Realistic or Modern Family Ties: 1980s Gangs - IC (Ended)

[Misty Gray]

Royal London Hospital
~ Tower Hamlets, London ~

Spencer King​

When Shona probed him to know what kind of incident had occurred and how Harper had been hurt, Spencer looked away from his wife and gazed to the wall behind her. Shaking his head, he looked back to Shona and let out a relenting sigh. "I didn't want to upset you with all of this. This is not what Eddie's first day should have been like," he bitterly told her. "It's a mess, Shona. There was an explosion at the club and the place is basically destroyed. People were killed and many more hurt. Alex and I were outside when it went off, but the others were all inside. Harper got caught up in the middle of it all and when I saw her, she was unconscious in Jeremy's arms. She's still alive, but I don't know how bad she's hurt," he admitted. "We don't have confirmation or anything, but let's face it, who else would do this? It's got to be Sullivan." Spencer looked down to Edward for a short time, observing as the newborn boy's opened eyes seemed to be scanning around the room, likely trying to focus on the new world around him. Looking back up to Shona, Spencer lightly shrugged. "Damian and Tatiana had just left the club, so it could have been meant for them after what Moretti did to the Sullivans last week. But why would Conor target my club if he didn't want to take some of us down at the same time?"

When Shona moved to one side of the bed to make space for him to lay next to her, he got up from the chair and carefully handed Edward back to her. He then proceeded to remove his jacket and shoes before getting up onto the bed to lay on top of the covers. With Shona now cradling their baby son, Spencer put his arm around her and pulled her in close, wanting to be a near to both Shona and Edward as much as he could. He kissed his wife's forehead before reaching his free arm so he could once again hold Edward's tiny hand in his own. "Harper's a fighter. She will definitely want to get better so she can meet her newest nephew," he agreed, hoping to reassure Shona.

"The force of the explosion knocked Alex and me back. I smacked the back of my head on the wall, but the nurse has patched it up and said I'm fine. Billy and Alex are alright, too. Everyone's here. Christian and May got some injuries, but it didn't seem too serious," he explained. "Harper, Erik and Darcey looked to be the worst off, but it's just Harper I'm worried about right now."

Laying next to Shona, Spencer gazed up at the ceiling as he tried to get his head around how the evening had gone downhill. "This was meant to be one of the happiest days of our lives and we were all meant to be celebrating right now, not... this," he told her. "That jumped up Irish prick won't get away with this. I can't let him. This could have turned out even worse for our family and so many others were not as lucky as we were. Sullivan has to pay for what he's done."

Pyroclast (Shona)

 

[Misty Gray]

Royal London Hospital
~ Tower Hamlets, London ~

Kerry Patrick​

Alex suggesting he might ask for a blanket and pillow drew a small laugh from Kerry. "Well, that would certainly make the wait more comfortable," she reasoned. Gesturing to one of the nurses walking to and from the reception desk, she cocked her eyebrow to Alex. "I'm sure if you switched on that charm of yours you could talk one of the nurses into getting you whatever you want," she drily remarked. Alex's womanising ways were no secret and though Kerry knew it had led to him hurting Savannah a few years back, it wasn't her business to hold it against him. "I figure if it works getting women into bed, it might also work getting women to fetch you a bed," she teased, hoping to help keep his mind from worrying continuously until they could get new about Harper.

Although it all happened 13 years ago, Kerry knew she would never forget what happened in New York. First to be forced to watch as her colleagues, friends and customers were either shot dead or burned alive. Then to be dragged out of the building only to wish she had died in the nightclub like the rest had. She's spent days locked in a tiny, dark, damp and filthy hole, left in complete isolation for unbearable amounts of time only to have the terrifying solitude replaced by brutal torture at the hands of three men. She then went from the threat of being sold to some sick pervert to being forced by Gabriel himself to betray the Sullivans. After what she had suffered, she'd had no choice but to comply with the Italians and she helped lead the Sullivans into a trap. A number of people were killed in the ambush and that led to Kerry being kept locked up once again, only this time by the Sullivans. Although the conditions of her second unlawful imprisonment were much more comfortable, it never took away from the fear and guilt she felt the whole time. She was eventually released, on the condition she got out of New York and stayed well away from the Sullivans.

For years after, Kerry had suffered with immense guilt as well as nightmares for what had happened. Without the counselling and friendship of Maddox and Ani, she believed she would not have been able to keep going, that she would have given up and ended it all. Instead, Kerry was able to overcome much of her trauma and guilt. Over the years, growing into a much stronger and determined woman than she had been even before the cruelty she suffered. Despite this, as well as having Sinead's and Savannah's friendship, she had still been unable to shift the guilt up until more recently. She understood people like Syd and Conor held a grudge against her for Jackson's death, but the more she saw from the Irish Mob lately, the less she felt she deserved to have their heavy cloud lingering over her head. The Sullivans were not innocent people and she was now realising they were no better than the people who had made her life hell. If they really were behind the bomb at Spencer's nightclub, then the Sullivans were just the same as those who had burned down Sinead's club 13 years ago. They could continue blaming her for Jackson's death, but she hoped they realised they were just as much to blame, if not more so.

"He really is," Kerry agreed when Alex said Conor was a piece of shit. "That man needs to take a harder look in the mirror before blaming everyone else for his own mess. And he certainly had no right to stop you from seeing Callum. This is between you and Sav, so he should stop butting in." From conversation about one Callahan, Alex remembered to answer about the others. Kerry was shocked to hear Sinead had been stabbed, but was quickly relieved to learn she and Liam were both okay, at least physically. As much as she liked Sinead, she knew it was not her place to check in on her to find out about the psychological effects, seeing as the woman had plenty of people in Dublin to support her. She was sure the resilient woman would survive the latest trauma in a long catalogue of them. "Damn... She's the last person who deserved that. But I'm glad she's okay and I'm sure she has plenty of people caring for her in Dublin right now," she reasoned.

They were able to lighten the conversation again, with Alex pointing out that Kerry had called him strong twice in a short space of time. "Oh shit, I did, didn't I? Don't you be letting that boost your ego any more than it already is," she sarcastically remarked, but would make it clear she was teasing. "Just take it as subliminal messaging for you not to give up and to stay strong for Harper!" she told him, hoping to have made herself a good save. "Besides, a strong man would have managed to get himself a blanket and pillow by now..."

Melanin-Gxdess (Alex)
Mentioned: BasDorcha (Jeremy)

 

[BasDorcha]

Hospital
Jeremy Gray​

Jeremy didn't realize it, but he had dozed off for a few minutes thanks to the heavy drugged feeling coming from the medication they gave him. While he was sleeping, he dreamed for the first time in years. The scene was a home he had never seen, a sprawling family style home, not a bachelor pad. Everyone was there - The boys, Bruce, his uncle who had passed away when he was in his twenties, all of their friends. Jeremy was just coming home to the scene, and confusion as to why everyone was there was etched on his face.

"Spencer, what's going on?" He asked, looking around. Everyone looked sad, and no one would speak to him. It was almost as if they couldn't see him. He wandered through the house, looking for more faces. He finally entered a parlor type area, and a memorial service appeared to be in progress. The pictures were blurred, and there was no casket, just a flower wreath with the persons image. Furling his brow, he moved closer, trying to touch the picture. Suddenly it cleared, and Harper's picture formed on the memorial. Fear shot through him and Jeremy spun around. Wide-eyed, he realized he was seeing himself, sitting in the front, shriveled and looking half a man.

Gulping, he tried to scream, get answers, but nothing worked. Turning around, Harper was suddenly standing in front of him, whiter then white, covered in blood, and looking like her body had been crushed. Jeremy jumped up, trying to get the image of Harper as he had started to carry her away out of his mind. He was wide awake again and struggling to breath. In panic, he looked around, finding Alex and Kerry still sitting there.

"FUCK! Jesus Mary and Joseph." Jeremy's catholic background slipped into view as he sat up, rubbing his face, looking pale and green around the gills all at once. He sat forward, hanging his head between his knees. Tonight had opened more about himself then he had thought, and it was not something he was prepared for. He looked up at Alex and Kerry when he finally relaxed a bit, a hand rubbing across his mouth that was hanging agape. "Sorry. Bad dreams. Didn't mean to..." What didn't he mean to do? He wasn't sure, and his voice just trailed off.

Mentions:
Pyroclast Bellz Misty Gray Melanin-Gxdess

 

[Misty Gray]

Royal London Hospital
~ Tower Hamlets, London ~

Christian Brooks​

As they walked along the corridor, May offered her arm to support Christian at one side and his other side he kept close to the wall in case he lost his balance and needed to grab it. Though she had chosen to help him, he still didn't want to fall and drag her down with him. Christian let out a small laugh when May joked about him using his badge to get women to do more than talk to him. "Ah, no. Not my badge. I didn't get the badge to take advantage of people," he assured her. He knew she had been joking, but the corruption he'd witnessed first-hand from his superiors and colleagues never failed to bring a bitter taste to his mouth. "I came across a lot of dodgy people in my former career and many of them were my colleagues. Them using their badges to benefit themselves is a part of why I quit."

When May grabbed a wheelchair for him, Christian shook his head and groaned, an apparent pride taking over him in that moment. "I can walk," he protested. His blurred vision and light head told him otherwise. "But... I will sit down, purely to let you feel like you're being useful here," he teased her. Carefully sitting in the seat, he sat back and let out a relaxed breath. "Oh yeah, I could get used to this, Nurse Thatcher," he joked.

The name of Bruce's bodyguard had been on the tip of his tongue and May saved his frustration by saying Kane's name, in turn jogging Christian's temporarily deficient memory. She seemed confident the big guy would know something. "Well, he's not exactly... He's not much of a talker," Christian informed her, but he didn't have much choice in the matter as May pushed the wheelchair towards Kane.

Seeing May and Christian approach, Kane stopped on the spot and folded his arms at his chest. "You look shorter," he sarcastically greeted the private investigator, before looking to May. He knew enough to be aware May had been in the centre of controversy with the Kings and it was due to her being some cousin to the Sullivans. So when asked for an update on the Kings, Kane was more inclined than normal to be vague. Kane's primary purpose was to protect Bruce, but his employment also extended to ensuring the safety as the other Kings. As such, he had now located every family member and their closest friends since his arrival at the hospital. He'd even seen Spencer and Shona together with their baby. Had he not decided Bruce and Darcey needed privacy in the hospital room they were occupying, he might have informed them of the happy news, but he knew it could wait a little longer. "I can tell you Harper is currently undergoing surgery. The rest of the Kings are all safe and accounted for."

BasDorcha (May)

 

[Bellz]

Finn Sullivan
Ginn Residence
~ Dublin, Ireland ~​

"Too busy, honestly…it’s really starting to worry me the number of people who are coming in. Contrary to what people might believe, I am happier when the hospital isn’t busy,” Finn murmured to his husband before moving to sit down with them. Finn moved his hand to rub at his mouth as he thought about what George had said, letting out the smallest of sighs when his husband asked what he thought of it all. There was a long pause as he looked to Ali, he had caught that familiar look in her eye. It had been the same look she’d been giving him since he was in the hospital. Before he could say anything, the young man Finn had seen at the door entered the room and Finn smiled at him politely, "No worries, thank you for extending the offer, son." Finn said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Tom." The man stated as he looked to George and Ali briefly, waiting for them to introduce themselves. Once introductions were out of the way, Tom stated it was lovely to meet them all and extended the offer for dinner once more. "I think dinner together would be splendid. We'll be over to help shortly." Tom had walked off to help Shinoa and Finn had a smile on his face as he once again looked to Ali.

