks in disbelief. Terry chuckles softly.

“Mad you couldn’t trick me?” Terry smirks.

“How did you know?!” She asks finally, annoyed. She can never trick Terry, and she really thought vacation would be different. Terry laughs softly.

“Awe. Baby.” He laughs as he pulls her in. She lets him as she continues to pout. “You just ain’t a good actress..” He says simply. “Hell of a lover though..” He adds with a smirk, laughing more when Y/N lightly swats at his arm..

* * May 12, 1995 * *

The beat up black pick up slows to a halt, overlooking the vast beach. The engine along with the old rock song fuzzily playing over the radio gets cut short as Pope settles back in the driver’s seat, smiling a bit at the view in front of him, keys hanging in the ignition but turned off.

They’d made it just in time to catch the sunset.

In the passenger seat sat a girl he never in a million years thought would agree to be his. But here they were, two months into dating, and his hands would still get sweaty when near her.

Y/N Y/L/N.

The smartest girl in all of Oceanside Viking’s High School. The girl who was going places.

Pope was honored just being a pitstop in her life..

“Andy. You weren’t joking. It’s so pretty up here..” Y/N gushes as she sits up more, her bare feet still tossed happily across his lap, nails painted his favorite shade of blue. A symbol of her love for him, honestly.

“You like it?” Pope asks to make sure, heart skipping a beat at the idea of doing good by her.

That’s all he really wanted.

She smiles warmly, nodding as she settles in to watch the sunset before remembering. "Oh! I actually wanted to tell you." She begins as she plays a bit with her thumbs, barely able to contain herself the longer he watches her with those beautiful brown orbs of his, the sun hitting them just right to make them gold..

"I got in!” She blurts out while giggling. Pope is shocked for only a second before letting out a breath of pure pride for his girl. “You're looking at a future doctor of Oceanside, baby!" She playfully jokes as she leans forward more to touch his cheek.

"No shit..” He laughs, actually laughs, and it makes Y/N smile wider. It’s rare when he does laugh out loud, so each crack of that is joyous for the young girl.

“Holy shit, Y/N. I told you that you’d get in..” He states, having never doubted his girl. She’s always been smart. Hell, she was class president from ninth grade all the way to eleventh. This year, she’s vice president.

She tells Pope it’s cause she wants to ‘cut back’ and enjoy her senior year, but.. Pope knows his overachiever has no real plan of that..

"I got in..” Y/N repeats, breathing out like she can finally settle, grinning so wide her cheeks might actually start hurting.

Pope finally reaches over, cupping her face tenderly. His thumbs brush along her cheekbones, brown eyes searching hers like he's trying to hold onto this moment forever. He’s always trying to hold on..

"I knew you would. I told you that you would." He can’t help but repeat. It’s true though.

He never doubted her for a second.

Pope dropped out of school in the ninth grade, but Julia was constantly trying to share new things with him whenever she could, just to keep him sharp. He had met Y/N when she was Julia’s tenth grade science partner.

He was stunned by her from that moment on, but he never had the courage to talk to her till two months ago when he saw her at the skatepark he frequents.

She’d been there with her after-school environmental group, planting a tree. Julia had called her over, much to Pope’s panic. She had made a joke about Pope itching to teach someone how to skate a half-pipe, but that she was too scared. She encouraged Y/N to be his ‘student’. Pope couldn’t walk away because Baz held him in place.

That was the beginning of the end, really.

While Julia and Baz snuck away, Pope and Y/N spent almost all night at the skatepark together, actually getting to talk more than when Pope would stare at the back of her head in fourth period history..

Y/N giggles softly, resting her forehead against her boyfriends to truly enjoy this moment. "I haven't even told my mom yet.” She notes gently, voice softer now that their lips are so close.

Y/N’s parents were never really home. As much as Pope hated it, that’s kind of why Y/N enjoyed going to his place everyday. Smurf was a.. Colorful character, sure, but at least she was around.

That was Y/N’s logic at least..

“Congratulations on being the first person to know..” She continues, a slight tease to her voice as Pope smiles more, pulling her into a soft kiss that’s more like a tender peck.

When he pulls back, he’s smiling just as big as before. "A fucking doctor..” He says it like it’s already happened.

Pope saw bright things for Y/N. She just wishes he saw the same for himself..

She sighs, excitement buzzing through her. It was the perfect set up. The college was real close to town, a 45-minute drive to campus, so she didn’t have to leave Pope, and it was her first choice anyways.

“It’s gonna be great. Especially because then I can help your..." Y/N pauses a bit, realizing something was about to leave her mouth that really shouldn’t. Pope catches on quickly though, eyeing her.

“Help… Who?” He asks slowly. She shifts a bit in her seat.

“Y/N. Help who?” Pope asks again to clarify, making her sigh softly.

“Help… You and your family.” She tries to keep it at that, but he stares her down. “On your… Jobs.” She clarifies only then, voice low and soft as she watches him carefully.

Not because she’s scared he’ll lash out and hurt her, but because they’ve talked about this before.

And Pope has stated firmly that coming over for spaghetti on a random Thursday night is one thing, but actually hanging around his family? That’s a big no.

But it’s too late to go back on the admission. The words hang in the air as the sun fully sinks below the horizon.

Y/N can feel the shift before she sees it clearly on his face. The smile has fully faded without a trace, replaced with a look of… Well, the best word to describe it is.. Lost.

Pope’s hand moves from her face now as he finds his spot in the driver side only, her feet still on his lap as he stares at the steering wheel.

"Y/N..." He begins finally, breaking the thick silence after what feels like minutes.

His voice is quiet. Controlled. Pope never wanted to scare Y/N. Even when angry or overwhelmed, he’d rather draw blood from biting down on his tongue than have her see him like everyone else does..

The truck feels smaller suddenly, the moonlight shimmering over the vast ocean that can be seen from over the pier.

“Andy..” Y/N sighs softly.

“We talked about this…” He continues over her soft voice. He doesn't look at her. His jaw works, a muscle ticking in his cheek as he has a staring contest with the steering wheel.

“Can you just.. Look at me, Andy. Don’t.. Freak out on me." She tries again as she reaches over to grab his hand that’s lulled at his side.

Pope doesn't move. He didn’t react. For the longest time, he sits there, trying to let it all wash through him. Finally, he shakes his head. "Don't freak out..” He repeats her words with a low, humorless chuckle.

Finally, he turns to look at her. His eyes unreadable, that damn wall firmly in place now.

He can practically see it. See her slipping away. He just wanted these two things separate. He wanted his family on one side and Y/N on the other.

But Pope can never get what he wants..

“What do you mean by.. Jobs?" He asks quietly, bracing himself.

"Your..” Y/N sighs. “Your mom told me. Everything. The jobs you guys do. All the heists.” She admits softly. Pope would be vague about so much of his life that when Smurf came to get Y/N from his bedroom during a sleepover at around 2am, it.. Well, it was like when the devil held out that apple for Eve…

Pope shakes his head in silent disbelief. Months of being vague, of telling half truths, of sneaking around. Of trying to shield Y/N from seeing who he truly was. All of it went down the drain as he slept. As he let his guard down.

“Baby..” Y/N whispers, moving her hands up a bit to his bicep, just in hopes of pulling him back. “She said it can be dangerous, Andrew. And… That it'd be good having a doctor on call for some under the table stuff." She explains the gist of their conversation that night just last week.

Y/N had let it all sink in right there at the kitchen table. Smurf was holding gold in front of her. Gold in the shape of a spot in this family. A spot next to Pope.

Forever.

It’s silent once more as Pope turns his head, his free hand reaching up to rub at his bare chin, eyes quickly glancing along the starry sky as he tries to wrap his head around his mother’s game.

She always had a game..

"She told you." He whispers, mind racing. Why? Why do that?

"She said it'd be good having someone you all can trust. For when things go wrong. And I.. I agree.." Y/N defends softly, watching Pope closely as she rests her chin on his shoulder now, fully watching the tense jaw of her lover.

“When things go wrong." He repeats it like he's finding a bitter humor in the words. Always with the dramatics, his mother. He laughs a short, humorless laugh, shaking his head. "Fucking Smurf." He mutters, his thumb pressing against his own lips as a way to possibly self-soothe.

It works better when it’s Y/N’s thumb on his lips though…

“Baby. Look at me..” Y/N whispers, trying to reach for his chin and physically turn his face only for him to quickly push open the truck door and get out.

Y/N watches with a frown as he walks to the end of the wooden pier they were parked on for this view. It had been abandoned a while ago, and Pope has been using it as a lookout for almost a year now.

His back is to her as he leans against the wooden railing. The nighttime ocean breeze catches his curls making him pull up his hoodie.

After slipping on her flats, Y/N gets out of the car as well. The salt air hits her nose, a sharp and cold reminder that this should be a fun night. It’s their anniversary today for crying out loud. Two months down to the hour..

She approaches him carefully, stopping a few inches away just to watch him.

"She's been planning this.” He says. He can’t prove it, but he knows. "Since you came to the house. Since I first showed that I liked you. She saw you and she started figuring out how to use you." His hands grip the railing tighter. The feeling of guilt is heavy on his shoulders as Y/N frowns, moving a bit closer now.

"And I don’t care if she is..” Y/N tries.

“I do!” Pope snaps, turning to face Y/N now. “I told her to leave you alone.” He states as Y/N tries talking over him only to be crumbled by the boom of his agitated tone. “I told her that you were off limits." He ignores her words until she finally yells.

“I want to help, Andrew!” She stomps her foot, growing mad herself at his tunnel vision. He can’t see the bigger picture.

“It’s hell, Y/N!” Pope shouts right back, letting go of any self control in this moment. Y/N stiffens a bit at his tone, but she doesn’t back away. “You wanna be in hell?!” He continues, tone raw and wall down. This is the real him. How he really feels.

