wheresmytardis

Fandom: The Morning Show

Rating: M (TW for hints of child abuse/neglect and child abandonment)

Summary: To the world, the press conference leaking Celine’s involvement in Wolf River and Bradley’s detainment was a power move. For Cory, the media firestorm and emotional fallout of it all is about to break him. When a paternal half-sister he’s never met turns up on his doorstep and abandons her three-year old daughter with him, he must figure out how to survive in a brand new world that he doesn’t even begin to know how to navigate.

**

Squeezing his way through the child-sized door and up the plastic steps to the net, he hoped and prayed that it would hold his weight. Cory could see people on the ground below him watching with dramatic fascination as he scaled the flimsy rope across the gap. He briefly imagined Alex calling him later, demanding to know why she had just seen him on TikTok, and why was he crawling through a Mcdonald's PlayPlace?

I’m never gonna live this shit down.

At the same time, Cory couldn’t help but think of how much he would have enjoyed this kind of thing when he was Zoey’s age. Martha had never allowed it, viewing playgrounds and jungle gyms as something that was somehow beneath him. Little Cory had been given books instead of bicycles and soccer balls, no matter how much he begged-tomes of the classics, history, and politics that he had been expected to discuss with her in an educated manner. There had not been much time made for “fun.”

Thankfully, Cory reached safety on the other side of the net, avoiding any mishaps or TikTok-worthy embarrassments. He began to army crawl his way through the tunnel, narrowly avoiding whacking his head on the ceiling. This was definitely not a structure made for adults.

“Zoey,” he called, trying not to grimace at the various lone socks he passed, or the fingerprint smudges and what he imagined was petrified snot on the walls of the tube. “Do you know how many germs there are in here? I can feel my immune system screaming.”

To Cory’s relief, Zoey finally peeked out from around the corner. “Are you gonna get stuck?”

Fandom: The Morning Show

Rating: M (TW for hints of child abuse/neglect and child abandonment)

Summary: To the world, the press conference leaking Celine’s involvement in Wolf River and Bradley’s detainment was a power move. For Cory, the media firestorm and emotional fallout of it all is about to break him. When a paternal half-sister he’s never met turns up on his doorstep and abandons her three-year old daughter with him, he must figure out how to survive in a brand new world that he doesn’t even begin to know how to navigate.

**

The woman was offering Cory a carrot, begging him to take it. He could have a family. As a child, having siblings to play with, and other people who cared about him was something that Little Cory had wanted so desperately he could almost taste it. He remembered staring at advertisements of families sitting around Thanksgiving tables in the Sears catalog, wishing that he could insert himself right into the photo. Still, there was part of him that refused to let his guard down.

“My father-our father- was a piece of shit,” Cory told her flatly. “He left when I was ten and never came back. I waited for him, and he never came back. And then we heard about you and your mother.”

Something flashed in Kayla’s eyes-regret, maybe, or perhaps bitterness. The baby began to cry again, however, and she quickly turned her attention away from him.

“Mister, that’s a bad word!” Zoey said, putting her hand on her hip. “Miss Nina says that you’re not supposed to say the S word!”

“Oops,” Cory said, dramatically clapping his hand over his mouth. “Miss Nina is correct. He was a…sugar cookie. Yes. That’s what he was. Or how about a shining star? He was more like a black hole, though.”

“A snowflake!” Zoey said, beaming. “Sometimes Miss Nina yells “Son of a Motherless Goat!” when she stubs her toe. I don’t know what that means. But she said I can’t say that one, either.” The little girl spun around in a circle again, hopping on one foot. “Miss Nina is my teacher,” she explained. “At Sunny Smiles Daycare.”

“You should always listen to your teachers,” Cory told her. The kid was something else. “And you shouldn’t tell strangers where you go to school, either. It’s not safe.”

Summary:

There was a beat of silence, then two, then three. She wished that he would say something, anything. Even screaming would be preferable. That, she could deal with. But his silence? She couldn’t stand it, not one bit. It made her itch, right down to her bones. After a few more moments, though, Celine turned around, curiosity getting the best of her. He was watching her with that look, the one that always made her feel as if he could see right through her.

“Why, Celine?” He asked softly. “Why would you do that?”

Celine felt a flash of irritation. She wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he was making her turn around to face him before he would talk, or the realization that he was going to hold her to this-to them-and he would not stop until she was laid bare before him.

“Because it would have destroyed the network,” she snapped. “You would have done the same thing, Cory. You don’t think I know the things you pulled as a CEO?”

Her aim was true, and Cory's eyes glinted with anger. He stood up, moving closer to her.

“I would have done the same thing?” He said in a low voice. It made Celine shiver, but not out of fear. “You’re right, maybe I would have. Maybe I have done things. Things that you don't even know about. I've made deals and promises that have sealed the fate of my soul, Celine. If there’s a hell, my name is at the top of the list.” Cory took another step closer, close enough that she could feel his breath on her cheek. “But you? This is not who you are.”

Mia 👏👏👏👏💃🏾💃🏾

Cory 👏👏👏💪💪

Bradley: 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

I love love loved Cory’s confidence in that last scene. He finally set boundaries, and he stuck to them. 🙌

I had a hard time caring about Chris’s storyline, except for that one scene 😭😭 poor Chris.

S4 | The Morning Show

At some point, Cory senses someone standing next to him. He’s past the point of drunk now, and he reluctantly lifts his head from the bar. Celine is standing there, looking a bit blurry, but nevertheless it’s her. He doesn’t ask how she found him, and he’s not sure that he wants to know.

“Merde,” she says sadly, clucking with her tongue and looking him over with an assessing eye. “That bad, hmm?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m fucking goddamned great.” Attempting to hide the shame he feels about the state he’s currently in, Cory attempts to signal the bartender for another glass. Celine, however, shakes her head and holds up her hand, slapping some cash down on the bar top with the other.

“No more whiskey for you. Come with me,” she tells him, putting his hand on her arm.

Having the woman who is kind of sort of his boss in a weird way drag him out of a bar while he’s so intoxicated he can barely stay upright on the stool is probably not a great start to this venture, Cory knows. But it’s not like it matters now, anyway. He’s not going back to that place, ever.