As much as Finn loved his cousin, he understood what a pain in the ass the man could be and with all of this impending doom looming overhead he was sure that Conor wasn’t getting any easier to deal with. Finn was not one for violence, he had seen what it had done to his family on a more personal level in the 40s and he had done his absolute best to avoid it like the plague.

Staying further away from his family was difficult and he didn’t stay away for very long despite it might be the best for not only him but the family he now had with George. The minute it got too dangerous Finn already had plans to leave. Finn wasn’t a man who liked conflict and he had wondered for years why his family couldn’t just move on from the delinquent empire that their ancestors had created. All of the men in the family were honest souls before they turned to crime, good men who could find promising careers doing something that didn’t endanger their families. Finn had surprised everyone in his family by taking up medical school, but it became apparent to the man at a young age that he would rather help those who needed it than prey on the weak or fight with those who also desired power. He quickly became the heroic figure in his family but he never really liked to be known as that, for he was just doing what any normal man would do…providing for his family in a way that didn’t involve crime or violence.

He had seen that the women in his family longed for their spouses to be that kind of person and it made him sad that they felt unheard considering that they were the ones who really held most of the power within their respective families. "You know just how much I love Conor, Al.” Finn started off saying, looking intently at her with a kind smile as he looped his fingers together in front of him. Leaning forward in his seat, he placed his elbows on his knees as he let out another sigh. "It’s hard for me to say that what he is doing is wrong but the fact of the matter is….I’m very disappointed in his choices. As someone who has been affected by his choices and as his wife, I absolutely think that you are well within your right to talk with him and try to work things out…but with that, I want to let you know right now that perhaps your words will fall upon deaf ears.”

Finn’s smile faded as the seriousness of what he was saying set in. "I’ve watched all this shit tear my family apart for decades…I was pulled into it back into the 40s and I was fortunate to be able to get out of it and live a normal life. Conor is doing what he feels is best because that’s all he knows how to do. I’ve been saying for years that it might be easier to just give this all up but old habits and beliefs die hard.” Finn stated with a shake of his head. "Conor is past the point of changing his mind on things…which I know is something you might not want to hear but perhaps that will help you somewhat. He’s got a lot riding on his shoulders, years and years of trauma that he feels needs to be avenged. I think the two of you definitely need to talk it out but I feel that you both need to support each other in certain areas. His choices might not be the best ones…but at the end of the day if he doesn’t feel he has the support he needs he’s going to lose this battle…”
with: Ali Melanin-Gxdess ; George Misty Gray ; Tom BasDorcha

Roxie Carriveau
Biancardi Residence
~ Queens, New York City ~ ​

Roxie was on the verge of breaking, everything he was saying was a complete fucking lie. She hadn’t felt anger like this at any point in her life, sure she had been severely heartbroken and mad when Syd lied to her but she had seen that coming from a mile away. The betrayal she had faced with her father had felt like nothing compared to what she was feeling as she stared at Ricky. He told her that all she had to do was prove Moretti wrong, to gain the fuckers respect and show him that she knew what she was doing with the business. It was becoming tiring having to hear that she had to constantly prove to the men in her life that she was capable. None of them respected her, none of them were confident in her ability as if they were doing a great job at running things. It was laughable! She caught Ricky glance at Reina before he looked back at her, she didn’t blink as he said that knew Gabriel didn’t do it. Her heart dropped in her chest as she’d just gone down the hill of a rollercoaster and her throat closed as she listened to him defend Gabe.

She was sure he was just going to throw someone else under the bus, someone who Roxie could easily get rid of without throwing the whole business away. She was so sure he would do that until her cousin started speaking again. He told her that nobody who knew and was involved was still alive…except for him. Roxie fought to keep a straight face as he admitted that he tried to arrange her death. Roxie looked to Reina for the slightest second and before she could stop herself, she shot out of the rolling chair, sending it rolling back before it hit the wall behind her. Roxie pulled her gun from its holster at her hip and aimed it at Ricky. Her finger hovered over the trigger but it shook violently. "TELL ME WHY I SHOULDN’T KILL YOU!” She screamed, tears unable to stop from falling down her cheeks as she looked at him. "Reina! Lock the fucking doors! Kill anyone who tries to fucking get in.” Roxie said to her bodyguard, not taking her eyes off her cousin.

"You took absolutely EVERYTHING away from me and for what? Power? What the fuck happened to family? After all those years, after growing up together…after ALL THAT…you decide to try and put me down like a fucking stray dog!” Roxie’s arm shook so much that she had to place both hands on the gun to steady her aim. She took a few steps back away from the desk so that Ricky couldn’t reach to grab her weapon as easily. "You killed the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, after years of torment from my father! Matthew didn’t fucking deserve to die!” She screamed again.

"My children will never be the same after what they had to witness! Do you realize that?! Just because you are fucked up in the head doesn’t mean that you have to drag my babies down with you! I did everything to try and help you, Ricky! When my father was harsh to you, who defended you half the time! Who took the beatings after I got back home for speaking out against him?! DO YOU EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT I HAVE TRIED TO DO FOR YOU OVER THE YEARS?! And you just tried to kill me like I was nothing…” Roxie’s face was hot with anger and she finally placed her finger on the trigger. "Give me one reason why I shouldn’t dispose of you like the traitor you are, Riccardo. Do you feel anything? Any sort of remorse?! You are my only family left! I thought you were good, after everything you’d seen and been through…you…” Roxie couldn’t even finish her sentence as she took a step towards the desk again, her arms not shaking nearly as violently as she seemed to have made up her mind.
with: Ricky Misty Gray ; Reina Melanin-Gxdess

 

[Bellz]

Lorelei Costello
Natasha McCarthy
The Oak Tree Restaurant
~ Dublin City Centre, Dublin ~​

Natasha let out a small scoff, as Leo blamed their tardiness on her getting ready. "I’ll have you know that taking 45 minutes to get ready is pretty unheard of for most girls, I’m speedy.” She stated before Leo commented that Lorelei looked nicer than usual. Lorelei also scoffed at Leo before smiling at him, "I did take a little longer than Natasha I’ll admit it but I’m not revealing just how long it takes for me to get ready.” She said before looking to Benjie with a playful glare, "Women don’t have it nearly as easy…societal expectations require us to not look like we just rolled out of bed.” She stated to which Natasha nodded her head in agreement. The girl’s eyes met and Natasha was relieved that Leo seemed to be his usual playful self at the moment. The men introduced themselves to each other before they all moved to get seated at one of the many booths.

Natasha had sensed the uneasiness that was radiating off Leo and moved to take his hand as they sat down beside each other. She glanced around the restaurant for a moment before she returned to look at Leo who looked down at her. She gave him the smallest of smiles as the waitress came over to take their drink orders, "Make that two pints please!” Natasha stated, not ordering water either. Benjie asked her about being Blake’s daughter and the blonde nodded her head, "The one and only! Have you met her? I hope she hasn’t said anything bad about me.” Natasha said with a small laugh.

Lorelei ordered wine and allowed Benjie to order a drink before Leo chimed into the conversation asking Benjie what poor decisions he’d made to end up with her. "You make me sound like the worse choice in the world, Leo! Sheesh! I’m an outstanding citizen.” Lorelei teased before Benjie stated that Conor was to blame for them being together which made Lorelei smirk at Leo. The redhead looked at Benjie with a small smile on her face that only grew bigger as he trailed off, her own cheeks turning red as well. "What can I say, I’m a sucker for a damsel in distress,” Lorelei said teasingly. "Someone had to make sure he didn’t sprawl out on the floor.”

Natasha let out a laugh, "That’s so cute! I hope you aren’t charging her for those photos now though.” The blonde teased to which Lorelei laughed as well, "Hey now, nothing wrong with being a sugar mamma. He can take all the money he needs. But he pays for almost all the dates so I guess that makes up for it.”

"I ever tell you that it took about a billion years before Leo finally figured out that Natasha liked him, Benjie? They’ve been stuck in the friend zone since the dinosaurs roamed. It’s quite the story, isn’t it Leo?” Lorelei said, playfully glaring at her cousin. "What’s up with men and not taking a hint?” She said. Natasha shook her head, "It’s those Sullivan genes I’m told…not Leo’s fault. Just glad he caught on now, otherwise this whole date would be really awkward.” She laughed, looking to Leo fondly before leaning into him gently.

"So Benjie! What’s your story? How did you end up working for Conor? He’s not too tough on you is he?” Natasha asked curiously just as drinks arrived.
with: Benjie Misty Gray ; Leo Melanin-Gxdess
(START PLANNING THE DOUBLE WEDDING!! CUTEST COUPLES EVER ^.^)

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Royal London Hospital
~ Tower Hamlets, London ~
Alexander King ​

Alex couldn't help but let a laugh escape him at Kerry's comment. It was well known in the area that Alex had been - for lack of a better word - a whore, yet it hadn't tarnished his reputation as some might think. Maybe because he could charm his way through any and everything or the fact that he's attractive, but there was never a lack of women lining up at his front door. Though, ever since Callum's visit and his talk with Spencer, he had tried to cut back on sleeping with random women and partying all the time. Not to say that he had cut it off completely, mind you. Just tonight he'd already been eyeballing and talking to his next conquest before things went to shit. Alex was still a man weak to temptation and it wasn't easy for him to ignore attractive women batting their eyelashes and practically throwing themselves at him. Yeah, he was working on it, but truthfully? He wasn't working that hard.

Unlike Kerry, Alex hadn't had to deal with any sort of major violence because of his family's business. For the most part, things had been fairly civil until they decided to get in bed with the Sullivans - for Alex, quite literally. From the arguing with Savannah about custody to Spencer getting beat up for it and even the most recent attack, it had all been downhill. This bombing had been the first time Alex's life was in the balance and though he had been outside, he couldn't help but wonder what would have happened to him had Spencer not come back to the club? He could've been in Harper's place or right next to her or even worse - dead. The thought of it not only crushed him but pissed him off to no end. But because they were in the hospital and he was trying not to make a scene, he wasn't going to fly off the handle.

Hearing Kerry agrees that the Callum situation should have stayed between himself and Savannah made him smirk. More people were beginning to agree with him and his family that what Conor did was unnecessary and that he should butt out. People were starting to see the true, brutish nature of the Sullivan man and not the false persona he was trying to portray - that he just wanted his family safe and cared so much about them. Alex could see that Conor would let his own wife and son get hurt just to prove a point, yet Alex was the bad father. At least he hadn't pissed off an Italian by kidnapping his granddaughter. "Pfft, I wish he'd get that through his thick skull. Callum is my son, not his. Should worry about his own."

"My ego is a fair size, thank you." He let out another chuckle when she mentioned he should have been able to get the blanket and pillow by now, to which he simply replied, "But then I'd have to flirt in front of you, and that would be incredibly rude." He gave her a smile, which quickly turned into a look of confusion as he turned to Jeremy. The man had bolted awake, Alex unaware that the man had even dozed off; though, it would explain why he had been so quiet... "You alright?" He asked, listening to him apologize. Alex just shook his head, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "It's alright. A lot's happened and you're probably crashing from the adrenaline. According to Kerry, I may be able to talk the nurse into getting a bed if you wanna nap. Or even a blanket and a pillow?"