“If I’m with you? Then yes!” She argues back, unapologetically as she basically gets in his face, no care over their height difference or the fact that his eyes look as dark as the ocean behind him.

The silence settles, only kept from feeling too heavy by the constant crash of the waves below them.

Pope’s shoulders settle finally, his face breaking from his stone cold expression to… His fear.

“You don't get it." His voice drops, quiet and hoarse. "You don't get what you're saying. You're..” He can’t speak when her hands find his face. He looks at her with a mix of guilt and worry.

"You're good, Y/N. You're good. And this life..” He shakes his head, eyes turning a bit glossy at the mere thought. "It eats people like you." He whispers, wanting to stay strong, but his hands find her waist when she presses against him.

"Then don't let it get me..” She says as if it’s that easy.

“Don’t give it the chance, Andrew.” She continues, holding his gaze as she moves on her tiptoes, forehead finding his as her arms wrap around his neck. "Stay with me." She whispers against his lips.

His lips.. That tremble only a bit as his grip on her tightens.

"I can't lose you..” He whispers. "You're the only good thing I've got."

Y/N hums as she pulls back only slightly to really look him in the eyes. “Then be with me. Stay with me. And I’ll always patch you up.” She whispers. “I don’t care about anything besides you.. And me. That’s all I want.” She states.

*

*

*

* * June 14, 2016 * *

“Ma’am, this is an active crime scene..”

“My nephew is in there!”

J looks up from his staring contest with the couch when he hears the voice he’s only ever known for birthdays and holidays.

Aunt Y/N

This morning was already morphing into a blur. One he hoped would soon go pitch black. One he hoped he’d never remember fully again. The cops step aside and in the doorway she appears.

When he called, he was only 50% sure she’d show up. It was rare when he saw her outside of those brief moments.

“J..” Y/N breathes, letting the teenager rush into her arms like he used to when she’d show up at the door with presents before leaving after hushed and somber words with his mother.

She holds him close, gripping him tight as he hugs back. “It’s okay. I’ve got you. We’ve got you..” Y/N sighs as she braces herself for what is to come..

The ride back to the house is silent. Walking into the house… That is a complete 180. Y/N leads J through the chaos of the home and to a room at the very end of the hallway. “I had 16 hour shift yesterday, so.. I’m sorry about the mess..” She mutters as they get into the bedroom that is completely clean. Almost.. Untouched.

“Is this… Your room? I don’t wanna put you out..” J begins quietly, looking around only to find a few things that show she shares this room. The man in the wedding photo that’s framed on their nightstand looks… A little familiar, but he can’t put his finger on it.

“Trust me. You’d be bringing some life into it. I take the couch every night..” Y/N mutters, voice soft. What’s the point of a marriage bed if her husband isn’t here to share it with her?

“Get settled in. I uh.. I’m gonna tell everyone you’re here..” Y/N says after a moment in order to change the subject a bit. She steps out of the room and covers her mouth to keep from getting physically ill. She’d spent so much energy on trying to get Pope and Julia back on speaking terms.

It had been an average night in the Cody residence. Y/N had been showing off the dress she’d wear for graduation, practicing her speech when Smurf walked in. She called a family meeting, and right in that living room, she said that money had gone missing. She’d made it very clear who she assumed it was.

She had looked Pope in the eye. “Either Y/N.. Or Julia.” She had made the choice sound so simple. And without saying words.. Pope’s eyes had drifted to Julia. The fight had lasted all night. Not between Pope and Julia or even Smurf and Julia. No. After Julia was physically kicked out, Y/N and Pope fought all night. But he was stone on his decision. Smurf felt someone had to go.. And he’d never pick Y/N.

And Smurf knew that..

After that, the guilt kept Pope back from ever reaching out. The hurt kept Julia from doing the same. But Y/N refused to let it go, going to visit during any birthday or holiday she could, and always making sure J and Julia stayed in the loop anytime her number changed. In case they needed anything.

Walking to the kitchen, Y/N finds her balance against the dining table. She knew tomorrow she’d have to visit Pope. She’d have to tell him. She just didn’t know how. Outside she can hear the rowdiness of a pool party and rock music on the stereo. Rolling her shoulders, she stands up straighter just as Baz walks into the kitchen with a happily buzzed Craig.

Y/N averts her eyes from Baz, moving to the fridge for some water. “Can I get?” He asks, always finding an excuse to make conversation. Y/N makes a show of slamming the fridge shut, walking away from it with her own bottle. He sighs as Craig snickers.

“You gonna keep this up for how long?” Baz asks finally.

“Until you realize you’re a piece of shit.” Y/N states simply as she stares him down.

“Cops were coming, someone had to leave-“ Y/N cuts Baz off from the same story.

“No one believes that story but you!” She snaps as Craig shakes his head in slight amusement while slipping past the tense showdown to get another beer. “And anyone who does believe it is just as fucking stupid as you.” She finishes sharply.

Before Baz can fully argue back, his eyes drift to just behind Y/N, lips pressing together in slight surprise. Y/N looks over too, sighing as she sees J standing there. “It’s okay. Come here..” She assures. He slowly walks over to her.

“You remember your uncles? Craig, Baz. Deran is outside. Uh.. And.. Grandma Smurf is-“ Y/N is cut off by Smurf.

“Right here.” She says, smiling warm as she walks right over to J to fully embrace him.

Y/N stays close..

*

*

*

“What are you doing in my room?”

The question was fair enough. Three years in prison had resulted in Pope wanting only two things the minute he stepped into the loud Cody home.

A shower being one.

And Y/N being two.

And yet, as he entered his bedroom at the end of the hallway, what stood amongst the bittersweet memories but a teenager in swim trunks. The young boy stammered and barely managed to get a word out when arms wrapped around Pope from behind.

“Baby!” Y/N gasped, jumping on her husband in astonishment. Either she’d finally lost her mind from lack of sleep, or the Andrew Pope Cody was in her grasp once more. If it was the former, no one better pinch her.

Hoisting up his wife, his head nuzzles into her neck before he can help it. All he needs in this moment is her scent, and from the way she’s clawing at his shoulders to stay attached to him, he definitely doesn’t need to worry about that shower. She doesn’t seem to care.

J watches, a bit thrown off over his sweet aunt being the wife to… A man who looks like he could kill him and then eat a sandwich afterwards..

As if realizing his slight alarm, Y/N finally settles herself a bit to look at J. “This is your uncle Pope, J. I-I’m sorry. He.. I guess he just got out today..” Y/N mutters, quickly trying to wipe away tears as Pope looks over at J.

“You just ruined my surprise..” He mutters, staring J down as Y/N goes back to hugging him.

Pope had no intention of mingling after that. In fact, he wanted everyone besides Y/N out of the room immediately. Craig joked loudly about them needing time to catch up, but.. They really did just need time to catch up.

And by ‘catch up’, they meant laying on their sides and facing one another like they used to do when they were teenagers.

His eyes are shut and for the first time in three years, he has no urgency to open them again. To be aware if his surroundings. He knows where he is because he knows who he’s with. Chest to chest, Y/N moves her thumbs over his forehead and temples before slipping them lower to his cheekbones.

Tracing his face. It always worked to soothe him. And now more than ever, he needed this. Smurf had told him yesterday over the phone.

Y/N could try to understand what the hell was wrong with that woman, but she was an ED attending. Not a psychologist.

Pope had roughly kicked out the rest of the world, slammed the door, and then laid like this with her as he let it all out. After a few run-ins with the law and seven years of marriage, he knew in front of him was a woman who’d rather cut out her own tongue before she ever told any of his secrets.

“Baz been enjoying being second in command?” He mutters after a long moment of silence between the two. He had no more tears left to shed for Julia. It’s clear he could use the change of subjects right now as his wife snorts humorously.

“Focus on settling in right now, Andy. You can see the mess tomorrow..” She mutters as he finally looks at her. Really looks at her. A soft frown plays on his lips.

“You been sleeping? I told Deran, I.. I told him to watch you-“ She cuts him off, a gently hand moving to rub his chest.

“I’m a grown woman, Andrew..” She reminds, wanting to leave it there. In reality, sleep had been the last thing on her mind. She watches the guilt seep back into his eyes though.

“I got sloppy..” He finally says.

“Andrew..” Y/N mutters, not wanting to talk about it.

“I just.. We couldn’t have both gotten caught-“ Y/N cuts him off sharply.

“Yeah!” She huffs. “That’s why I spent three anniversaries with you in a spare prison room for two hours only.” She finally lets some of the anger slip. She sighs, realizing it’s all still just under the surface..

All the pain, frustration. Laying below her skin was all the lost time of those three years, the family they were supposed to start, the house they were supposed to buy. All of it, frozen in her veins..

She gets up from the bed to sit on the edge of it and Pope frowns a bit deeper, slowly sitting up as well. “Y/N-“ She cuts him off again.

“You know what, Andy?” She whispers as she turns to look at him. “The next time a job starts going south?” She grabs his chin. “You make it home to me.” She says bluntly as she looks him in the eyes, not kidding around. “You already did your time.” She mutters.

Pope presses his lips together at the implication. What making it home would consist of. He wasn’t a selfish person. But Y/N was. This life had set that up on her shoulders. Selfish got you what you wanted, and all she wanted.. All she was promised if she stepped into this world.. Was Andrew Cody.

He watches her for a moment before giving a singular nod that’s extremely slight. He’s given his word. And somehow, even in this life, his word meant something.

Slowly, both lay back down in the bed, deciding to leave the stresses of yesterday on the bedroom floor. Snuggling against his chest as he lays on his side, arms around her head, she’s enclosed around just his scent. His heartbeat. His lips find the top of her head as she sighs, finally enjoying her space in this home.

