#efflooor

                        Georges tugged on his coat as he dragged his bag along with him. He looked to his Daemon with a small smile, ❝ Are you ready? Feeling nervous? ❞ He asked him in French softly. Then he turned to the ship before him, ❝ Because I am. This is the first time we’re leaving home, to America. Where maman fought. ❞ He exhaled shakily. He had dreamed of seeing this foreign land... the fact he was anxious was baffling. He was going to be alone but... at least he had Peter.

The blond was surprised to feel Annie’s hands push against her shoulders. She expected them to be around her neck and squeezing hard. It was what she deserved after all. It’s exactly what Gwen had done after Peter had died. Devastated by the loss of Peter she had killed another tribute out of rage. She could only imagine what the loss of your husband would feel like so she doesn’t bother to push Annie away. Gwen would let her scream, yell, and push her around as much as the older women desired because Finnick had been selfless enough to not only let her climb out of the sewer first but even gave her a boost.  She thinks that he most certainly should have gone first. He had more value to the mission and more to live for anyways. What was one more death of a child in comparison to the life he could have lived?

“ I know. I’m sorry,” Gwen croaks out. She won’t cry, not in front of Annie. She can’t cry out of sheer guilt when the other woman was crying from the pain of losing someone. It simply wouldn’t be fair. Her eyes flicker to Annie’s stomach at the mention of the pregnancy and Gwen wants to fall apart right there. She’s a homewrecker in every sense of the word and she hadn’t ever meant to be. 

Her mouth opens and closes a few times as she tries to bring herself to say more, but she can’t seem to make the words come. What else was she supposed to say? She hadn’t asked for Finnick to let her go first. She had never meant to destroy what was left of Annie’s life. All she had wanted was to make a difference for the better and yet it seemed like she had only made it worse for the other.  Maybe everything she touched somehow ended up tainted. 

“ I wish it had been me instead,” she finally settles on saying. It’s the truth. She doesn’t know how she’ll handle this guilt for the rest of her life. Maybe it would have been easier to die down in the sewer. It wasn’t like she had a family to go back too anymore. Maybe she’d have been lucky and heaven would have been real. Maybe she’d get to see Peter in more than just the stupid photos of them together in the arena.  She hopes that Annie has other things to remember Finnick by, things that won’t be so painful to look at. She certainly hopes that the baby itself will only bring Annie joy. 

Sunny likes to think she’s always been the expert on biting things ( and things that bite ) which to her is good enough reasoning for her to head straight for the fuzzy spider that just scuttled under the sofa. She’s not sure if it’s a common house spider or a Brown Recluse. 

When Elizabeth Wells joined the Army National Guard she had figured she would never actually go to war. The Guard were reserve soldiers. She had figured she’d serve her time while finishing up here nursing degree. It would be simple and easy, except nothing ever truly went according to plan, Instead of staying home like she had wanted her unit had been shipped overseas to fight the good fight.   

Oh, and what a fight it had been. A year in hell is what she liked to call it. Too many lost friends and horrors burned in the back of her brain. It made her wonder how her brothers had possibly managed. Right they had managed because they talked to people, something they had been encouraging her to do for weeks now.  So Ellie’s taken the step to go to one of those open veterans meetings. It’s not campaigned as one of those help groups, just a place to meet people with similar backgrounds. She decides that if ends up not being her scene she’ll just try to slip out unnoticed. There was no harm in at least checking the place out. 

@efflooor

“ I knew I wasn’t crazy for saving a bunch of Nemo’s old baby stuff,” Athena said with a bright smile as she carried the last box into the living room of her apartment. They had set aside a few boxes to sort through in hopes of finding some stuff for the new Odair/Cresta baby. It hadn’t been her original intent for saving everything but it was for an equally good cause.  If a new Halaway baby was born any time down the road she was sure Annie would return the favor. 

“I’m sure there are toys, disassembled furniture, bottles, clothing, and other stuff in these,” she said sitting down next to her pregnant best friend. It was her job as godparent to spoil the baby and this was only the start. “ I mean we don’t know the gender yet but it really doesn’t even matter cause baby clothes are baby clothes” Athena shrugged as she began pulling some clothes out of the boxes. She held them in her hand and looked at them fondly. She had saved all of her favorite Nemo outfits. 

“ I can’t believe he was ever this small. He’s growing up too fast. We’re growing up too fast. This makes me feel old ” she said with a soft laugh. It seemed like just yesterday they were freshmen in high school meeting for the first time and now they were both going to be parents.