Kerry ( Misty Gray )
Jeremy ( BasDorcha )

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Biancardi's Residence
~Queens, New York City~
Reina Richards

​

The shock Reina was trying to hide behind her glare wasn't that Ricky had been, in fact, the one behind Matthew's death, but because he had been so open and forthcoming with the truth. Back when it first happened he had sworn up and down he wasn't behind it, even going so far as to bring in a gift basket. A gift basket for killing her fiancee! Or, wait, was the gift basket for trying to kill Roxie? Endangering her kids? If he were going to bring a gift basket for his wrongdoings then he should've brought one for the whole damn family! Ricky had betrayed his only family and the only thing he could think to make up for it was bullshit lies and fake sympathy. If he truly cared about Roxie, she figured, he wouldn't have been such a sore loser in the first place and done something so heinous.

Reina's head immediately snapped to Roxie, her gun remaining on Ricky. The woman looked angrier than she had ever seen, tears pouring from her eyes. In the time the two had spent with each other Reina had only seen her like this once - when Matthew died. It was clear Ricky's betrayal had hurt her more than words could and would ever express, but she couldn't think about that right now. Instead, Reina did as she was told, moving to lock the door. Instead of returning to her original position near Ricky, she stayed by the door with her gun pointed towards it. It would have probably been more ideal for her to be on the other side of the door in the hall, however, she wasn't about to leave Roxie alone with someone unhinged like Ricky. She knew the woman would be able to handle herself just fine, she knew how to use a gun after all, but she wasn't about to take any chances.

During the few years Reina had been given the job to protect Roxie and her family, she had come to care about them in her own special way. After Matthew's death, she'd been privy to a lot of the emotions both Roxie and her kids had gone through and if she had a heart, it would have broken. With a hectic childhood of her own, she wouldn't wish for any kid to go through it, let alone a woman whose only flaw was being born into a society full of misogynistic men and having a psycho for a cousin. In her eyes, Roxie had yet to do anything to warrant such a reaction, but it was too late to think on it now. Matthew was dead and there was nothing to bring him back. He was gone and so was Roxie's trust in Ricky and maybe even his life.

Reina looked between Ricky and Roxie, her eyes finally settling on Ricky. The pain in her boss' words had been as clear as day and though she wanted nothing more than to get her out of this situation she couldn't. It wasn't what Roxie had instructed, which meant she wasn't going to walk over to the desk. Not even if it looked like Roxie wanted to back down from this whole ordeal. "I can do it, you know," she stated, eyes glued to Ricky. "Can't have blood on your hands and, let's face it, I've already got a ton." Reina had been more than willing to kill in the past, but even more so now when it came to Ricky. When she glanced back to Roxie, she could see that her words would have fallen on deaf ears as she had seemed to make up her mind.

Roxie was going to kill Ricky herself and Reina wasn't going to stop her.

Roxie ( Bellz )
Ricky ( Misty Gray )

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

George and Finn’s
~Dublin, Ireland~
Aliana Sullivan

​

Before Ali would get the advice she was looking for from Finn, an unfamiliar face walked in to introduce himself. Though he seemed friendly enough with Finn she couldn't help but tense up, sinking further into her seat. The action had been unconscious, as was the spike in her heart rate. Ali had a problem with strangers - Kerry being the main reason, and then being kidnapped a few weeks - and though this Tom character seemed friendly enough, she had been tricked like that before. Kerry had been hurt and visibly upset when she first met her and let the girl into her home, only to have been planted by Gabriel Moretti himself. Kerry Patrick's betrayal had led to the death of Jackson McCarthy, a death that hit close to her heart. The man had been responsible for the closure she felt she needed, for keeping Conor safe, and for bringing Blake into her life. Ali often didn't know what kind of person she'd have been had Jackson not been around and didn't even dare to think about it.

She hadn't even noticed when Tom finally left them, nor had she heard what he said until Finn started speaking. She looked up at Finn with nothing but focus. If anyone were able to help her, she figured it would be the people he had been the closest to. He started off by saying how much he loved Conor which elicited a smile from her. Though Ali had been an outsider before she and Conor started sleeping together, she'd heard plenty of stories about the two men when they were growing up to know about their relationship. It hurt to hear and realize they hadn't been close like they used to, but Ali was sure they could get things back on track one day.

Her smile had slowly disappeared when he informed her that whatever she said to Conor would just be ignored. She should've already known this considering their last argument. She'd told Conor how she felt, how she had seen him going down a dark path and nothing had changed. Finn was absolutely right, but with that being said, what the hell was she supposed to do? Aliana knew nothing would ever be easy with her husband - their earlier relationship had been proof enough of that. Conor Sullivan was by no means a simple man and she was okay with that. But nowadays she wondered if she really was.

Ali watched as Finn's own smile faded next as he divulged into his own experience dealing with the family business. Her eyes glanced over to George before settling back on Finn, then her hands one more; her ring, to be more specific. Hearing that being able to change Conor's mind was basically a futile effort hurt to hear, but she was glad he had said it. Maybe she had been approaching this all wrong with getting him to change his mind and that was the problem. He was stubborn - the both of them were - which meant neither of them would ever back down. But, maybe one of them should; and maybe that person should be Ali.

She looked up again at Finn, tears brimming her eyes once again when he mentioned Conor needing support - even if she didn't agree with his decisions. For years Aliana had worked hard to make sure Conor felt like he had someone in his corner, but maybe she wasn't. At least, not in the way that mattered. Taking care of their family, creating excuses when he couldn't be present, and even taking care of the businesses were things she thought mattered. But thinking on it now and after considering Finn's words, it was clear she had been failing; and the thought of it broke her heart. "I haven't been a good wife, have I then?" She softly said, choking on her tears. "All I've done is yell and argue and-," she shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head. "It's done nothing." She wiped the tears that had managed to escape before taking a deep sigh. "You're right. I'm just- I'm so scared of what'll happen in the future. His need for revenge and making a statement worries me more than words can express."

George( Misty Gray )
Finn ( Bellz )

The Oak Tree Restaurant
~ Dublin City Centre, Dublin ~
Leo Sullivan

​

Leo was glad it had been Natasha sat next to him and not Benjie. Not because he didn't like him or anything like that, but because he knew if he needed her to help him calm down it was better for her to be close. She'd become support for him the past week and he was glad that even though he wasn't talking about what happened she had stayed by him. He listened as she responded to Benjie's question. "You're the golden child, there isn't anything bad that can be said," he stated, being a mischievous grin appeared on his face. "At least, your mom thinks you are." He put his hands up in defense, preparing for whatever hit he was undoubtedly going to receive for teasing her so much.

Lorelei responded to his comment, which caused him to shake his head at both girls. "Do the two of you forget that we grew up together and I know all your little secrets?" He turned his head to Benjie, pointing at the woman sitting right next to him. "This one causes just as much trouble as the rest of us, so be careful," he said, before listening to Benjie explain how they met. Benjie gave credit to his father, which made the smile on his face slowly fade until it was barely there. The fact that he and Conor were in a weird place was to blame for this. Leo just couldn't see how he would be doing good for anyone, even though he was sure the two of them had met way before the incident he had been pretending didn't happen. "Well, the old man is a professional when it comes to unfortunate events." Though he was still teasing the idea that Lorelei had been a juvenile, the undertones of how he was feeling about Conor at the moment were definitely there.

He pushed the thoughts to the side and looked between the two sitting across from him before sitting back and crossing his arms with a smile. "Absolutely adorable," he said, echoing his girlfriend's comment. He then turned to her, nudging her gently with his elbow. "Hey, how come he gets a sugar mamma and I don't?" He shot her a wink before throwing his arm around her shoulders and kissing the top of her head, knowing full well he insisted on paying whenever they went put somewhere.

"Hey now, why can't girls just come out and say it instead of having us figure things out?" He asked, looking to Benjie. "Also, to my defense, I asked her out in the most romantic way possible," he then looked to his cousin and smirked. "So really, I made up for it." As Natasha leaned into him he stuck is tongue out at Lori before grabbing Natasha's hand and lacing their fingers together. His attention was then brought back to Benjie and how he had ended up working for Conor. Thankfully the waitress returned with his drink so he would be able to listen without getting all upset at the topic of his father again. As much as he wanted to hear about Benjie and get to know him, the last thing he wanted to do was talk about his father. But alas, Leo wasn't going to be rude and instead decided to focus on the foam at the top of his glass.

Lori, Natasha ( Bellz )
Benjie ( Misty Gray )

 

[Misty Gray]

Biancardi Residence
~ Queens, New York City ~

Riccardo Biancardi​

When Roxie shot up out of her chair, Ricky automatically rushed to stand up himself. His cousin was quick to pull her gun out and aim it on him, causing him to instinctively raise his hands defensively. "Woah! Woah!" he called out, about to tell her to calm down, but for some reason, something in the back of his head silenced himself from doing so. He watched Roxie's trembling hand as her finger hovered over the trigger of her gun. When she asked him to tell her why she shouldn't kill him, he slowly lowered his arms and relaxed them at his side. His cousin was furious, devastated, upset... none of which were at all surprising, even to Ricky's complicated mind. He turned his head to watch as Reina complied with Roxie's orders and locked the office door.

Turning back to Roxie, Ricky let out a long breath as she kicked off at him for what he'd done, wanting to know why and what happened to the notion of family. He nodded his head when she pointed out that after all they'd been through together, he'd tried to have her put down. He'd already admitted to it, so he wasn't about to deny it or try sugar-coating it. He battled constantly with his own mind, trying to stay in control of his dark side, the same side of his that was ruthless and took over to arrange the hit on Roxie. Ricky had already determined that it was no use protesting his innocence, claiming that part of him he couldn't control had compelled him to do it. For once, that dark part of him was nowhere to be found, leaving only the part of Ricky that had grown up with Roxie and had first taken the abuse of his family and the priest. The Ricky who had to learn to build up a defence, a wall, and eventually manifest a supposedly better version of himself that couldn't be hurt and showed no genuine emotion. That cold and detached side of Ricky had conveniently left him to fend for himself in the present moment. He'd probably enjoy the peace in his thoughts, the lack of conflict splitting his head in two, but how could he when he was staring at his devastated cousin as she aimed a gun at him?

Ricky made no attempt to disarm or dodge Roxie, instead watching on as she backed away a little. He listened and nodded along as she told him he'd killed the best thing that ever happened to her, as well as terrifying her children. "Yeah, I get it. What I did was the fucking worst. I was pissed off that Giovanni had betrayed me and I took your acceptance of his will as you betraying me too. I was wrong, I know that," he said, quickly nodding his head. "And there really is no excusing trying to have you killed."

When Roxie asked him to give her one reason why she shouldn't kill him, he stayed silent. She asked him if he had any remorse and he quickly nodded his head. That darkness attempted to show itself, to provoke Roxie further rather than show any remorse. However, Ricky fought back the compulsion and stayed in control, despite both sides of him aiming for the same outcome. "Roxie... Of course I have remorse for what I've done. It's because Matthew was such a good man, and because I traumatised your kids, and because I tried to have you killed that I can't... I can't give you a reason not to kill me." He outstretched his arms and took a step towards her. "Go ahead. Do it. Right here so I can finally get some fucking peace in this head of mine," he said, pressing his index finger into the side of his own head.

Hearing Reina speak up to say she could do it, Ricky quickly nodded his head and briefly looked to the woman in question. "Or let her do it. Either way, just imagine how good it will feel after. It'll be fucking cathartic, Roxie. There's no excusing what I did." Regardless of whether he had excuses for his behaviour, he wasn't going to make it any harder for her to pull the trigger by attempting to implant any amount of sympathy in her mind. "One thing Gabriel and Conor have in common is that they would have pulled the trigger by now. You're the boss here, Roxie..."