“You still like it in hell?” Pope mutters against her hair, voice quiet as he recalls a conversation had two months into their relationship. One that confirmed Y/N was willingly stepping into his world. Her hand finds his shirt, absentmindedly playing with a button as she looks up at him.

“Are you still with me?” She lets the question speak for itself as she looks him in the eyes. No answer is given. It’s not needed. His lips find hers in the very next second. A silent confirmation that the clock is officially ticking again. The house, the family, the memories. All of it is in reach once more as she blindly unbuttons his shirt..

“What… Just happened?” Y/N stares at the black screen that once held her patient’s information on it.

Looking around the ED, she could see she wasn’t the only one stunned over losing computer access. “Who did this?” Santos asks, already snappy.

“I didn’t get to save..” Mel mutters in surprise before sheepishly turning to Whitaker. “I-Is that bad?” She whispers, afraid of getting in trouble. Whitaker only shakes his head, just as lost as everyone else. Panic begins to rise amongst the doctors and nurses alike and at that same moment, Robby finally walks over to the middle of the ED, Jack taking his place somewhat behind him as a silent show of support.

“Alright!” Robby begins, loud enough to get everyone’s attention. “Just got the phone with the man upstairs. Snowstorm has picked up. We might experience some blackouts, so in order to counter that, we are cutting out the things we do not need.” He explains.

“That being.. Computers.” Jack finishes for him as everyone instantly erupts in complaints. Y/N is fast to get up, walking closer to Dana out of instinct. In her full year of working in the Pitt, she’s learned one major thing she’d never question. When lost? Do what Dana does.

A hand finds her back, a soft rub of assurance is silently given as Dana begins to explain how to file patient information ‘offline’.

“This is gonna take everyone all night.” Santos argues instantly.

“Huh. That is a perfect reaction to get me to my next piece of news..” Robby smiles a bit at Santos. “The snow.. Is not stopping. So I hope you all like hospital beds..” He says simply as everyone seems to groan.

“If you don’t live close enough to be called back in at a moment’s notice and get here quickly, you don’t get to go home..” Jack translates in a more blunt and ‘it is what it is’ tone.

“This is torture. And I’m pretty sure illegal.” Joy mutters, arms crossed as Jack smirks over at her.

“Yeah? Pull a complaint with HR, I’m sure they’ll listen..” He teases. She sticks her tongue out at him, always regressing into a little sister of sorts when around Jack. Y/N watches the exchange gently..

Joy made it look so easy to talk to Jack.

Y/N basically stumbled over her words most times. She was constantly doubting what she was saying and it didn’t help that he’d watch her with this amusement in his dark eyes, as if finding her.. Cute?

No, she was.. She was just imagining things.

Robby tells everyone to go back to what they were doing, grab clipboards, recorders, and keep track of their patients the ‘old fashion’ way.

“Nurses? It’d be real helpful if you go to the rooms, maybe assure the patients and their love ones that the reason there’s no Wi-Fi is because of the snow..” Robby says gently as Dana rolls her eyes a bit.

“Go in groups!” She orders sharply. “Some people turn into animals when they can’t scroll..” She mutters low enough for Y/N to hear before going to set up all the necessary bins.

Y/N watches as Perlah groups up with Emma and Princess groups up with another nurse named Maddy. Shifting a bit, she looks around, hoping to find Mateo, but he’s already going into rooms with another nurse.

With a deep sigh, she decides to just go on her own, bracing herself for whatever tantrum she might face. Walking to the first room, she squares her shoulders before walking in.

“Hello, my name is Nurse-“ She’s immediately cut off.

“What’s going on with the Wi-Fi?” The teenage patient asks as his mother also fusses with her phone.

“Well, that’s why I’m here. Due to the storm outside, our Wi-Fi systems are down for the moment..” Y/N says, keeping her voice polite.

“That’s such bull..” The teenager stops his initial complaints when he notices something from behind Y/N. He crosses her arms and begrudgingly mutters a ‘whatever’ before setting his phone down on his lap.

Y/N pauses a bit at the change, smiling slightly.

Huh. That was easy..

She turns only to be met with Jack Abbot leaning against the hospital room doorframe, hands in his pockets.

Oh. No wonder..

She gives a soft smile as they both fully step out of the room. “How long were you standing there?” She asks curiously.

“Mm.. From the second you walked in.” He nods certainly. “Shouldn’t be going to deliver this news alone.” He reminds.

“What about Joy? She’s alone..” Y/N points out as she nods to Joy walking into different rooms to bluntly say ‘No Wi-Fi’ before walking out with no further explanation given.

Jack chuckles a bit at that and shakes his head. “Yeah, well.. If something happens to Joy, that’s bad.” He nods certainly. “But if something happens to you..” He trails off a bit, making her stop and look up at him. His eyes soften.

“I just.. I don’t want anything to happen to you..” He finally says, voice warm and tender as he leaves it at that. It makes her heart flutter as she sheepishly looks down.

“Thank you. Dr. Abbot.” She says, tone slightly bashful as she tries to keep the ‘Doctor’ title in there in order to maintain this sense of.. Just colleagues being nice.

The two resume their walking, peaceful and comfortable in the silence they’ve created. Finally, Y/N speaks up. “I hope I can find a good enough room upstairs..” She says, just thinking out loud for a moment. Jack smiles a bit as he nudges her playfully.

“Just gotta know the right people.” He teases softly before stopping at a room. “After you, Nurse Y/N..” He says, playfully labeling her as she had labeled him.

“Thank you, Dr. Abbot..” She teases back, the labels becoming.. Playful now..

*

*

*

Now Enjoy These Headcanons:

• The relationship started off slow. Jack is old school, so he courted Y/N first before he even thought about asking her out. It was small things at first. She’d walk in to coffee already waiting for her on her desk, he’d bring her something for a late lunch when he’d walk in for his night shift because he just knew she didn’t eat anything throughout the day. •

• People come and go all the time, Jack doesn’t go through the trouble of learning names anymore. But the first time he truly noticed Y/N was when he watched her stand up to Robby on behalf of a patient. She thought the patient was showing signs that would need immediate surgery, and Robby didn’t see it that way. He was so impressed that he went behind Robby’s back as an attending and actually did the tests to see if her hunch was true. (It was), and that was their first, of many, cases together and also the day Jack took off his ring.. •

• Jack gets distracted when he’s in the zone. He barely finishes his sentences, it frustrates anyone who’s on a case with him. But not Y/N. She understands every unspoken or even half-spoken word. •

• When a bad storm hit Pittsburgh, his leg started killing him. He tried working through it and hiding it from everyone, but Y/N knew instantly that something was off. She didn’t even ask him, just went to the store after clocking out for the evening. He found a small bag at his desk later that evening full of things for pain management, along with a small post it note that said ‘at ease, soldier’. That was the night he realized he really loves this girl.. •

• Jack and Y/N communicate through post-it notes that they leave anywhere they know the other will find it. Jack has left them on Y/N’s desk, locker, lunch bag, and even the more tame ones with Dana. Y/N has left notes at his desk, in his backpack and emergency pouch, with Robby, or even just on his back as a little laugh whenever a patient or fellow coworker points it out. •

• Their love language is silent communication. Santos has joked before that it’s scary to witness. How they’ll just unblinkingly stare at each other before one of them nods, as if understanding. You might catch a slight eyebrow twitch or a half smirk, but most of the time, you don’t even know what they’re doing till they ‘break’ from their silent conversation and say what the plan is for everyone else.. •

• First fight happened on the fourth when Y/N walked in on Mohan patching up Jack. She thought that would be her only concern of the day, and then she found out he’d gotten shot while running into an active robbery. Yeah, he had to really turn up the charm that day in order to get out of the doghouse.. •

• Now, Jack is aware of the age gap. And he doesn’t think he’s the hottest man alive, but he knows he’s fit enough to keep up with Y/N. The age insecurity comes from Y/N through. Anytime she quotes a dumb TikTok or shows Jack a new song she likes, or tells him about some new celebrity drama brewing.. A part of her feels.. Childish? But she quickly got over that because she realized fairly quickly that Jack can be just as childish as, if not more than, she is! •

• As a follow up to that last one.. It’s because Jack believes surviving his tours was ‘for a reason’. It took a lot of therapy to get to that mindset though. He owes it to his late wife and his fallen military buddies to fully embrace and live life and love the joys that come with it. Which includes this relationship.. •

• Jack has taught Y/N old military games, codes, songs, and introduced her to the wonders of Pearl Jam and the entire ‘Die Hard’ and ‘Aliens’ franchise while Y/N has given Jack a taste of her world. Jack loves and would go to war for Olivia Rodrigo. Don’t ask me why, he just would. •

No one wanted to tell Pope.

J’s hands tremble as he stands by the backyard door, looking out into the pool. Nicky can hardly contain her own sobs as she also takes in the sight in front of her. “Is she alive?!” She asks between violent and harsh breaths. J is too busy staring at the puddle gathered around Y/N.

The liquid is dark, but due to the concrete absorbing it, he couldn’t tell if it was the pool water, or blood.

“J!” Nicky cries as he finally snaps.

“What?! Fuck! Nicky, what?!” He shouts, the panic setting in finally, pushing the horror to the pit of his stomach.

“Is she fucking alive?!” Nicky cries more, her tense body jerking as she stomps her foot aggressively. J looks back at Y/N’s soaked and limp form.

“She fucking better be…” He whispers, mostly to himself.

She wasn’t even supposed to be here..

When the car had first screeched to a halt outside the Cody residence, Y/N had seen the men hop out the car before J or Nicky could fully understand what was happening.

She wasn’t even supposed to be here.

Y/N had ordered the couple into a bedroom and told them to not make a sound.

She wasn’t even supposed to be here!

