#stephen hackett

from a 100 word drabble exercise on discord-

Hackett isn’t psychic.

What do you need?

They run tests, the folks in the backrooms of intelligence.

Yeah. I can...need a...second.

He's a null. He knows when comms give out he can't hear her.

I'm...looking I can't see…wait...

The burst of white noise is the end.

So he can't- it's his imagination, wracking his brain for something other than a retreat. Can't hear her wheeze through a collapsed lung.The drag of her foot over the decking, That non-reg red enameled pistol firing.

"Gotcha."

Summary: What do a mini-Irish invasion, a murdered leprechaun, and an old flame have in common? Joker’s not amused by any of them.

~~~

Fandom: Mass Effect

Rating: Teen and Up

Relationships: Male Shepard & Kaidan Alenko, Male Shepard & Abby Williams, Male Shepard/Kaidan Alenko, EDI/Jeff "Joker" Moreau, Steven Hackett/Karin Chakwas, Steve Cortez/James Vega, Jack|Subject Zero/Samantha Traynor

Characters: Caleb Shepard (O'Connell - OC), Tadhg Shepard (O'Connell - OC), Niamh Shepard (O'Connell - OC), Kaidan Alenko, Karin Chakwas, Steven Hackett, Samantha Traynor, Jeff "Joker" Moreau, John Shepard, EDI, Ashley Williams, Zaeed Massani, Steve Cortez, James Vega, Garrus Vakarian, Urdnot Bakara - Eve, Urdnot Grunt, Urdnot Wrex, Kasumi Goto, The Illusive Man - Jack Harper, Jacob Taylor, Kelly Chambers, Rahna, Brigit O'Halloran (OC), Jack|Subject Zero

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Hallmark Movie AU, St. Patrick's Day, Past Relationship(s), Green Beer, bartending, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Shenanigans

Series: The Town of Norman

Chapter 1: Prologue

Excerpt:

“We were out of chocolate ice cream,” Stephen said. He looked over to where Zaeed was continuing the fight to resurrect his mysteriously broken bike. “Seemed like the sort of crisis that should be immediately solved.”

“Indeed,” Karin said. “Especially if the kids like ice cream.”

Stephen turned his attention back to her. “Something you need to tell me?”

Karin grinned at the implication, but shook her head. “No, my dear. We are too old for such a scare these days.” Stephen nodded solemnly, and she wondered again if he’d wanted the kids she’d told him she couldn’t have. “You remember my cousin, Brigit O’Halloran?”

“I remember the name.” Stephen had gone back to watching Zaeed. “Is she coming to visit?”

“Her son is. Caleb.” A sweet boy, the one time she’d met him. Barely more than an infant, blue eyes bright as he’d studied her in return. “He has two small children who are coming with.”

Stephen nodded. “A sudden interest in his extended family?”

“No.” Brigit had been vague, but her tone had been clear. “He needs somewhere to go. At least for a little while.”

Another nod. “Norman seems to be the place for that.” Stephen gave her a sideways look. “I don’t suppose he’s ex-military, too?”

“I have no idea.” Only a few years old, the boy had gone missing. Even buried in her school work, she’d made time to call home every few months. Kept her eye out for a small boy with those familiar blue eyes, just in case. Cried in Stephen’s arms for a child she barely knew, because the odds were, he’d never come home.

And then he had.

“I told Brigit they could stay here,” Karin said. “Until they find someplace they prefer.”

Stephen looked back at her, his own blue eyes grave. “They are welcome in our home as long as they have need.”

~~~

Read Full Chapter || Read from the Beginning || Read Series

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Absolutely the correct winner.

I'm not saying I agree with all individual steps of the elimination process; I would have picked the original iMac over the first Retina MacBook Pro, and the original Mac over the black MacBook, for example. But the Cube was definitely, emotionally‐speaking, the best.

Apple has become the first US company to achieve a $1 trillion market cap, closing at $207.39 a share on Thursday. Apple was worth about $350 billion dollars in 2011 when its founder Steve Jobs died. Under Tim Cook's leadership, the company has generated cash at an unbelievable rate.

I remember my titanium PowerBook too: the second revision from late 2001 with gigabit Ethernet and a build‐to‐order CD burner. The paint did bubble and peel, and the hinge on the right did break. But with a few hard drive upgrades and a Wi‑Fi PCMCIA card, that was the Mac I used until it absolutely refused to boot one day in 2007. It's still at my parents' place.