Bellz (Roxie) Melanin-Gxdess (Reina)

 

[Pyroclast]

Royal London Hospital
~ Tower Hamlets, London ~

Bruce King​

Spoiler: Trigger Warning

Description of losing family to traffic collision / drug overdose

With everyone he cared about set up in different parts of the hospital, Bruce wished he could be in multiple places at once. He knew he would have a long night ahead of him, checking up on everyone in turn, but he felt like everyone needed him, and so leaving any of them to themselves wasn’t going to be easy. The whole ordeal was bringing back sore memories of his sister’s fatal overdose and of the traffic collision that had killed his wife and two young children. With his nephews being either the fighting kind or the crafting kind, he had made his fair share of trips to A&E with them over the years, but nothing like this. These were not the kinds of injuries that could be forgotten with a trip to the ice cream parlour or that required a lecture; they were the kind that came with a sickening uncertainty, the kind that could change the future of the family forever - just like the loss of Laura, Olga, Jacob and Ania.

Bruce had faith that Harper would make it through, especially given she had woken up since leaving the nightclub - but he had had that same faith in his children before they had passed away, and so knew that faith wasn’t always enough. Darcey pointed out that she would at least have Alex and Jeremy there looking out for her, of which Bruce had no doubt, but it still didn’t put his fear to rest. She told him she wanted to check on Billy, and despite seeing his youngest nephew in tears, he found it less painful to think about him than Harper. “Yeah, he’d like to see you,” he responded, a little distantly. “A nurse was takin’ him somewhere so I think he’s still bein’ looked at, but he’s likely to be on his own. I’ll go do the rounds in a minute and see how he is...”

While he didn’t like the idea of Billy being alone, and was sure he would be itching to find everyone else, there were a few more pressing matters Bruce wanted to attend to first: finding Alex and Jeremy, checking for news on Harper, and finding out if anyone else had been gravely injured or killed. At least he was sure that Billy was alive and on his feet, which is more than he could say for some of the others. Equally concerned for the family, Darcey was adamant that he focused on them rather than coming back to check on her - unless, of course, he was returning with news. “‘Course I will,” he assured her. “Soon as I hear an update on Harper, I’ll make sure everyone knows, includin’ you. I already called some of our most trusted bodyguards to the hospital so everyone that came in from that blast has someone watchin’ their back while they’re vulnerable. Sullivans would have to be pretty stupid to stick around after what they did, or to try and do more damage in a place as busy as this, but I wouldn’t put it past ‘em..”

Darcey’s concern for the family was expected, but when she gasped and began to fuss over May’s well-being Bruce couldn’t help but frown a little. He hadn’t accounted for the young woman yet, but while he intended to do so, it was only really as part of a head count. He understood that Darcey had been at the nightclub to talk to May about switching her job from bartending there to working under Darcey’s wing at the garage, and he was all for it. Given May’s recently discovered familial tie to the Sullivans, Bruce was still a bit suspicious about her and therefore supported the idea of her being under Darcey’s close supervision - almost in the sense of keeping one’s enemies close. Yet, based on her reaction, Darcey seemed to care a lot more about the girl. For Darcey’s sake, he was willing to put her mind at ease by updating her on May’s health when he could, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about the way the woman seemed to be growing attached to her. Given the circumstances, he didn’t feel comfortable trusting May for the time being and so didn’t think it wise to bond too closely with her. Still, with so much going on already, it seemed like an inappropriate time to argue about it, so he let it go for the moment. “I’ll be checkin’ up on everyone, including May,” he told her. “I’ll give you updates on everyone when I have ‘em, love.” Her expressed hope that Spencer and Shona’s baby would be a girl made him chuckle. “That update will include a baby report,” he tutted, planting another light kiss on her head. “And boy or girl, you’ll love ‘em just the same, you got that?”

On the subject of retaliation, Darcey spoke up to offer her garage space to him and the boys to work from, if they needed somewhere open. Bruce hadn’t given much thought yet as to what kind of move they should make, but he knew they couldn’t just do nothing. They hadn’t just been caught in the crossfire between the Sullivans and the Morettis - they had been made a part of this war whether they liked it or not. The attack in their nightclub had been deliberate, that much was obvious, and there was only one suspect. Before he could think much on it, however, Darcey retorted to his honest remark about her newfound hearing problems, suggesting that he was almost old enough to be going deaf himself. “Well as it stands, you won’t be hearin’ much outta’ me for some time anyway, my love,” he teased back, giving her arm a loving rub.

Sharing a joke with her as she lay in his arms reminded him of how lucky he was to have her - and how close he had come to losing her. No matter what life had thrown at them over the years, Bruce and Darcey had always stuck it out together. He had never had to go through anything alone and neither had she, because they had always had each other to count on - and thankfully, unlike some of the less fortunate victims of the bombing, they still did.

“Thanks for makin’ it out of there,” he whispered, planting a kiss on the top of her head. “I don’t know where I’d be without you, Darcey. I mean that. You're my rock.” Of course his nephews and niece meant the world to him, too, but Darcey was the only person in the world he could fully relate to. She remembered the war and the evacuation, she remembered his sister before she met Trevor Stewart, and shared memories of his wife, Olga, and his two young children. There was nothing he had been through without Darcey at his side, and nothing she had been through without him at hers. To think he could have lost her to a bombing less than an hour ago was too much to bear. Bruce gave an uneasy sigh, his eyes growing misty as they gazed at the wall ahead. “This whole thing just reminds me of that day. All the waiting…I really believed Jacob was gonna pull through.”

Even Bruce was surprised to hear himself bring up that awful day. He didn’t tend to talk about his lost family even in passing - on the anniversary of their death, his and Olga’s wedding anniversary and all their birthdays, perhaps, but typically he preferred not to talk about them. After being told that Olga and their three year old daughter, Ania, had been killed on impact, Bruce had been given a strand of hope that his five year old son would survive his injuries, and he had clung onto that hope for four hours while the boy underwent surgery. It felt like the longest wait of his life and even after all those years, he was still forced to re-live it in his dreams. “Well, Harper’s stronger than he was,” he added, his voice now tight with emotion. “I suppose all we can do is believe.”

Interactions
Melanin-Gxdess Darcey

Mentioned:
Bellz Harper

 

[Bellz]

Roxie Carriveau
Biancardi Residence
~ Queens, New York City ~​

Roxie had been a pretty controlled person when it came to her own emotions most of her life, it was the only thing that she had been thankful to receive from her heartless father. She had seen her own cousin lose himself in his emotions as well as Syd and although she had become slightly unhinged after having the twins, Roxie liked to think that she had done a good job keeping it together regardless. At this moment, she was doing everything but keeping it together, her thoughts were racing so quickly that she wasn’t sure which one to cling onto. Every part of her told her to just fucking pull the trigger but as she looked deep into Ricky’s eyes the thought of ending him herself only brought on broken sobs and endless tears. He told her that he felt remorse and because of that, he couldn’t give her a reason not to kill him.

Despite the tremendous amount of anger she felt, Roxie wanted Ricky to give her any sort of reason to believe that he was able to redeem himself, that he would somehow make it up to her. He was the only family she had left, after all. Sure, she had her own blossoming family but the family she had grown up with was almost completely gone. She had clung on to the fact that she only had Ricky left for so long and now here he was telling her to go ahead and shoot him. "I’ll do it damn it!” Roxie said hoarsely, her eyes widening as he took a step closer to her with his arms outstretched. He pointed his index finger to the side of his own head to indicate where she should shoot him, stating that he could finally get some peace in his head. Roxie let out a sob as she closed her eyes for a moment.

Roxie couldn’t forget Ricky’s mental illness, not when it took control of him almost on a daily. She knew how much he battled with his own inner demons and that at times they seemed to get the upper hand in situations…she was sure that whoever was on the other side of him had taken over the day he tried to have her killed. That made it all the more difficult to pull the trigger. Reina grabbed her attention and Roxie opened her eyes to look at her bodyguard for a long moment as she offered to finish the job for her. Reina’s eyes were glued to her cousin as she said that Roxie couldn’t have blood on her hands. She knew Reina wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger and Roxie wasn’t sure she wanted that. She had imagined this going a completely different way, she had thought she would have more time to talk with Ricky, more time to try and figure out if he was ever going to change. Now here he was admitted what he had done, practically egging Roxie on to just kill him and release him from his own mind. It was what she wanted in the first place right? To kill him?

Roxie let out a frustrated growl as she shook her head at Reina. "The blood is already on my hands, I thought that I could trust my cousin and it lead to Matthew’s demise. The worse part of it is…Syd had tried to warn me years ago! I thought he was being his usual, paranoid self and here we are.” Roxie ground out through clenched teeth as she extended her arm further to point it at Ricky. Both Reina and he seemed to think that Roxie had made up her mind, that she was just going to do away with killing her cousin and Roxie was trying to convince herself of the same thing.

Roxie listened closely as Ricky told her to imagine how it would feel after she pulled the trigger, how cathartic it would feel. She pulled a disgusted expression as she shook her head once. She wasn’t like him, or her father…or Gabriel, Conor, or Syd. It didn’t bring her any pleasure going through this. The last thing she wanted to feel was any joy over killing her own family. "I’m not my father, Ricky! I don’t get off on wanting to kill you…this is the opposite of cathartic!” Roxie hissed her hands twitching so much as she struggled to keep her aim intact.

He stated that the one thing Gabriel and Conor had in common was that they would have pulled the trigger by now, going further to say that she was the boss in the current situation. The title didn’t have any fucking meaning now, she was just another fucking slave to the endless cycle of crime. She’d seen it over and over again in her days of being a lawyer. Some people she defended were actually terrible people, they were victims of a societal imbalance of good versus evil. They were slaves to the criminal system. This position she found herself in wasn’t any more powerful than those around her. Gabriel and Conor acted like they had their shit together, that they are on top…but Roxie knew better. They are both just following the same protocol that had been laid out meticulously by those that came before them years ago. Roxie was following down the same path and her fate would be sealed as soon as she went in for the kill.

Making up her mind, she placed her finger on the trigger and pulled it back. The sound was deafening and as soon as the bullet met Ricky, she watched as he fell to the ground with tears in her eyes. She knew she would only have a few minutes to get the fuck out of the house and out of New York. As Roxie grabbed her bag, she walked around the desk quickly stepping over Ricky before turning to look down at him. He wouldn’t die from his injury but it sure was going to be difficult to heal. The bullet had lodged itself into his shoulder, just above his heart. So close to death yet so far. Hearing voices sound from outside, Roxie’s eyes locked with her cousin’s as tears continued to pour down her face. "Death would have been a blessing for you, Ricky. You didn’t show me any mercy and for that, I will show you none. But trust me when I say I will make sure you feel the same way I do. You were more than my cousin, you were like a brother to me…but now you are nothing more than a stranger to me. See you in hell.” Roxie’s voice was hoarse from screaming and deep with intensity as she locked eyes with him for a moment longer. Looking up to Reina, she nodded her head. "Call the pilot, tell him to get the jet ready. We’re getting the fuck out of this city.” Hurrying out of the office, she didn’t turn to look at Ricky for a final time not wanting to subject herself to remember everything she would be leaving behind now.
with: Ricky Misty Gray ; Reina Melanin-Gxdess
mentions:
Syd Pyroclast

 

[BasDorcha]

Sullivan Home
Michelle Romano

[ugly post with no pic because I'm sneaking this in during work]


Michelle sat down her bags just inside the door before turning around and greeting Allen, giving him a hug and letting him by. She would be happy to catch up with everyone later, but for now she was glad that just her and her father had the room. She hung her coat across the back of the couch and sat down, agreeing to the drink – didn’t matter much what it was. Once the two of them were settled, she sat quietly across from him while he did one of her favorite things, and cut straight to the point. She was very much like her father in that aspect.