J and Nicky listened from the bedroom as Y/N refused to speak to them about a damn thing. The sounds quickly turning from aggressive to just plain violent, but anytime J tried to move, Nicky would grab a hold of him, quietly begging him to not leave her alone.

J paces a bit, building up the courage to go out there, to check on her until he hears it. A car. Freezing, he barely registers Nicky rushing to his side to grip his shirt. “Fuck!” She cries as the front door opens.

That’s the only thing that settles J. Whoever parked in the driveway was supposed to be here. Until he hears the voice of the mystery person.

“Go get your shoes, tot. I’m sure mommy’s waiting up..”

Pope.

Fuck.

Pope walks over to the kitchen, pausing as he sees the two teens shaking with tear stained cheeks. “What?” He asks, his jaw instantly tensing in a way it hadn’t before.

Why would it have been? He’d been out all day with his three year old daughter, Aria. A relaxing evening was spent, and now here he was, letting all that stress come right back into his system.

Y/N had only popped by the Cody residence tonight because she assumed Pope was here, not knowing her husband had actually left for ice cream with Aria and Deran about 20 minutes before she’d pulled up.

She wasn’t supposed to be here..

J can’t speak as he stares at his uncle. The man who terrified him to the bone, the man who he only ever really saw smile thanks to the woman who’s still lying limp outside. The man who he didn’t know had emotions until he saw him tear up at Aria’s first steps and words.

“What?” Pope barks now, making Nicky jump a bit.

J feels his heart hammer against his chest. It’s in his ears, in his skull. It’s doing the talking for him. Pope finally looks beyond the two teens, his look of annoyance fading. Melting. Into one of pure horror.

J almost breaks. For so long, he thought of Pope as the devil.

Who knew the devil could get scared?

There’s no words exchanged as Pope runs out to the pool area. Deran walks into the kitchen, holding Aria only to be blocked by a shaking Nicky.

“Sh-She shouldn’t… see this.” She stammers as she takes a pouty Aria from Deran. J watches from the sliding glass door as Pope shakes an unconscious Y/N.

“Baby? B-Baby?” Pope whispers as he urgently checks his pulse and puts his head to her chest. He hears the heartbeat of his lover, but maybe that’s his own.

“Baby?!” He shouts, voice raw and authoritative as he tries to open her eyes. “Don’t fucking do this to me!” He struggles against his own panic to get the words out.

“Don’t fucking… Y/N!” He snaps as he begins CPR.

“Fuck..” Deran breathes out in shock as he watches his brother lose it.

“W-What do we do?” J asks finally, fidgeting with his phone, as if waiting for the word to call.

Deran doesn’t answer as he watches Pope start compressions.

“Don’t. Don’t you fucking.. Leave me. Don’t you fucking leave me! Baby..” Pope pants out roughly as he focuses on just this. He can do this, just this, forever. He has no choice in the matter. He does this.. Or he dies too.

There was no in-between here. He would be with her, because his end was her. His beginning was her.

Pope had known Y/N since high school. She wasn’t extremely popular, but to a young Pope Cody, she was a goddess. Funny, smart, caring. The first time they ever interacted was when Pope was getting arrested for stealing computers from the high school. The cops had him to the ground and Y/N had rushed over to tell them to not be so rough.

‘You don’t even know if he did it! Innocent till proven, right?!’

Pope had done it.

But her fierce and blind support had made him smirk all the way to the police station.

That was just Y/N. That’s how she’s always been. Loyal and supportive and constantly seeing the door. That’s why she had her own clinic, that’s why people in OceanSide love her, that’s what made her an amazing wife and mother. It was her heart.

The heart Pope was now desperately pumping at..

“Don’t leave me..” Pope mutters desperately, angry hot tears rolling down his face as he finishes the 30. He desperately leans down, his lips touching the soft and cold ones of his lover. He almost breaks.

It almost hits him that that’s not how her lips felt this morning.

But he pushes it back down. All the way down, just so he can focus. As he pulls away, a loud cough comes from Y/N, water spurting up from her now trembling lips, the cold setting in from being drowned repeatedly in the pool.

Pope is quick to lay her on her side, brushing her hair away from her face more. He shakily touches the bruise on her left cheek. She hisses as he finally breaks, taking off his jacket to put around her. He hurriedly uses his pocket knife to cut the tape off her wrists, as if wanting that last piece of evidence away from them both.

The evidence that showed he wasn’t there to protect her..

He lays on his side just to hold her to his chest as her hands shakily find his shirt to grip on to while she lets reality sink back in. She begins to quietly sob, digging her head into his hard chest as she realizes all that could’ve slipped from her.

“They’re okay?” She finally breathes. Pope doesn’t answer, busy kissing the top of her head repeatedly.

“Andy, are the kids okay?!” She whispers, voice hoarse and thick with tears as he nods, lips pressed hard against her forehead as if needing to feel her skin against him.

To assure himself that she’s still here..

*

*

*

Her eyes burned.

Her lungs burned.

Her nose burned.

And then in all one moment, the yank to her hair makes it all disappear.

She coughs roughly as she’s made to look at Manny. “Look at my fucking face. Do I look like a man you can fuck with?! Hm?!” He snaps as he grips her jaw, making her wince.

“You tell me about a safe that only has 25K in it?! You think I’m here for 25..” He trails off, anger getting the better of him as he backhands her. The force sends her to the ground, Manny’s men letting her fall. Her hands behind her back meant she couldn’t even try to catch her fall.

The stone around the pool had scarped her knees already, and the process of being dunked in and out of the pool made her disoriented and cold. Not to mention the constant hits she’d been endearing since they dragged her out here.

“Get her back up!” Manny orders his men. The two guys quickly yank her back up by her clothes as she silently prays they stick to just hitting her..

“Look at me..” Manny says quietly as he bends over to be eye level with Y/N. She struggles a bit, the ache to her neck and head making it hard to move.

“Ay!” Manny quickly swats her mouth. “I said look at me!” He orders. “You better focus on my words..” He says as she looks up at him.

“I want my fucking money. And I want it now. And if you don’t know where it is.. You better let the men know.” He says as he grabs her by the neck.

“And you better hope they can get it back to me. Because I always make my money back..” Manny says before eyeing her, a sick smirk growing on his face. “And I know people who’ll pay a pretty dime for you..” He says slowly as she shuts her eyes, stiffening her cries. She didn’t want to give him that satisfaction, but the fear was becoming overwhelming..

“Put her ass back in the water!” Manny orders, making her cry against the tape on her mouth as she’s dragged back to the pool edge..

“Ah!”

She’s drenched in sweat..

It’s quiet in the house, too quiet for her liking. The big gulps of air do nothing to slow her racing heart as she really takes in her surroundings.

The bedroom. Her bedroom. The room she shares with her husband, but he’s nowhere to be found right now. She snuffles slightly as she sits in the bed, recalling the rest of the night.

Pope had taken her and Aria home. She had weakly and shakily washed herself up, her shower only interrupted by a silent Pope. No words were shared as he got into the shower with her. It was a somber moment that both needed as she washed the trauma off of her..

They then got into bed, still not speaking. Y/N was much too tired to actually talk.

And now here she sat, in bed alone.

With a soft wince, Y/N moves from the bed and gets up slowly. She takes her time leaving the room and walking down the hallway. She peeks into her daughter’s room, sighing in relief as she sees her resting easy. She then heads downstairs.

Pope is sat out on the front porch with a double barrel shotgun right next to him. His posture is straight and his demeanor is one of a man on guard. Y/N frowns softly as she watches through the front door window before quietly opening the door. He makes no move at that sound. But he feels her presence.

“Where did you get that?” Y/N whispers as she leans against the doorframe now, arms wrapped around herself.

“It’s mine..” He whispers, voice rough and low as he doesn’t turn to look at her.

“Andy. Guns aren’t allowed in this house. You know that.” She says after a moment, voice soft as she somewhat shakes her head.

No response.

“What are you even doing out here? It’s 2am..” She continues.

“Watching.” Pope mutters after another long moment of silence. Y/N frowns.

“No. Come back inside. And.. Put that away..” She tries gently as Pope stays where he is. Y/N frowns at that.

“Go to sleep, Y/N…” He whispers finally. She shakes her head more.

“Andy, I’m serious. Put that in your car, it’s not coming into the house, and come inside..” She tries again, eyes welling up, but her voice is a bit firmer now as Pope stays still.

“Go. To. Sleep, Y/N.” He says again, this time ordering her as his eyes stare out into the vast darkness of nighttime in their neighborhood.

“No!” Y/N snaps finally. “I can’t!” She says, letting the tears fall now.

He finally turns to look at her. “I can’t sleep! I can’t go! because my husband is outside with a gun like he’s waiting to blow someone’s head off!” She fusses as he frowns deeply.

It’s as if her tears have broken him from his trance, making him slowly stand up now. “I can’t just go back inside because you’re! Not! Holding me!” She rants as she lets a sob wreck her body, holding herself tightly as Pope looks down in shame.

He silently wraps his arms around her, letting her fall into his arms. She sniffles as she nuzzles against his neck, arms wrapping around him like a child holding their teddy bear.

“I’m making arrangements. For you and Aria. For tomorrow.” He says, his voice against the top of her head giving soft vibrations through her hair. Y/N pauses as she pulls back a bit to look at him.

“What?” You whisper.

“I can’t have you here..” Pope whispers back as he shakes his head. “I can’t have my world touch you again. I…” He shakes his head fast as if once was enough. As if the idea of this ever happening again just guts him from the inside out..

“No.” Y/N whispers.

“Y/N, I’m not asking.” Pope tries as Y/N pulls away fully now.

“And I’m not listening.” She states firmly. Pope stares into the jagged jaws of her stubbornness that at one point he found extremely sexy.

Now, he sees the fault in it..

“No.” She repeats. “I.. I have a life here, Andrew. I-I have a business, I have friends, I have family. Aria has family here. Her preschool is here.” She lists. “No!” She says yet again.

“I had to pump your chest today!” Pope finally lashes out. Y/N frowns as she sees behind the darkness of his brown eyes is fear. Pure fear and shame. As if he had done this..

“I had to be tenacious, and then mourn you! Over and over! Again and again!” Pope continues on, fighting back the tears, but his voice trembles slightly.

“I imagined life without you, while I gave you mouth to mouth, and it was black. Because there is nothing. There is no life without you, Y/N.” He continues. “And I wasn’t there! I couldn’t..” His voice breaks finally, fully, giving way to the pressure of holding back his cries of heartache.

“I never thought… I always thought it’s worth it..” His voice is painful as the tears slip down his cheeks. “Everything I do.. All the dark shit. It’s.. It was supposed to be worth it. Because no one would touch you. And it didn’t matter, I didn’t.. I wasn’t strong enough..” He breaks, feeling as small as when he was a kid being tossed into closets and left to fend for himself.

Y/N frowns as she slowly moves to cup his face. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I wasn’t..” He slowly drops to his knees to fully grip Y/N’s hips, his head pressing into her stomach as she strokes his hair.

Slowly, Y/N tilts Pope’s head back so he looks up at her. He lets her, his eyes beautiful even in this state..

“I knew.” She whispers. “The risks of being with you. I knew.” She nods. “But I’m still with you. Because I love you.” She says as he shuts his eyes. “And I knew the risk of tonight. Of making J and Nicky hide. And I still did it. And I’d do it again. Because I love your family..” She shakes her head.

“I’m a big girl, Andrew. I know what I’ve signed up for..” She says quietly as he sighs shakily. “And I’m not leaving it for any reason.” She adds certainly as Pope takes a deep breath, looking up at her with pure adoration. He silently grabs her hand to kiss and smell her palm, fully taking in her presence as he mutters quiet apologies the entire time…

*

*

*

The next morning, Y/N is woken up by small lips pressing against her left cheek. She smiles softly as she fully becomes alert. She knows those lips anywhere.

Aria..

Opening her eyes, she smiles softly at her three year old who is now worriedly brushing her hair back. “Mommy’s boo-boo..” Aria says as she carefully rubs Y/N’s cheek.

Y/N sits up more, body stiff, but she doesn’t let it show as she pulls Aria into her lap. “Mm.. Yeah, mommy has an ouchie. I’m so silly. I fell down..” Y/N lies smoothly as Aria gasps sharply, an overly dramatic gasp that makes Y/N chuckle a bit as Aria covers her mouth too. Her daughter was such a good actress..

“Uh-Oh..” Aria says before moving to excessively blow on the bruise on Y/N’s cheek. It makes her chuckle a bit. It’s something Y/N does anytime she or Pope gets hurt. Lightly blow on the hurt area to ‘make the pain go away’. Her daughter’s aggressive blowing seemed to do the trick too..

Pope walks into the bedroom at that moment with a tray of food in his grasp. Y/N smiles softly at the sight of her husband, home at 9am, something that’s rare nowadays..

“Mm… Look at that food..” Y/N says as Aria also cheers, getting distracted from playing nurse. Pope gets in bed, leaning over to kiss Y/N tenderly on the lips, never one to care about morning breath when it came to her..

“Morning..” Y/N whispers as Pope watches her. There’s a silent question in that greeting. One that asks ‘are you still trynna get rid of Aria and I?’

“Morning…” Pope whispers back, giving his answer. ‘Not a chance in hell’..

Y/N smiles, letting Aria feed her a piece of strawberry. “Let’s eat up. I’m thinking we take a little trip to… The cabin.” Pope says. Y/N’s eyes widen in excitement, smiling happily as she swallows the strawberry.

“The cabin?!” Y/N asks.

“For the weekend..” He nods certainly before watching her softly. “Smurf called. Said she was.. Gonna handle everything. I need to focus on my family right now..” Pope says gently as Y/N smiles, leaning in to kiss him again.

“Mm… Last time we were at the cabin..” Y/N pauses to think before realizing. Pope smirks as he silently eyes Aria to confirm her thought process. Three years ago…

“Oh… No…” Y/N laughs as she slowly shakes her head at him to show that they will not be repeating history…

Pope only smirks before letting Aria feed him a banana slice…

“You know what they say about a doctor and his nurse…”

Y/N looks up from her charts.

It’s an outdated stereotype, sure, but she can’t stop her eyes from slipping over to one Dr. Robby as he tries hard to focus on the task at hand.

Betty had been in the middle of complimenting how in sync Y/N and Robby were as they worked. They’d gotten to the point of looks being their only form of communication.

Betty was retired now, sure, but she was still sharp. She remembered her days as a nurse. She’d share tales of the ‘old times’ that made Y/N’s heart oddly warm. She had a way of telling stories, and she’d been in the middle of one right now.

Dr. Franklin was the man’s name. According to Betty, she was his favorite nurse. Hence her little joke about a doctor and a nurse. It was a cliché, really.

A cliché Y/N was now living..

One that had been played out on every midday television drama her grandma used to watch while folding clothes.

“No. Can’t say I do..” Robby finally breaks the silence, giving a soft smile towards Betty as he breaks focus for just a second. But Y/N continues her staring. It’s as if she was trying to telepathically speak to him.

‘Robby. I rolled out of your bed this morning. You know what they say about a doctor and his nurse..’

She shakes her head after a moment or so, finding the idea silly. Of course he can’t hear her in his head.

But.. If that was the case.. Why was he refusing to look over at her?

It’d had been about three weeks since drinks together turned into an actual relationship, and the two were still keeping it casual for work. But outside of this place was a man who Y/N was very quickly starting to adore with her entire heart..

“Ankle looks better. I’d say to still take it easy though..” Robby says as he steps away from the bed now.

“Yes, yes, Mickey. Of course.” Betty says as she waves a hand. It entertains Y/N to say the older woman still treat Robby like he was the same six year old kid she watched run around playing pretend.

Deep down, she knew Robby adored Betty too. If not, he wouldn’t have made her come back here so he could personally check on her ankle.

“You could make sure I stay off foot if you come to service..” Betty begins slowly, a playfully sly smirk on her aged face. Y/N stiffens a giggle.

“I am a.. Very busy man, Betty..” Robby begins with the same old excuse. Betty waves her hands at him with a shake of her head.

“Please. Speak to him. Speak sense.” Betty says to Y/N now, making her quickly try to hide her amused smile.

“Dr. Robby is his own man..” She begins gently, making Betty give out a sharp ‘ha!’ in response.

“A man is never his own. A pretty face will always own him.” Betty declares simply, as if her 72 years of living has taught her that fact blatantly. Y/N hums gently, keeping that in mind as she eyes Robby’s bashful expression with a slight smirk.

“I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t try to turn my nurse against me..” Robby jokes now, voice and eyes warm as Betty smirks.

“Why? You know what they say about a doctor and his nurse..” She repeats playfully, a knowing glint in her eyes that makes Y/N blush a bit. The two excuse themselves after a bit. Y/N follows Robby out of the room as he lists the things to put into Betty’s aftercare report.

Y/N bites her lip as she mentally debates it before speaking. “You should consider taking her.” She finally says, breaking Robby from his medical ramble. Robby pauses, looking over at Y/N with a raised eyebrow.

“Taking her..” He trails off before it clicks. “Y/N I have not stepped foot into a synagogue in years..” He laughs in disbelief. As if taken aback that she’d even consider that.

“It’s clear she adores you, Robby. What’s the harm?” She asks gently as she holds her charts close to her chest while crossing her arms. Robby eyes her before looking elsewhere, the corner of his mouth twitching to show he’s weighing the pros/cons.

“You’re considering it?” Y/N asks, already knowing the answer. Robby looks back at her and sighs.

“Possibly.” He mutters, wanting to leave it at that. It makes Y/N chuckle a bit.

“That is all I ask.” She says sweetly as she gives him.. that look. He takes a moment to really check her out before sighing deeply.

“You really gotta stop using that look on me at work..” He notes quietly as he rubs his face a bit. It makes Y/N smile more as she straightens up again.

“Yeah, well. You know what they say about a doctor and his nurse..” Y/N quietly teases as she walks past him, swaying her hips a bit. Mostly because she knows he’s watching…

*

*

*

Now enjoy these headcanons:

• Robby is easily distracted by Y/N. Somehow, his eyes always find her. Doesn’t matter who’s in front of him or in the middle of talking to him, if he spots her walking around or even just working at her desk, he’ll watch her. He says it’s to keep track of ‘everyone’, but really it’s just to make sure she’s okay.. •

• Robby’s reason for pulling Y/N on to every one of his cases started off as him liking how capable and attentive she was with the patients, but soon changed to him realizing he just does his best work when she’s by his side.. •

• His go to when he knows she’s feeling off or overwhelmed throughout the day about something is “All good?” because he knows she can’t lie to him. Her voice will always give her away. Her go to is “Robby. Eyes.” because his eyes hide nothing from her. He knows that, so the first few times she’d do that, he’d purposefully look over her head. (He’s six foot one, the man is tall enough to do that.) She’d lightly swat at him to make him stop though. •

• Quiet hallway conversations are their love language. It’s the only moments of the day they get to really speak to each other. Even if they’re just going over a case, they both use those quiet moments to secretly recharge with each other. •

• He’s always “accidentally” brushing up against Y/N or putting hands on her while he “squeezes past”. Hands find her waist automatically every time without fail. Jack has noticed every time and teased him before to “cool it”, but he swears it’s a simple accident. It isn’t. He needs that physical touch sometimes. •

• “Take five” is Robby’s favorite line to use when one of his own is getting frustrated and/or overwhelmed by a case, but Y/N is the only person to ever say that to him and have him actually listen.. •