“Well… I’m changing my name… back to Romano.” She gave it a second to sink in, then nodded to confirm that first assumption is right. “We are officially divorced as of yesterday. He is living in Australia, and he has the kids – temporarily. Just until I get settled. I’m moving here… if that’s alright, da.” She smiled gently, letting him know she was in fact, better then expected. “He decided he wanted a newer model. I’ve known for over a year. Honestly, I’m just glad it’s over. The kid’s understand, but I did not want to be down there alone anymore. I’ve spent time with Mom, I’ve spent time with a waste of a husband whose best thing for me was the kids. Now I want to know more of the rest of my family. I want the kids to know their family.”

As she smiled a very soft smile, she waited for his response. She didn’t have it in her to admit she was feeling a bit lost and useless at the moment with no real direction, like a compass spinning over a magnet. She looked at her father, the face of determined strength, but her eyes seemed to show the underlying distress she was unwilling to allow out openly.

mentions:
Misty Gray

 

[Misty Gray]

Savannah Callahan's House
~ Dollymount, Dublin ~

Savannah Callahan​

Savannah managed the smallest of smiles when Danny spoke of how he thought she'd grown stronger throughout her life linked to the family business. He was fully aware of the kind of Hell she'd suffered in the past, especially at the hands of the twisted man, Steve Kelly. Her smile broadened when he went on to point out that she had loving and strong family and friends around her. He was right that they would do anything to protect each other. "I know," she softly agreed with his words. No matter how frustrating some of her loved ones could be, nor how unhappy she presently was with Conor, she appreciated and adored all of her family members.

On the subject of Callum's London family, Savannah let out a small sigh. "They are difficult to deal with. Well, mostly Alex and Spencer are. Harper and Shona, as well as Bruce, they were all always so kind to me, which makes this whole thing hurt even more. I had to come back here to be with the family I missed and to give Callum chance to known my side of his family. It was hard leaving the people in London I cared about. I didn't think it would turn out so bad. I thought I could see visit the Kings and be able to spend time with the ladies, but instead, it's all just a big mess. Shona and Harper probably hate me by now."

Savannah's large eyes widened when Danny said he had an idea. She looked to him with curiosity as he went on. When he suggested they spent more time together, she couldn't help the natural, warm smile that grew on her face. "My friend AND my personal bodyguard?" she asked, with a playful laugh. Her expression then turned more serious as she addressed his question. "I would really like that, Danny. I've missed hanging out with you and I'd certainly feel safer with you by my side."

When Danny went on to offer to go to London with her if she went there with Callum, she looked him in the eyes, feeling like she was able to tell him how much she wanted to let Callum see Alex. She knew most others in her family would tell her not to and some would enforce stopping her from doing so. "It would make me feel better being there if you're with me. Callum needs to see Alex and I can't deprive him of that any longer. I was going to go there without anyone else, but I'd feel better if I did have someone with me.. If you were with me," she told him.

Pyroclast (Danny)

 

[Misty Gray]

Sullivan Residence
~ Sutton, Dublin ~

Conor Sullivan​

When Michelle told him she was changing her name back to Romano, Conor's mind briefly wandered. Despite him at one point loving her mother, the name Romano always brought an initially bitter taste to his mouth. The name always brought Vinnie to mind and the Sullivan loved ones who had been lost or tortured on Romano's command. Not to mention it reminded him of how close he was becoming to being like that man as of late. But Vinnie was thankfully dead, and Michelle might have had Romano blood in her, but Conor didn't love his daughter any less for it. So when he was able to shrug off thinking about Vinnie, he could process the reason she was changing her name back. Divorce.

Conor understood that not all marriages worked or could last forever, but his instinct was to ask if things really were beyond repair for the couple, especially given there were children involved. "Wait. You're divorced and I'm only just hearing about it? Divorces don't happen overnight. I can't believe you're only just telling me this, 'Chelle," he berated her. "Yeah, it's alright for you to live here, though it's not all fun and games here right now--" he began, stopping when he listened to the rest of what she had to say.

"That tosser had the nerve to do that to you?!" he asked, standing up and rubbing the back of his head in frustration. "Oh, no wonder he's living in Australia. It's one of the furthest places he can be to avoid me knocking his fucking lights out!" Conor ranted. "Nah, he best stay there, because I'll kick the shit out of him if I see him." He let out a deep sigh. "You better be doing what you can to get the kids over here too. He can piss around with some tart all he wants, but the kids belong with you, and here, with the rest of us."

BasDorcha (Michelle)

 

[Misty Gray]

The Oak Tree Restaurant
~ Dublin City Centre, Dublin ~

Benjamin Reznik​

When Natasha commented that she hoped he wasn't charging her for the photos, Benjamin couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He then smiled when Lorelei defended him, making a joke about being his sugar mamma. "Hey, I'm a businessman and I've got rent to pay. Can't be offering freebies this early into my career," he remarked. "And like Lorelei says, nothing wrong with her being my sugar mamma. It's kinda hot," he joked. He then lightly nodded when his girlfriend pointed out he did pay for their dates. He wasn't rich, and at times did struggle to make ends meet between paydays, but he tried not to let it stop him from treating Lorelei.

Benjie looked to Leo as the conversation turned to how he and Natasha had been stuck in friendzone for a long time. Although he often came across as a little awkward, Benjamin had always been quite confident and forward about when he was attracted to someone and didn't tend to sit back for long before making his feelings known. Still, he thought it was cute that Leo's relationship had been a slow burner. "Hey, but I'd take it as a positive sign. If you guys have known each other for a long time and still want to date each other, then that's got to be good, right?" He then grinned when Leo warned him that Lorelei was a trouble-causer. "Hmm, thanks for the heads up. I'll be extra cautious," he said in a suspicious tone, playfully eyeing the woman in question

When Natasha asked him how he ended up working for Conor, Benjamin stayed silent for a moment as he thought about how he first came to know the Sullivans at all. "My dad used to work for the Conor's uncle and cousins in New York, back before I was born, and they kind of took him under their wing when he didn't have any family. After my dad got locked up and my mum died, Aidan took me in - he was also working for the Sullivans. So when everyone moved here to Dublin, Aidan had to bring me here too, where it was safer. Fast forward, Aidan put in a good word and Conor gave me a job at the restaurant. He's not tough on me at all. In fact, he's been pretty good, even promoted me to a shift manager." It hadn't escaped his attention that Leo hadn't looked comfortable as they spoke about Conor, but he didn't think it was his place to ask or comment about that. He just hoped whatever it was wasn't serious as he knew he'd give anything to have his own father nearby every day and to be able to see him without requesting permission nor having some prison guard sticking his nose in

Bellz (Lorelei, Natasha) Melanin-Gxdess (Leo)

 

[Misty Gray]

Chapter 11: Father Figures
Sunday 30th June 1985
...15 days later...
Dublin: Early Evening - Mild, Dry, Cloudy
London: Early Afternoon - Warm, Sunny, Light Cloud
New York City: Afternoon - Hot, Sunny, Clear Skies

******************************

******************************​

Saturday 27th August 1960
~ Walthamstow, London ~​

In the twelve years of Spencer's life, days like this one were few and far apart. Trevor had spent a full day with his son, having arranged to take him fishing, along with two of his drinking friends and their sons of Spencer's age. Being able to muck around with his friends as well as see his dad both sober and paying him positive attention was something young Spencer had spent all day savouring. It hadn't been the first time he'd been fishing, but it turned out to be his best day for it yet. Spencer had proudly caught the largest fish out of everyone and was beaming from his success, egged on by his friends who had been in awe of his big catch.

After packing up their gear, the group headed back to their respective vehicles so they could finish their day in the pub, likely the boys being left to occupy themselves once the men had a few beers down them. As they walked on the river bank, Spencer stayed alongside Trevor, listening as his father and the other grown-ups engaged in obvious banter. "Trev, your lad made you look a right idiot," one of the men teased Trevor. The man then reached his hand out to Spencer and playfully ruffled his hair. "Are ya gonna teach your old man out to fish, kid? You caught a beaut!"

"Course, mate. I'll give my dad some fishing classes," Spencer joked in return.

Clearly not impressed with being mocked by his son, Trevor let out a sarcastic laugh before sticking his foot out to the side and causing Spencer to trip over it. As the boy fell forward onto the ground, he dropped the fishing bucket and equipment on the floor in front of him. "Jesus Christ, Spence. You're bloody useless!" Trevor shot out. "Can't take the kid anywhere," he joked to the others, cuing for the two men and their kids to laugh at Spencer's expense.

"You stupid fucking wanker!" Spencer angrily shouted at his dad. The boy rushed up to his feet and rushed at Trevor, slamming his hands into the man to push him forward. Trevor barely budged, instead using his hand to swiftly hit the boy across the head. Kicking the bucket aside and into the river, Spencer rushed off ahead of the group.

"Bloody 'ell. Man up, would ya!" Trevor called out to his son.

The Royal Taphouse
~ Bethnal Green, East London ~
​

Present Day...
Spencer King

It had been a struggle to get a full night's sleep over the last few weeks. Whilst it could be said that it was to be expected for the father of a newborn baby, Spencer knew little Edward wasn't the only person disrupting his sleep. For a while Harper had been another reason, but with her now in a stable condition, awake and resting in hospital, he was no longer worrying about losing her. What was really weighing him down was what he was going to do to the bastard who put his sister in hospital, as well as injuring and killing others, not to mention destroying his nightclub - a business he'd been very proud and fond of. Spencer felt enough time had passed for his family to recover and get their heads on straight, so the sooner he could talk to his uncle and brothers about making Conor pay for what he'd done to them, the better.

Spencer had managed to get some sleep during the night, but in the few hours he had got, he had the same recurring dream. The kind of dream he'd had many times over the years, where a father walks out on his own children because he's too selfish to stick around and look after them himself. Only, more recently the useless father turned out to be himself. In a way, Spencer was grateful to be woken from his dream at 5am by the sound of Edward crying. "I'll see to him, love," he told Shona, placing a kiss on her lips before getting out of bed. "You go back to sleep for as long as you need to. Me an' Eddie will hang out while you rest. I'll tell him all about World Cup '66," he joked as he quickly got dressed.

After changing and dressing Edward, Spencer held the boy close as he walked downstairs with him, softly singing an apparent medley of Queen songs as he proceeded to get some ingredients out ready for when Edward had been fed so he could make his own breakfast. "You're too young for a fry-up, Eddie. Sorry, kiddo, just the usual for you." Stopping on the spot, Spencer focused his attention on Edward as he studied his son's sweet little face. "You're never going to be put last or told you ain't good enough. If I ever make you feel like crap, you have my permission so knock me out," he told him. "You're going to be spoiled rotten when we get to the pub later, y'know, and I'm going to make sure you get to meet Callum soon too. He's gonna love you, Eddie."

*****​

With Harper recovering in the hospital and the family able to breathe a little, they decided to have a get-together to celebrate Edward's arrival in one place. Although it was unfortunate Harper couldn't be with them, the family needed some time out of their respective houses and where they could all bounce off of each other. With the nightclub ruined in the explosion, The Royal Taphouse was the obvious choice for drinks and with a hearty Sunday lunch thrown in. Having caught up with Kerry over the last week and established she was done with the Sullivans, Spencer decided to give her a second chance and some shifts at the pub. Whilst he did like her and was glad to have her back, he'd be lying if he didn't think a part of him didn't find it useful having someone on side who likely had some level of insight into the Sullivans that he lacked himself.