• Y/N’s first three weeks on the job were spent with Robby physically leading her around the ED instead of him verbally telling her where to go. A quick hand on the shoulder here, a slight tug to the wrist there. And even now that she knows her way around, he can’t help but move her out of ways and physically guide her. •

• That physically guiding doesn’t stop in the ED. Y/N can keep her brain off while out with Robby because his hand is constantly on the small of her back, leading her to and from places. •

• Their first ever fight happened when Y/N was involved in a code ‘Hula-Hoop’. Robby had been in the middle of a conversation with Dana and when he heard McKay yell out the code word, he realized with a sinking feeling that Y/N wasn’t in eyesight. He ran like hell to the room. He blew up on her in front of everyone, but it was out of fear. Fear of losing her or her getting hurt. She had ignored him the rest of the shift and, later that night, he had to really grovel in order to get back on her good side.. •

• The age difference was a reason for his hesitation. He thinks Y/N definitely deserves better than him. In fact, it took Y/N threatening to pull sex completely off the table for him to finally agree to do it with the lights on. It also took her threatening to never speak to him again for him to finally get soft in their relationship. Now his favorite things to do while they’re alone is lay his head on her stomach and have her brush her fingers through his hair. He also loves exchanging personal favorites with her. Now, Y/N loves Bon Jovi and Good Fellas and Robby surprisingly is an Ariana Grande fan. Who knew.. •

Jack Abbot:

“Oh my god, what is all this?!”

The words flow out of Y/N’s mouth in absolute shock as she watches her boyfriend of two years balance the new boxes in his arms.

“Nothing crazy. New laptop, printer, scanner..” He lists as she jumps up from the couch to help him set everything down.

“How did you… Jack!” She says in astonishment as she watches him smile, proud of himself.

“You said your laptop’s been acting up.” Jack defends gently.

“Yeah. I was gonna get it looked at..” She tries as he waves a hand at that.

“Why? So you can pay for them to tell you that you need a new one anyways?” He raises an eyebrow. “Cut out the middleman.” He shrugs as if it’s simple. Y/N blinks more, at a loss for actual words.

“Jack.. I.. This is all so much..” She mutters as he chuckles at her, shaking his head.

“It is not. It’s your future. Nothing is ever too much.” He states. “Plus! I got it your favorite color.” He adds, as if wanting that to give him extra boyfriend points. It makes Y/N giggle as she moves closer to him, cupping his face with both hands.

“Thank you..” She says tenderly as he moves to hug her.

“I’ll pay you back. Eventually..” She jokes quietly as they hug. He laughs softly.

“Pay me back with that degree I know you’re gonna get..” He smirks at her as she blushes, kissing him happily..

Andrew “Pope” Cody:

“Oh! Daddy! Can I have these too?!”

You look away from your mental debate on which binder carries more to see your six year old daughter holding up a pair of paint splatter buckle slide sandals to your husband.

“Put em in.” Pope says simply, making you give him a look. Pope loved spoiling your kids. Back to school shopping was just.. ‘miniature Christmas’ for him.

“That would be her tenth pair of shoes for this school year..” You point out with slight humor in your eyes as you walk over to the cart to check the damage. You knew having your husband wonder off alone with your two kids and Lena would result in this..

A shopping cart chuck full of clothes, shoes, book bags, lunch boxes, and other school supplies. You could tell by the color themes which belonged to your six your old daughter, your four year old son, and your 13 year old niece-in-law.

“We already did the school clothes shopping, Andy. This is for last minute book supplies.” You remind him as you hold up a binder to show an example of what needs to be in the cart instead. Pope gives you a small grin. The look of a boy who’s been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. You love that little smile of his. It’s his feign of innocence smile.

“It’s just a couple of things extra. To last them.” Pope mutters gently as you bite back your adoration.

“You say that, but the second the temperature drops, you’ll be right back here to get another load of clothes.” You point out. You loved that your kids could live comfortably.

Pope had made that much clear when you first told him you were pregnant, but most of the clothes he’d buy them would just end up with the tag still on and being donated to make room for new clothes.

Over the summer, you’d done your annual cleaning of the kids closets to see what they’ve grown out of, and all the clothes you put into bags to donate still were freshly new!

“It’s just a few new things..” Pope assures as you eye the cart with crossed arms.

You open your mouth to debate that clear lie since it’s an entire cart full of stuff, only to be cut off by your daughter. “Please, mommy? It’s just a few things..” She says sweetly as she repeats her father’s words, staring up at you with those dark brown eyes given to her by the man you adored.

You didn’t know you could love those eyes anymore than you already had till you saw them on your kids’ faces..

“Mm..” You mutter as Pope scoops up your daughter and moves closer to your son who’s sat in the cart so all three of them can give you their best puppy dog look.

“Please mommy..” They all three try now, making it harder for you to fight back your smile. Lena quickly joins in.

“Please, Aunt Y/N..” She pouts, making you groan playfully.

“Fine! Fine, we can take it all.” You give in as your kids all cheer. “But no more after this.” You add fast, trying to keep some boundary in place.

“Yes!” Lena and your daughter both cheer softly as your son shouts a joyous ‘yay’. Pope smiles at you.

“You have my word. No more after this..” He assures as he pulls you into his arms.

“Oh!” Your daughter says as if remembering just now. “Daddy! The bows!” She says.

“Oh, they’re over here. Let’s go!” Lena says as she and your daughter run off to the aisle that has them. Pope gives you his same innocent smile.

“No more.. After the bows.” He corrects as you playfully glare at him while he quickly runs off with the cart. You shake your head with a deep sigh, just letting them go. You turn back to the binders to continue your debate..

Jack Abbot:

“Mm.. There he is. Dr. Daddy..”

You’re smiling teasingly as you call that out, no shame in saying the words ‘Doctor’ and ‘daddy’ in an active ED. Your eyes are only on your newly appointed fiancé.

Dana snickers at the nickname. She’d been in the middle of gawking at the ring sitting pretty on your finger when Jack got off the elevator from behind you. He smirks as he walks over to you, holding his bookbag on his shoulder with one strap, his free arm snaking around your waist to pull you close.

“You’re lookin good, baby..” You continue as he smirks slyly. “Sexy.” You state happily.

“Mm.. Not too much, now. I’m an engaged man..” Jack informs playfully. You two were still riding this high.

Of course you were, Jack had just proposed to you yesterday!

“Alright you two, we get it. Behave or I’ll get HR involved..” Dana finally jokes as she shakes her head while walking away. Y/N turns fully to face Jack as he lets go of her waist to lean on the nurse’s station instead.

He nods over at you, smirk still playing on his lips as you raise an eyebrow at his chin motion. As if he wanted you to keep talking.

“What?” You ask with a chuckle.

“Call me Dr. Daddy again..” Jack smirks wider, making you laugh.

“I would, but.. I’m an engaged woman..” You tease now, happily walking off to begin your shift.

Jack playfully groans at that only to have Robby walk over. “Let’s go, Dr. Daddy. Trauma Room 2.” He says as he gives Jack a pointed look, walking over to the room.

“It’s not as good when you say it..” Jack complains dryly as he follows him.

Andrew “Pope” Cody:

“God, I wanna bite those biceps...”

The words leave your mouth effortlessly. You can’t help it. The sunset that’s seeping in from the kitchen window is only highlighting the man that’s scrubbing a Brillo pad hard against the grill.

Pope came in at least three times a week to deep clean Deran’s bar kitchen, or he couldn’t sleep right. You’d always help out, but at a certain point, you’d just make yourself comfortable on the kitchen metal table and watch your man work. His biceps, his shoulders, his soft breathy grunts as he scrubbed the entire kitchen down.

You were in heaven half the time…

Pope pauses his cleaning to look at you and then his eyes scan around the kitchen slowly. “Baby.” You say, getting his attention back to just you.

“You, baby. Your biceps.” You assure his unspoken question. Pope never knew how to take compliments. In fact, when you’d first said you loved him, his response was a small ‘me?’ that almost broke you down.

“I.. I knew that.” Pope mutters after a moment, just trying to save face. It makes you softly chuckle. He absentmindedly rubs his bicep while looking down, as if still confused though.

He could never see it. Never understand it. But he sure as hell liked the attention. You watch as he ‘casually’ rolls his short sleeves up a bit more, mostly just to give you the show you wanted. It makes you smile as you lean back more, enjoying the view..

Sammy Bryant:

“Mm… Mister Officer. Lookin good!”

Sammy doesn’t slow his strides, keeping his head forward as he walks with his partner towards their patrol car. You whistle now, determined to get your boyfriend’s attention. You’d been out running errands when you noticed him walking out of a coffee shop.

“Uh.. Sammy. You got a fan..” His partner finally chuckles. Sammy pauses in confusion but looks over finally, pausing as he sees you.

“Hi, mister officer..” You tease a bit as you trace your fingers along your steering wheel. Sammy’s entire face shifts to a light shade of pink as he realizes you were catcalling him. Bashfully, he walks over.

“I didn’t know it was you..” He admits sheepishly.

“Mm.. I guess I should feel secure that you assumed you were being catcalled by a random lady, and decided to keep walking..” You reason as he leans down closer to your window.

“Honestly, baby, I.. Assumed my partner was getting catcalled.” He points out, making you pout slightly. Sammy just never had any idea how absolutely gorgeous he truly was.

“Damn shame.” You mutter as you shake your head slightly. “Baby, your looks alone? Make me proud to be a badge bunny..” You state unapologetically as you eye him up and down fully. He blushes a bit more at that.

“I’m on the clock.” He reminds you bashfully. “I’ll uh.. Come over tonight?” He offers after clearing his throat a bit. You nod certainly.

“And I’ll.. Keep the uniform on..” He assures quietly before walking away from your car, making you blush this time. You giggle and drive off..

Brett Richards:

“Hey, hottie!” You call playfully from your car window as Brett looks up from his gear testing. His look of confusion quickly turns into a coy smile when he sees it’s you.

“Who? Me?” He plays along, acting shy and bashful as he slowly sets down the gear to walk over to your car.

“Yes, you. Who else but you?” You chuckle as he leans in to quickly peck your lips.

“You’re too kind..” He mutters sweetly as he steps back a bit more.

“I see you’re putting those arms to good use..” You note as he eyes his own body, a small smile playing on his lips as he playfully flexes.

“What? These noodle limbs?” He jokes as you appreciate the sight.

“Those are not noodles, baby..” You shake your head as he chuckles softly.

“Gear testing for the month. Then I’ll be on my way home.” He assures you, setting the joking aside for the moment. You nod at that.

“Feel free to.. Bring some gear home. To test..” You smile innocently. He opens his mouth to explain why he really shouldn’t before it dawns on him.

“Oh. Oh, I plan on it..” He assures, making you giggle. You shake your head and drive off..

Terry McCandless:

It’s with a deep sigh that you pull over to the side of the road. Shaking your head slightly, you can’t help but mutter to yourself. “I should’ve just kept driving..”

Three taps against your window pull you from your lighthearted annoyance. You look over at a smirking Terry, playfully glaring at him as he smugly motions for you to roll down the window.

You do as he says. “You know, me yelling hi to you doesn’t give you the right to pull me over.” You point out. When you saw Terry’s patrol car in front of the local coffee shop, you had rolled down your window to playfully catcall your newly wedded husband.

Who knew it would result in him following you down the road and making you pull over on to some off road, dirt area.

“License and registration, ma’am. Please..” He smirks, tilting down his sunglasses to eye you.

“Terry. This is illegal! You’re on the clock-“ He cuts you off.

“It’s also illegal to catcall an active duty officer.” He points out playfully. “Should I take you in?” He smirks wider at the thought. You blush hard and stiffen a giggle. You try and keep your face stern as you shake your head.

“All I did was call you ‘good lookin’..” You say as he leans more into your open window.

“That’s not what I asked, ma’am. But.. It’s good you can recall your crime..” He states playfully.

“Crime?!” You laugh.

“Mm-Hm.. Punishable by house arrest. Maybe a few hours of.. Hard labor.” He smirks wider.

“You proud of yourself for that one?” You ask dryly as he nods certainly with a quiet chuckle. You shake your head in disbelief at his antics, deciding to play along.

“Fine. Please, Mr. Officer. I can’t handle house arrest. I’ll do anything..” You state in a mock over dramatic tone as you pout your lips at him. He chuckles more.

“Mm… I guess I can let you off with a warnin..” He mutters as he catches your lips in a deep kiss..

Titus Danforth:

“Say it again..”

You look up from your book, breath catching in your throat as you see Titus towering over you from where you lounge in the mansion’s library.

You slowly shut your book, sitting up straighter on the tufted roll arm chaise lounge you usually lay on when you’re reading.

“What?” You ask, voice soft as he slowly kneels in front of you.

“Say. It. Again.” He says slower, his voice low and rough as you watch him closely.

Titus had a thing about kneeling. He only ever did it behind closed doors, but when he did, it resembled a sinner kneeling for prayer.

As if kneeling in front of you could save him..

You watch him with slight confused amusement before it clicks. A few minutes ago, you’d been walking towards the library for your afternoon reading when you walked past him in his weaponry room. He’d been in the middle of sharpening his knife, and something about his stone cold face as he focused, the roughness of his handiwork, the quiet grunts he’d let out as he worked…

You had knocked twice on the open door and softly called him what he was. Gorgeous.

How did you know he’d follow you in here?!

You smile softly, your hand finding his chin, enjoying the stubble as you lift his head up. “Gorgeous..” You say as he watches you with a dark hunger. It’s never just a lustful type. It’s a twisted type. A.. ‘if eating you meant keeping you with me forever, I would’ type.

A type of look that always made you shiver..

Quietly, he moves, making you lay back on the chaise lounge as he hovers above you. You giggle quietly as he catches your lips..

Grant Reilly:

“My compliments to the chef..”

You giggle a bit as you show off your clean dish plate while Grant focuses on wiping down his kitchen. North & Vine was closed for the night, and he’d been stressing over a new recipe that he just needed to test on you first before deciding if it should be added to the menu or not.

Meaning it was just you two in the restaurant.

“You really liked it?” He asks, tone showing his hope and exhaustion. As if that clean plate was all he needed to see to let go of weeks worth of stress.

“I told you it’d be amazing, baby.” You say gently. “My man is an amazing cook..” You state certainly before playfully swatting at his butt. You turn to walk out of the kitchen, but he grabs you by your wrist, pulling you close to him while smirking.

“Don’t just stop there. What else am I?” He mutters as he leans in to rest his forehead against yours, making you laugh as you wrap your arms around his neck.

“Mm.. An amazing boyfriend, friend, chef.. Lover..” You list playfully as he happily lifts you up and puts you down on the metal table top of the kitchen, making you laugh happily as you kiss him finally..

Stan Rosado:

“Woo! That’s my man! That’s my boyfriend!”

You scream it with pure joy as the entire campus explodes in excited cheers. Stan had just successfully completed a game winning touchdown, and you knew the entire college was watching and would be celebrating all night tonight.

The crowd beginnings running on to the field in order to hug their loved ones, but you decide to stay by the bleachers. You watch Stan brush off teammates as he looks around the field. It makes you giggle.

You whistle sharply. “Ay! Hot stuff!” You call out. He instantly looks over, a knowing smile on his lips as you finally give in, rushing over and jumping into his arms. He catches you effortlessly, football padding and all.

“You did so good!” You laugh as he spins you happily before setting you down.

“Who’s your man?!” He brags happily as you laugh while he flexes, making you playfully roll your eyes as you grab his face with both hands.

“Who’s your hot stuff?” He smirks as you laugh.

“You, baby!” You say excitedly as you kiss him happily..

And here’s Robby for ya!

Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch:

“Mm.. Look at you. Dr. Eye Candy..”

You walk over to Robby as he straddles his bike. He pauses as he sees you, smiling bashfully at the compliment. “What are you doing here?” He smiles, pleasantly surprised by the surprise visit.

“I was missing those baby browns..” You say honestly as he scrunches his nose shyly while looking elsewhere. Robby could always get shy when it came to you..

“What?” You giggle as you move closer, hands finding his waist as he looks at you again. “I was thinking lunch. Hm? You and me..” You offer as you lean a bit closer. He hums as he rests his forehead on yours.

“That sounds perfect. I could use that..” He nods certainly.

“Oh! No! Put that down!” Y/N fusses as she rushes back into the kitchen, heels hanging from one hand while both hands work on trying to put in an earring. Jack looks up from his feast. It was one cookie! He couldn’t help it if he loved his girl’s baking!

“One more bite!” He defends as he runs from her to the other side of the kitchen counter, mouth full of already half the snickerdoodle.

“Jack! That’s not for right now!” Y/N says as she chases him. She should’ve known his offer of using his oven last night so she could ‘sleepover’ was just an excuse for this..

“It’s so good..” He grumbles happily, mouth still full as he finishes the cookie before finally catching his girl by the waist with a soft chuckle.

“Jack..” Y/N complains as she brushes at his fresh navy blue polo. “You got crumbs..-“ He cuts her off as he gently tilts her chin.

“It’s just crumbs. I still look good, and you…” He backs away to spin her a bit. “You look perfect..” He says.

“Flattery will not distract me..” Y/N states firmly. He chuckles softly and pulls her back in.

“I can try..” He plays along before kissing her tenderly. She can’t help herself, giving in almost instantly as her arms wrap around his neck.

See, whereas Jack worked in the ED, dealing with life and death day in and day out, he always swore Y/N had the harder job. She worked in PEDs on the fourth floor. The two had met during a patient hand off. She’d been the one to go downstairs and get said patient, and something about her.. It woke Jack up after a twelve hour shift.

Maybe it was the bright, ‘Cinderella’ themed scrubs she was wearing. Maybe it was the fact that her tired face brightened the second she was in front of the child in order to make them feel less nervous. Maybe it was her smile. But.. Jack left the hospital that day knowing he was gonna remember her name.

Nurse Y/N..

And six months in, her name had changed. From Nurse Y/N to just ‘Y/N’, then again to the first letter of her name, to now… ‘Boop’.

As in Betty Boop.

He said he called her that because whenever she fussed or panicked, she was very animated with it. Like how Betty Boop would be. She rolled her eyes the first time he explained it to her, saying that wasn’t true. But he took note of her little foot stomp when she said that. And.. Bashfully, so did she..

She’d always been told she was too much. But.. Jack was the calm she needed. Panicking and fussing around him was like… Freaking out in a padded room. It was safe and contained and no judgement would ever be put on her afterwards.

Six months in, and she was about to introduce him to her family. Everyone was getting together at her old childhood home for her grandmother’s 70th birthday, and she wanted to make everything perfect..

She had even picked out everything Jack was wearing. And as always, he let her fuss about, but still calmly stood by for when she needed that assurance that she was doing great and everything would be fine.

“Today is gonna go great, Boop.” He whispers against her lips. She sighs softly as she sheepishly fusses with his collar, mostly to have something to do..

“Look at me..” He says softly as a way to get her attention. She grumbles softly but gives in fairly quickly, looking up at him. He smiles softly.

“Let me worry about meeting your family today. Okay? That’s for me to carry. Only thing I want on your mind is.. How excited you are to be seeing all your relatives.” Jack says, voice as calm as ever. It makes Y/N take a deep breath, relishing in his soothing tone and warm hands that rub along her arms.