With the family and their close friends occupying a large table in a reserved section of the pub, Kane had positioned himself and one of his security guard colleagues at a small table closer to the pub entrance so he could keep an eye on those coming and going. Spencer, meanwhile, was keen to get business matters off of his chest, so whilst he was sat beside Shona and observing little Edward, his eyes naturally landed on Bruce, then Alex and Billy. He placed a kiss on Shona's cheek before deciding the conversation he needed to have wasn't to be had in front of a newborn baby. Getting up from his seat and grabbing his pint, he motioned to the smaller, empty table nearby. "Alright, fellas. How about we get business out of the way?" he asked, his eyes resting n Bruce to make sure his uncle approved of the suggestion.

Once they were all seated at the square table, Spencer took a drink of beer before placing the glass down on the table. "It's been a couple of weeks now and I've taken a back seat for long enough. I can't sit back much longer. I want to know what we're going to do now," he asked, looking between Bruce, Alex and Billy. "I'm going to put it out there now. I'm not kidnapping any little Irish kids. I'm not blowing up any nightclubs. Nor do I particularly want to start attacking women unfortunate enough to be related to Conor. I'm willing to take a vote on what you guys propose, but Conor is the one behind all this shit that happened and I want to go straight for that bastard, no pissing around torturing his loved ones. If we manage to hit Syd or any of his other senior members in the process, then that's a bonus. But all the shit that's happened to us lately is Conor's doing."

Pyroclast (Bruce, Billy) Melanin-Gxdess (Alex)

Bethnal Green Gardens
~ Bethnal Green, East London ~
​

Savannah Callahan

Savannah had been set on taking Callum to London even before she found out about the attack on the Mercury Nightclub. When she did learn what had happened and that some of the Kings, especially Harper, had been injured, it only made Savannah more determined to go to London. She didn't ask and didn't want confirmation, but deep down, she was sure Conor was behind the attack. She knew how the business worked, but it never ceased to upset her her what these people were willing to do, - be they Irish, Italian or English mob bosses. To think her uncle was responsible for the attack made her angry, even without knowing the Kings were hurt and Harper had been in a serious condition. But what really sickened her was the thought that Alex could have been killed. It wasn't that she had feelings for him anymore, but he was Callum's dad and in no way would she ever wish death or injury on the father of her child.

With Peter and Conor away in New York, Savannah took the opportunity to go to London before either of them could find out to stop her. She had wanted to tell her mother, but she didn't want to burden her with keeping secrets from Peter, nor did she want her to have someone else to worry about whilst the men were in New York. Taking him up on his recent offer, Savannah asked Danny if he wanted to join her and Callum on their trip to London, to which he obliged.

They'd arrived in London yesterday and checked into a hotel. They spent much of the time entertaining Callum and then relaxing in the three-bed hotel room whilst the boy slept. Savannah had been nervous about visiting the Kings, but thankfully Danny had been on hand to help ease some of her anxiety.

They set off into Bethnal Green a couple of hours ago, but had stopped off at a cafe to eat lunch first. She knew once Callum saw the Kings, the boy would be too excited to even think about eating a meal. When they were done eating, they then set off on their way to Spencer's pub, but took a detour to Callum's favourite park first. Holding Callum's hand, she let the boy walk between herself and Danny, loving that they seemed to be getting along well. She knew for a fact that Callum liked hanging out with Danny and she was sure the man was enjoying it too.

"I'm going on the swings, okay? And then when I've been on the slide we're going to see my daddy, my uncles, aunt, granddad. Oh, and the baby, okay?" he quickly spoke, but ran off to get on the swing before anyone could answer him.

Casually following the boy as he ran a little ahead, Savannah turned to Danny and smiled at him. "He's so full of energy today and I think that'll continue for the rest of the day," she observed. "He's super-excited about see the Kings, but he's also loving hanging out with you. He told me he thinks you're cool. I mean, I told him you're actually a complete dork, but he was having none of it and is convinced you're cool," she teased.

Pyroclast (Danny)

May Thatcher's Place
~ East London ~
​

Christian Brooks

Christian had had to stay in the hospital overnight following the concussion he acquired in the nightclub explosion. It wasn't all bad, considering he had May around to keep him company as he basically ended up pulling an all-nighter on the hospital ward. He was grateful to be discharged the following morning, if only so he could go home and get some sleep. After a few days, Christian had gone over to see Bruce and Spencer separately, though the general consensus all round was that it didn't take a detective to figure out who was behind the explosion. His visits had instead ended up more social than anything, especially when it came to meeting the latest addition to the family, little Edward.

Despite the Kings not needing a detective, some of Christian's former colleagues appeared to be needing all of the help they could get. Despite knowing the Sullivans were pretty much the only suspects, Christian didn't say anything of the sort to the cops. He was fully aware of how things worked and the Kings would deal with the Sullivans in their own way, likely more than the law could. Christian did enough to tell his former colleagues nothing and casually remind them it wasn't the first bomb to go off in London recently, in a bid to distract them and throw them off the scent.

Overall, Christian had a quiet couple of weeks and was resting his injured shoulder, but by now he was already bored and ready for his next assignment, even if it was just chauffeuring for the Kings. Thankfully, he'd had a call that morning which seemed to be the start of a distraction for him. Darcey had called Christian advising him that May wanted to see him at her place. Although he already knew where May lived, on account of needing to know a lot of things for his employers, he still let Darcey confirm the address to him. Curious about what May wanted, as well as a part of him keen to see the young woman again after their night at the hospital, he agreed to pay her a visit the same day. As always, Christian made an effort to look smart before he left his house and drove to May's place.

When he arrived, Christian gave a few firm knocks on the door before placing his hands in his jacket pockets as he waited for May to greet him. When the door opened, a natural smile took over his face as he saw May standing there. "Darcey gave me your message, so I figured I owed it to you to come right away, after you spent so much time wheeling me around the hospital," he said, letting out a small laugh. "How are those ribs of yours holding up?" he asked, managing to recall her injuries despite his concussion and lack of clarity when they were together at the hospital.

BasDorcha (May)

Adam Harper's House
~ Drumcondra, Dublin ~
​

Adam Harper

As they planned, Adam had given Blake a few weeks to think about whether or not she was ready to be in a relationship with him. Although she had been on his mind a lot, with him often wondering if they had a future together, his thoughts were being shared with those for Elena too. Over the last couple of weeks, Adam had spent more time with Elena in a bid to let them get to know each other. Whether at his own house, a quite cafe, or a walk around the park, he'd made sure to find opportunities to spend time with her when he wasn't working. Despite hating that his absence whilst Elena was growing up had meant she hadn't it an easy childhood, he still found it interesting to learn about her life in Cuba. Not to mention, he was still fascinated to know how far she'd gone to track him down. Whilst he had yet to speak with Isabella, everyone he'd had looking into her story came back to say it all checked out, that there was nothing to suggest she wasn't his daughter. Even without that confidence, the more time he spent with her, the more he picked up on subtle mannerisms or expressions that reminded him very much of himself.

When Blake had contacted him to say she was ready to talk, Adam didn't hesitate to make himself available. Although he knew part of him would be hurt if they couldn't be together, he was sure he'd always be glad to have her in his life, even if it could only be as friends. Fully aware he needed to tell Blake his own news, to be completely honest about Elena, he invited Blake to his house so they could talk in private. Not wanting to spend most of the evening cooking, Adam had got plenty of alcohol in and intended on ordering a takeaway for them once they agreed on what they wanted to eat.

With Conor in New York and Syd at his son's birthday party, Adam had had to have himself put on standby in case something serious went down. Although, Adam was very clear to those working on the various security duties that it better be damn important if they decided to bother him tonight. After ending his calls with Chase and then Emery, Adam was confident everything was under control and he could for once relax in peace.

Hearing the doorbell ring, Adam took a swig from his beer bottle before rushing up from the couch. Smoothing out his clothing before he reached the door, he had no doubts he was looking presentable for his guest. After running his hand through his hair, he opened the front door and immediately allowed a broad smile to take over his face. "Good evening, Blake," he greeted her, taking a moment to appreciate the attractive woman. "Come on in, love," he invited her, stepping aside so she could enter and he could then close the door behind them. "I'm glad we finally get to catch up... But first things, first... What do you want to drink?" he offered her.

Bellz (Blake)

Biancardi Residence
~ Queens, New York City ~
​

Conor Sullivan and Riccardo Biancardi

It had been fifteen days since Roxie had shot Ricky in his left shoulder, just avoiding his heart. The woman had made a rapid exit from his house, taking Reina with her. Ricky had soon been joined by his security who he ordered not to chase the two women down, instead letting them leave his premises. Ricky had then been taken to the hospital to get his wound tended to before he could bleed out and he'd also commanded his men to ensure Julia was kept safe.

Ricky had spent much of his time since being shot resting at home, having his trusty assistant, Quentin, ensuring contracts were passed between himself and the Morettis as well as his other business partners. Then it came to his attention that Teddy and Conor were intending on meeting to come to some kind of an agreement that would potentially mean the two families would stop attacking each other. Given that the Biancardis had for the most part successfully acted as the mediator between the warring families, it made sense they were called upon to mediate the planned meeting too. Ricky couldn't decide whether or not he was surprised Roxie declined to be a part of the meeting. As the Biancardi boss, it was expected of her to sit in on such a meeting. However, it wasn't surprising that she wouldn't want to enter New York so soon after she was there two weeks ago, plus, she hadn't been able to master balancing work and family yet. Not that Ricky was judging anymore, merely predicting what Gabriel, the master of judging others, would think.

As was often the case, the responsibility fell onto Ricky's shoulders to attend the meeting. He had considered declining, but he wasn't sure how he would explain the lack of Biancardi presence to the Morettis. The part he was most put off by was knowing he'd have to sit at a table with Conor. The Irishman knew everything Ricky had done, but Ricky was also sure that if Conor wanted the meeting to be productive, he wouldn't decide to cause fresh drama. He hoped. Ricky wanted more than anything for the Sullivans and Morettis to stop kicking the shit out of each other and focus on business. It would certainly make his own life easier, so he could focus on actual business and block out the personal matters. Plus, he was looking forward to not having to relay another threat or ultimatum between Dublin and New York.

Hosting the meeting out in his large garden, Ricky ensured security was tight and that everyone entering his home was checked and relieved of weapons before even stepping foot onto his driveway. The rectangular, wooden table was set up on the lawn with a view of the well-maintained flower-beds and the large outdoor swimming pool. He had Quentin ensuring everyone's drinks and snacks were topped up at all times. All in all, Ricky had decided to take advantage of the warm summer's day, letting the group of hot-heads meet out in the fresh air rather than be confined in a stuffy office. Contrary to popular belief, Ricky didn't want drama, and a truce between the Morettis and Sullivans was certainly going to make his already hellish life a little easier to stomach.

Ricky's favourite of the guests, Teddy, was the first to arrive. Waiting by the gates to greet the arrivals, Ricky watched as the man was searched and had any weapons taken from him by the security guards. "Great to see you," Ricky greeted Teddy, giving the man a firm handshake. He then cocked his head towards the security guards. "A formality. Tensions are high enough without the risk of bullets spraying over my daffodils."

Conor and Peter had arrived in New York the previous morning, where they'd stayed in a hotel since. It felt strange to be away from Dublin and his family, but Conor had used the last 24 hours to relax and try clear his head. He knew it was in everyone's best interests to remain civil in the upcoming meeting. As much as he wanted Moretti dead or at least suffering, he knew he would have to put it behind him. Gabriel had a lot of resources available to him and Conor knew it wasn't worth letting anymore of his loved ones get hurt. Pushing aside his need to avenge Jackson and all the others was difficult, but what was more difficult was watching Aliana, Leo, Sinead, and all the others suffer for it. By the time he found any peace for the loss of Jackson, Conor had a feeling there'd be a new list of people to mourn. He was sure some might begrudge him from backing down and ending the need to kill those responsible for Jackson's death, but by now he believed more people would be glad for the violence to stop.

As the taxi approached Ricky's mansion, Conor spoke to Peter in the back seat they were occupying. "Are you good with this, mate? Teddy is easier to deal with than Gabriel," he reasoned. He let out a sigh. "This is going to be fucking hard, but I can't let this shit go on for another decade. I certainly can't have Tink ignoring me for much longer. I miss that high-pitched, excited voice screeching in my ear," he fondly admitted.

When they got out of the taxi, Peter and Conor were immediately greeted by the security guards who proceeded to search them for weapons. Conor handed them his handgun, but they still insisted on frisking him. "Come on, Ricky. You couldn't have had some women here to do this?" he asked. Knowing Ricky's humour, Conor figured such an ice-breaker would check all the Biancardi man's boxes.

"Oh come on. Fred here always leaves me satisfied," Ricky joked, referring to the burly security guard. Ricky then made a point of being searched himself, so the others could see he had no weapons. Having to outstretch his arms to be frisked, the action caused Ricky to wince as it tugged on his concealed, heeling gunshot wound. Conor picked up on the action, but kept quiet, sending Ricky a knowing smirk as he knew exactly what had caused the man's discomfort. Ricky proceeded to lead Teddy, Conor and Peter to the table he had set out, allowing them to take their seats and sort out any paperwork they'd brought with them. Ricky took a seat next to Teddy, facing Peter directly, meaning Conor and Teddy were facing each other head on. "Do we need an ice-breaker before we get to actual business?" Ricky asked. It was clear there were tensions between the whole group, so perhaps best to get it out of their systems at the start.

Conor stared at Teddy for a time, studying the man's face. Without the presence of Gabriel, he only had Teddy to hold accountable for torturing Aliana and Leo, as well as for the attack on Peter's wife and son. "I'd say we broke the ice long ago, especially when this wise guy tried baiting me into a reaction," Conor remarked, eyes still fixed on Teddy. He then shook his head before relaxing is gaze. "I think we're both here for the same thing. To protect our own families... Right?"

Melanin-Gxdess (Teddy) Bellz (Peter)

Currently Active Cast: Misty Gray Bellz Pyroclast Melanin-Gxdess BloodLightning27 BasDorcha​

 

[Pyroclast]

Chapter 11: Father Figures
Sunday 30th June 1985
...15 days later...
Dublin: Early Evening - Mild, Dry, Cloudy
London: Early Afternoon - Warm, Sunny, Light Cloud
New York City: Afternoon - Hot, Sunny, Clear Skies

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The Royal Taphouse
~ Bethnal Green ~

Shona King
​

Edward Bruce Robert King. The name sounded like magic to Shona’s ears, the most beautiful sound since she first learned Spencer’s name. Eddie’s first day in the world had been a difficult one to celebrate; not long after he was first placed in her arms, Shona had found out that the nightclub her husband owned had been bombed, taking lives and injuring others. Harper had taken a serious injury after being crushed by a fallen beam and so any relief and joy that little Eddie had brought was immediately dampened by their concern for Harper’s life; whether she would survive, and if she did, what long-term damage the blast may have done to her.

To everyone’s relief, Harper woke up showing signs of recovery and was managing to get around in a wheelchair. After the shock of what had happened, Shona was apprehensive about the little party they had planned for Eddie’s arrival given that it was to be held in the family-owned Royal Taphouse. She didn’t want to bring her baby boy into a war zone, and she was admittedly paranoid that other bombs may have been planted in their establishments. Before she agreed to go ahead with the plan, she had asked Bruce to make sure the pub and the surrounding area was thoroughly checked for explosives and other potential traps, and to have the place secured and monitored before she brought the baby inside.

The fact that the others had willingly come along despite the recent attack gave her confidence. Shona hadn’t even been at the nightclub when it had been bombed, yet Erik and Darcey, who had both suffered injuries that they were both still recovering from, were now sitting at the table with her.

“I’m really grateful you came today,” she said, her voice soft as she cradled a sleepy Eddie in her arms. She sent a sweet smile to Erik and Darcey. “To be honest, I wasn’t so sure about it, ‘specially since I was half-expectin’ you to stay home…I mean, if it was me in that explosion I’m not sure I could face goin’ out for a while. It means a lot to me that you’re here to welcome this little one into the world.”

Looking down at Eddie, she saw his big brown eyes gazing back at her and she tickled his chest with a finger, an uncontrollable smile reaching up to her eyes. The past two weeks had been extremely tough; the combination of caring for a newborn, recovering from giving birth and also the recent attack had altogether put her under a lot of stress. She was worried about Spencer having to deal with too much at once, about the safety of her loved ones and about what this attack would lead to. It had given her some separation anxiety, but she was trying to be strong for Spencer’s sake and not make a fuss when he had to leave the house. Still, despite the difficult, sleepless fortnight, Eddie could always make her smile and her heart surge with love. It helped, of course, that Spencer had let her sleep in that morning.

“How’ve you been gettin’ on?” she asked the pair, looking up at them as Eddie loosely curled his tiny hand around her finger. “Is Bruce takin’ good care of you, Darcey?” She glanced at Erik, knowing the man had moved to London by himself and that as far as she knew he still lived alone. “You gettin’ on okay on your own, Erik? You know, if you need a hand with anything, you can come to us, okay? Same goes for you, Darcey. Our door is always open to you both.”

Melanin-Gxdess Darcey, Erik

* * * * * * * * * *

Rikers Island Jail
~ New York City ~

Kurt Reznik
​

When James had been released from Rikers, Kurt had made sure to get his contact information. The conditions of his release were mysterious but he thought it better not to ask too many questions and to respect his cell mate’s request to leave him to his business. His leaving had opened up a space in his cell and so he had requested to have Bradley be transferred there before somebody else took his place. Cell mates were always a gamble and Kurt had experienced a mix over the years - some were snorers or sleeptalkers, others were annoying and overly chatty, some had poor personal hygiene, were messy, aggressive, or even severely disturbed. Over time, Kurt had learned that the kind of cell mate he wanted was a quiet one, who kept to his own business and didn’t ask for a fight. Although Bradley was young, he knew the kid would be an idiot to start a fight with him and he believed he could keep the kid in line if he were to get on his nerves at all - a lesson he was sure the young man could benefit from learning in a place like Rikers. Besides, since his arrival, he had come to feel somewhat protective of the young newcomer.

Despite their being in close quarters, however, Kurt had been keeping a secret from Bradley. In fact, he had kept it a secret from everybody, even his son, or Aidan. Kurt was getting out. Not just out of Rikers, but out of prison altogether. After almost 23 years of being locked behind bars, he was finally going to be released into the open world - and frankly, he was too apprehensive to be excited about it. Sure, he would get to see Benjie, but there were complications.

For the past week or so, Kurt had been stewing over his upcoming release, still unsure how to feel about it or what to do. For the most part, Kurt had done well to stay away from prison gangs and, at least since arriving at Rikers, he had managed to keep himself to himself. So, with James gone, Kurt spent his recreation time either with Bradley or on his own. Being the end of June, the weather was hot, so Kurt was drawn out into the yard to catch some sun before he had to return to his three-walled cage. Slotting a cigarette between his lips, he sat down on an unoccupied bench and leaned his back against the wall. As he scanned the yard, he spotted his new cell mate, and a couple of Nazis that looked to be about to approach him.

“Yo, Beckett,” Kurt called out to him. He figured that if Bradley was with him, the skinheads wouldn’t bother doing whatever they were about to - no doubt try and pressure the younger man into joining their white supremecist gang. Beckoning him over, he got to his feet and then clapped a hand on the kid’s back. “Take a walk with me.”

After a few seconds of walking together through the yard, Kurt exhaled a breath of smoke and asked, “How much time they put you away for, kid?” When thinking of the future ahead of him became too conflicting, he turned to thinking about what he was walking away from. Given that he hadn’t been at Rikers long, he didn’t exactly have any loose ends to tie off, but that didn’t mean was leaving nothing behind. “Somethin’ I wanna tell ya’,” he said, looking directly ahead as they walked. He took another drag of his cigarette, eyes squinting in the sun. “I ain’t gonna be here much longer. I’m gettin’ out.”

Telling Bradley wasn’t exactly a weight off his shoulders. Really, it was Benjie and Aidan’s reactions he was anticipating - he didn’t even expect Bradley to care. “Ain’t many people in here gonna watch your back, alright? You gotta get better at lookin’ after yourself. You got me for some time I don’t know how much, but when I get out, you’re on your own, kid. I been behind bars 20 odd years, y’know…so if you need to know how shit works, you got limited time to ask me.” Breathing out smoke through his nostrils, Kurt glanced at Bradley. “How d’you think you’re gettin’ on in here? You think you can survive this place, the way things are goin'?”

Interactions
BloodLightning27 Bradley

 

[Bellz]

Chapter 11: Father Figures
Sunday 30th June 1985
...15 days later...
Dublin: Early Evening - Mild, Dry, Cloudy
London: Early Afternoon - Warm, Sunny, Light Cloud
New York City: Afternoon - Hot, Sunny, Clear Skies

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Roxie Carriveau
Jeanie Carriveau-Porter
JJ Carriveau-Porter
Syd's House (Inside)
~ top secret location ~​

"Mom! Do I have to wear this shirt? It’s so tight!” JJ complained as he came running down the stairs just as Roxie was getting together the things that were needed for his party that Syd didn’t have already at his house. "Let me see it.” She said as she turned around to face him. A small smile broke out on her face, trying to hide a laugh as JJ glared at her. "See! You can’t even keep a straight face! It’s too tight!” He huffed, attempting to cross his arms but the shirt restricted him from doing so. "I just bought you that shirt a month ago, I can’t believe you are already grown out of it.” Roxie said just as Jeanie made it down the stairs. "And where do you think you are going in that skirt, Jean?” Roxie asked, to which her daughter scoffed. "I have no idea what you mean.” She stated with her normal amount of sass.

Roxie hated to admit it but every day she had to deal with Jeanie’s attitude Roxie continued to feel like she was looking in a mirror at her younger self. Despite the hard time her daughter gave her, she was mild compared to what Roxie had been. "Your father will have a heart attack if you walk into the house wearing that short of a skirt! Then I’ll have to hear how horrible I am for even letting you leave the house looking like that.” Jeanie pulled an offended face, "JJ’s wearing a shirt that’s at least a size small on him, how come I can’t wear the same? That’s pretty sexist of you, mom.” Roxie clenched her teeth and breathed through her nose harshly. She knew her daughter hit a nerve with her and Jeanie knew it well too, seeing the smug look on her face like she was about to win the argument. "JJ’s changing and so are you, get upstairs and change, both of you.” JJ was obedient, clearly wanting to change out of the shirt while Jeanie trudged behind him, huffing about how unfair her mother was being.

The last two weeks had been absolutely trying for Roxie. After shooting Ricky, she had only slept a handful of times for only a few hours. Today, she was able to hide the bags under her eyes with make-up and she was going to make sure that everyone who attended the party saw that she was doing just fine. Normally, Roxie would have confided in someone about what she had done but even when the opportunity to talk about what Reina and she had been through arose, Roxie was dead silent. With the overwhelming flood of hormones, even just the thought of talking about it brought her to tears. So instead of addressing it all, she fell into her usual life routine because without a routine she knew she would fall apart.