“Okay..” She says finally.

“Good.” Jack states as he backs away a bit. “Only worry you should have is me finishing that bowl before we get to the house.” He jokes a bit as he nods towards the Tupperware of cookies.

“Jack!” Y/N warns, but a smile tugs on her lips as she quickly grabs the bowl from the counter to get it away from him.

He chuckles softly, shaking his head as he goes to get his keys..

*

*

*

Jack is able to distract her with some music on the radio, blasting as they sing along to it. It gets her laughing and by the time they pull up, Y/N is excitedly rushing to the backyard, leaving her anxiety in the passenger seat like an infection that seeps into Jack instead.

He takes a deep breath. All he could really do now is turn on the charm.

And turn it on he did..

Y/N’s arms wrapped around his bicep was an anchor for him. A safety rope. The two moved around the entirety of the backyard, introducing him to every family member in sight.

Back in high school, Jack remembered being told by a teacher that he was so charming, he’d be able to talk his way out of a murder charge. He kept that in mind as he spoke to everyone he met, hoping he’d talk his way into being seen as a man that was more than worthy enough for Y/N…

At a certain point of the grill out, Jack watches from his place on the backyard patio as Y/N begins playing with the children at the party, setting up a game of hide and seek. Jack had really hit it off with her uncles and cousins, so here is where he stood, by the grill, cracking jokes and watching his girl be her average amazing self..

At a certain point, all the men were pulled away for something, and Jack had taken it upon himself to start cleaning up the grill area a bit. Mostly to make himself useful. As he gathers up the pans and tongs and spatula used, a man moves over to his side instantly.

“If anybody asks, I’ve been here the whole time helping you out..” The man smirks at Jack, making him pause for only a moment before nodding slowly.

“Sounds about right to me.” Jack finally agrees before holding out a hand while balancing the dirty dishes on his free arm. “Jack Abbot..” He says politely.

“Sam. Sam Y/L/N..” The man says, and Jack slows his thoughts in slight astonishment.

Oh.

Y/N’s father..

While giving the rundown of her family, she’d brushed past her dad a bit, saying he’d probably be too busy to attend. So, Jack wasn’t given anymore information on the man.

Crap..

“That look on your face. Let me guess, you’ve heard of me..” Sam jokes. Jack cracks a small smile, mostly to save face.

“Funny enough.. No. Not much..” He says assuringly as Sam laughs while shaking his head.

“No, it’s alright. I get it. Now, I’ll only be worried depending on who you got your information from..” He teases as he slips his hands into his pockets while gazing out into the backyard. Jack sets the stuff down now, deciding it’s best to make a first impression without dirty dishes clinking around in his grasp.

“If you got it from my sister Sandra, just know I did pay her and her husband back. She just loves saying I didn’t..” Sam snorts with an amused shake of his head.

Jack pauses before trying to open his mouth, being cut off again.

“My brother Thomas has no room to talk. I let him sleep on my couch while he was between jobs.” He continues as Jack keeps up a small smile even though he’s beginning to feel a bit… Put off by the man. He shakes off the feeling. He still had to make a great impression.

“And.. If you got any stories from my ex-wife…” He trails off. “Well. You know what they say, ‘you wanna put a man away for life, make the defendant his ex-wife’..” Sam jokes. Jack stiffens a cringe, instead laughing along with Sam, nodding as if agreeing with the dreadfully cliché ‘bitter ex-wife’ narrative.

Jack had met Y/N’s mom while helping to set up, and the woman was a beautiful spirit. It was clear to him that that’s where Y/N got her heart. Watching Sam, now.. It made Jack wonder what the hell Y/N got from him?

“Let me guess. You’re Maddie’s new man?” Sam asks, speaking about his baby sister now. Jack chuckles at that, feeling iffy on correcting him. No one at the party had brought it up, but Jack knew the age difference was very much apparent.

“Actually-“ Sam cuts him off.

“Don’t get all shy. I get it. Meeting the older brother. But.. It’s all good. I’m not gonna judge.” Sam shrugs. Jack straightens his shoulders a bit as he realizes who’s really standing in front of him.

Jack has met a man like him in the past. Many men, actually. A man who got by on the false image they shined out on to the world that couldn’t be further from who they actually were. A man who used shiny objects to distract from their sour mindset. A man who thought any failure they faced was due to the world and not from their own actions. In short, Sam Y/L/N was just a man.

A man who liked to hear himself talk.

Jack clears his throat a bit as he gazes back out into the backyard. “I should actually-“ Sam cuts him off again, this time stepping a bit closer as he puts a hand on Jack’s shoulder.

“Don’t scurry away now. You seem like the most fun person here. I mean, you leave me, I have no one.” Sam snickers. Jack’s eyes narrow slightly. He says it as a joke, but.. Jack has a hunch there’s truth in that.

“Who else can I talk with, hm?” He continues anyways.

“Maybe your daughter..” Jack offers, giving Sam a pointed look.

“Oh. God..” Sam chuckles and Jack stiffens, turning to him.

He didn’t like the sound of that..

“What?” Jack asks slowly.

“I love that girl. I do. But.. Between you and me? She can be…” Sam shakes his head. Jack moves away from his grip slowly, crossing his arms as he corks his head a bit. A voice in his head was telling him to keep calm.

“Can be… What?” Jack asks, voice getting tight.

“The girl is too… Sensitive. That’s all her mother’s doing. She’s always been so.. I don’t know how to describe it. Needy? Clingy?” Sam shakes his head, not knowing how to put it into words.

“All I’m saying is..” He finally says instead, leaving the attempt where it’s at, not caring to continue his train of thought. “Lord help the man who she latches on to..” He jokes with a heavy sigh.

Jack clenches his jaw now. He needed to walk away..

“I should go.” He says again, this time meaning it for Sam’s safety.

He didn’t want to swing on this man. Not when he should be making a good first impression.

“Oh, come on! Don’t go yet..” Sam chuckles as he stops Jack again. “Look.. I love my daughter. But.. There’s times where she can be.. Too much, ya know? Too.. Too..” He snaps his fingers as he thinks, free arm wrapped around Jack’s shoulders.

“Dramatic!” He says as it finally pops into his head. “That’s the word! Dramatic..” He nods. “I used to tell her ‘what are you gonna do in the real world’, you know what I mean? If you’re stressed out in the fifth grade, I can’t imagine you when you’re actually paying bills..” Sam laughs as he shakes his head.

“I think she’s doing real good for herself..” Jack finally states, unable to hide the glare on his face. Sam doesn’t pick up on the mood shift between the two, watching as Y/N chases around the kids while he shakes his head.

“Still the same attention seeker though. And now she’s this uh.. Baby nurse, I think.” Sam continues on with a shrug. As if not impressed.

“Pediatric Nurse Practitioner..” Jack mutters, tone tense.

“What?” Sam asks looking at Jack now.

“Your daughter…” Jack begins slowly. “Isn’t a ‘baby nurse’.” He states as he watches Sam closely, his fists clenching a bit at the belittling name given to her career. “She’s a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner..” He corrects.

Sam blinks a bit, as if not knowing what to say for a moment. Then he smiles a bit. “Yeah. Same thing.” He tries with a shrug as Jack watches him closely, letting those three words sink in.

He’d gotten his answer now.

Y/N had gotten something from Sam.

She’d gotten her self-doubt.

Y/N hadn’t gotten her father’s eyes, or laugh, or even smile.

No.

She got his insecurities. His fears, his shortcomings. She carried around his words and they weighed her down everyday.

All she’d gotten from her father.. Was an anxiety of never being good enough. And out into the world, he sent her. To stumble and fall and claw at her own skin out of a desperate attempt to escape his perception of her.

But she never could.

Because if he looked away from her, he’d have to then face a mirror. And he wasn’t ready to do that.

But Jack wasn’t waiting..

“No. It’s not.” Jack says. Sam pauses, finally sensing the tension. He tries to chuckle in order to lighten the mood a bit, but Jack only stares at him.

“Okay..” Sam finally says. “Alright, noted..” He says. “Don’t have to get all serious about it..” He tries to joke as he nods at Jack to lighten up.

“Well, when someone makes light of my girl’s accompaniments, I tend to get serious.” Jack finally says. Sam’s smile slowly drops as he realizes who he’s been talking to.

“You’re..” Sam pauses as Jack moves closer, placing a firm hand on his shoulder now.

“Let’s get some things straight here for next time...” He begins, voice low as he leans a bit closer to Sam’s ear. “Y/N isn’t a ‘baby nurse’. She is an advanced practice registered nurse who specializes in the healthcare of children. In an emergency setting, at that.” He says slowly as he watches Sam. “She’s not clingy or needy, she’s human. Her emotions.. Are what make her an amazing nurse to those kids. She’s doing great things for herself, and she’s doing it all on her own. Which is a miracle, because that means that somehow, even with your shitty parenting, she’s managed to stay a beautiful, bright, and honest young woman with her heart on her sleeve.” Jack says, not holding back now. He backs away from Sam, rolling his shoulders a bit to get the rest of his aggression out.

“I’ll give you some time to get right before you go and say hi to your daughter.” Jack says softly, turning to walk away before pausing. “Oh!” He says, turning back to a now silent and brooding Sam. “And.. Just so you know.. I’m not swinging on you out of respect for Y/N. She’s been looking forward to this party all month. But the next time I hear anything leave your mouth about my girl.. You’ll be on the floor.” Jack says certainly, nodding his head slightly to show that’s a promise.

Sam clenches his jaw slightly, watching as Jack walks down the patio steps and into the backyard. “I’ll be seeker!” He announces as the kids cheer at that. Y/N smiles brightly, walking over to him.

“Having fun?” She asks eagerly.

“A blast.” He smirks at her before tenderly kissing her forehead.