"Kids! We gotta go!” She called up to the three of them. Grabbing the things she was designated to bring for the party, along with JJ’s presents, she headed out towards the car with footsteps following close behind.

***​

The kids barely waited for the car to come to a complete stop before the back doors swung open and they ran towards Syd’s house. Roxie had been relieved that he had been up for holding JJ’s birthday at his place, normally she would have had the entire house unpacked at this point in the move but it was literally the last thing on her mind these days. Having given Reina the day off, Roxie struggled to get the things into the house but thanks to her children not shutting the door all the way she was able to get inside with a little more ease.

With a huff, she placed the gifts and stuff near the front door before moving further into the house to find the kids or Syd. "Hello?” She called out as she made her way to the kitchen, finding JJ hugging his father tightly. "Oh god, you’re not cooking anything are you?” Roxie teased Syd lightly which JJ laughed loudly at. "I brought some other things for the party, though I figure your mother is going to get here and take over all the rest of the planning.” The brunette said with a smile before looking at JJ. "I’m just realizing the shirt you are wearing, out of all the ones you had, you chose the one you wore yesterday?” JJ rolled his eyes this time, "You women and clean clothes, this shirt only has 1 stain on it! It’ll be fine!” The doorbell suddenly went off and JJ’s eyes widened, "I’ll get it!” he exclaimed before taking off towards the front door.

Roxie watched him go before letting out a tired sigh, "Who’s idea was it to have three 13-year-olds all at once? Yours? Paired with your anxiety and my attitude I’m surprised we don’t have grey hair yet.” Roxie said with a hoarse tired laugh before moving to take a seat at the smaller dining room table as she placed a hand on her middle, which seemed to have gotten noticeably larger over the past few weeks. "I don’t know how these Irish mothers do it, popping out kids one after the other like rabbits…it’s impressive. Pretty soon I’m not gonna be able to keep up with our kids' antics. Jeanie was just about to waltz out in the shortest skirt I’ve ever seen...it’s like looking in a horrifying mirror.”

"How have you been holding up lately?” She asked suddenly. The last time they had been in the same room together longer than a minute or two, things hadn’t gone over well. "I know Conor’s in New York right now…I know I’m supposed to be there with him but…I can’t miss stuff like this especially knowing I’d have to sit in that room with him.” Roxie sneered not saying Ricky’s name for fear of losing control over her own emotions.
With: Syd Pyroclast
Mentions: Traitor Misty Gray

Lucy Porter
Finn Sullivan
JJ Carriveau-Porter
Jeanie Carriveau-Porter
Syd's House (Outside)
~ top-secret location ~​

"Almost ready to go, dear?” Lucy called out to her husband, placing the finishing touches on her outfit which were a pair of earrings and some lipstick. Placing each gold diamonds stud in her earlobes, she shook out her blonde hair before frowning to herself. She spotted a few grey pieces within her hair, something most people wouldn’t notice but as she had to stare at her reflection daily, she noticed immediately. When James eventually made his way to her, Lucy had stopped fussing over her hair and finished placing her lipstick on. Smacking her lips twice, she turned to her husband with a smile. "Well don’t you look as handsome as ever. I don’t know how you do it, Mr. Porter, you are just getting sexier and sexier with age.” She purred to him before playing with the shirt he was wearing, straightening out as she normally did due to her OCD.

Once she was done straightening out his shirt, Lucy looked into his eyes, smiling gently. "Excited to see the kids? I can’t believe all of them are 13 now! Teenagers! I feel like it was just yesterday that they were babies. Then again, I feel that way about our own kids. Time needs to stop moving so damn fast.” Lucy huffed before pointing to her hair, "I finally got grays! Sometimes I wake up and feel like I’m 20 something again and then give myself a heart attack when I look in the mirror a see I’ve made it through more than half of my life expectancy.” The blonde let out a small laugh as she shook her head.

"You, however, don’t look a day over 40 and I have no idea how you do it. I’m the one slapping skin cream on my face daily to keep the wrinkles at bay and here you are basically wrinkle-free.” It was all teasing when she talked about herself but she honestly did feel like she was aging much faster than her husband in some respects. "Maybe I should start being a gym rat. Lifting all those weights has to be the key to eternal youth. Huge muscles, no wrinkles! I’ve caught on to your secret, mister.” Lucy kept the conversation as light as she could. Things had been increasingly tense with the family lately and she knew that James was still upset about Conor's choices.

"We should get going, you and Syd both know just how much I love to help decorate…you wouldn’t want to deprive an old lady of doing something she loved right?”
with: James Misty Gray

***​

The ride over was so short that there wasn’t a whole lot of time for deep conversation and when they parked the car, Lucy saw Finn, George, and Lucas as well as Liam and Rhiannon all getting out of their car. Lucy hopped out of the car as she looked excitingly at her cousins. "There’s my favorite couple!” She squealed before running over to hug the both of them. "Long time, no see! I know you both are busy lately, how have you been?” She asked just as she moved to give the kids hugs and kisses, "Don't let the birthday boy talk you all into trouble, okay?" She stated teasingly.

"Oh James! Could you grab the presents out of the car? I’m gonna help Finn and George bring things inside!” Lucy asked her husband with a smile before turning to help Finn grab things from the car. "How’s Shinoa?” Lucy asked quickly to which Finn smiled, "She’s doing fine, as is her little one…but since you’ve decided to have James haul in the presents by himself I’m assuming you haven’t worked up the courage to tell him.” Lucy narrowed her eyes and made an offended face before letting out a defeated sigh.

Looking to George for back up, she said, "I’m sure that you can tell your husband that getting out of prison is very overwhelming for a person…he’s had a hard time adjusting.” Lucy defended herself. "I want to tell him when I feel he’ll be more understanding of my reasons. Right now he’s…not himself. I want to let him adjust.” Lucy told both of her cousins before looking seriously at them both. "Please just don’t say anything to him okay?” She asked softly to which Finn nodded immediately. "Scout’s honor, Luce.”

The blonde let out a relieved sigh before looking towards her son’s front door to see JJ bouncing up and down on his feet. "There he is!” She called, "The old man himself!” JJ let out a laugh as he ran to greet Lucas first, giving the boy a huge hug before moving to give Liam and Rhiannon hugs. He then moved on to give the adults hugs before hugging James last, squeezing him as tight as he could with the things he was most likely carrying. "Grandpa! I’m so glad you are here!” He exclaimed happily before letting him go and nodding to Lucas and Liam.

"My parents have water guns outback! We should go find the girls and spray them with it!” He encouraged before he heard Jeanie huffing behind him. "No you won't! We are gonna be inside and both mom and dad will ground you if you spray water all over the house!" She said matter-of-factly before smiling at Rhiannon happily. "I am so glad you are here! Jane and I were just talking about how this party was turning into a complete sausage fest!" Jeanie said, looking to her twin sister for confirmation on that. Lucy let out a laugh, "Well hi my lovely granddaughters! So nice of you to greet me and your grandfather!" Jeanie immediately moved to give her and James a hug and a kiss before turning to give Finn and George one as well.

"Well that's everyone! We're going to go hide in the house now before JJ and the boys can get to their water guns! Come on Rhi!" Jeanie said, reaching out her hand for the girl to take before heading towards the house with Jane's hand in her other one. Once they were far enough away from everyone, Jeanie looked to Rhi, "How's it going, cuz? Things back home been okay?" She asked gently.
with: James + George + Lucas + Liam Misty Gray ; Rhiannon Melanin-Gxdess

Harper King
Le Hospital
~ London, England ~​

A little over two weeks ago, Harper had woken up from surgery feeling like she had been broken into pieces and was carefully glued back together again. When the doctors explained to her that she had broken nearly all of her ribs, fractured her collar bone as well as punctured a lung, and fractured her leg and that she was lucky to be alive it had overwhelmed her completely. A panic attack that wasn’t normal for her had ensued shortly after waking up and doctors had to sedate her in order to keep her calm. She had been able to say hello to everyone who stopped by but was a little out of it due to the drugs she was being given. She was secretly grateful for that because when her meds were almost drained completely she started to feel the impending doom and dread that came with having suffered through something so traumatizing.

Luckily, morphine, as well as anti-anxiety drugs, didn’t go in short supply and she felt that it was the only thing keeping her sane. Even 15 days later, Harper was still in the hospital patiently waiting to be released. As much as she had hated Jeremy following her around everywhere, in the beginning, she was secretly grateful for the protection and company now. She felt she could rest without having to keep one eye open and if she needed to get something off her chest she could just talk to him. He seemed to be acting a lot weirder than usual, seeming to dance on eggshells around Harper and avoiding talking about what happened to her. She wasn’t ready to talk about it anyway but he was acting off. When Harper felt like she was ready to ask him what was up, she started to get too drowsy to think. All she had been doing was resting the last two weeks and yet she still felt horribly tired.

Having her family stop by had cheered her up some but it wasn’t until Shona stopped by with little Edward that Harper had felt truly happy. Harper had immediately asked to hold her little nephew and was over the moon about having him in her arms. There had been a moment where she thought she would never get the chance to meet her new nephew and having him look up at her in her arms made her feel overjoyed. Harper found it difficult to let the little one go but when Shona had to leave, Harper had placed a kiss on the baby’s head before returning him to his mother.

That had been a few days ago and now Harper had been in a rather dark mood, just ready to escape the white walls of the hospital and return home to her apartment. The blonde looked over to Jeremy who sat as stoic over in his chair, reading his book. "I hope they’ve given you somewhere good to sleep..that tiny sofa can’t be comfortable,” Harper said softly, slurring her words slightly as the new bag of morphine she had been given via IV kicked in.

Leaning back against her pillow, there was a knock on the door before her doctor's head popped in. "Dr. Shane, please come in.” Harper said lightly and the doctor smiled before walking inside and closing the door. "How are you feeling today?” He asked and Harper let out a sigh, "I think I’m about ready to go home.” She admitted to which the man laughed. "As anyone would be at this point, I’m sure. Well, I have some rather good news, I’ve taken a look at your x-rays and everything things to be healing quite nicely. Not surprising given your youth but once you leave here you will need a good amount of physical therapy for the leg. The screws we put in place essentially saved your leg from being completely useless but we want to make sure to get you at least closer to how you were before the incident.” Harper nodded her head along before the man asked if he could listen to her heart and breathing.

"Sure, doc.” She said, watching as the man came over with his stethoscope, pressing it to her chest before instructing her to breath in and then out. Harper fought the urge to wince but she knew the doctor would see right through that as he said, "It looks like you are still having some pain when breathing. It’s important to take it easy over the next few months to allow your left lung to fully heal as well as your ribs. It is possible to re-break them during this time if you did anything strenuous that required you to use your lungs to full capacity. No running for now, but you really can’t run till that cast is off anyway.” He said with a small smile to which Harper returned.

"Other than that, it seems like we’ll be able to discharge you within a few days. But you have to promise to take it easy, even after you get the cast off. Physical therapy will help you immensely in your recovery but the key is rest.” Harper raised her right hand before saying, "I promise, doc. I’m the Queen of resting, Jeremy can tell you here. I’m lazy.” The doctor looked to Jeremy a moment with a smile, "Make sure she keeps to her word.” He said before looking back at Harper, "I’ll be back in a few hours to check on, hang in there, luv. It’s almost over.”

Harper didn’t say anything as the doctor left but once the door was closed Harper looked to Jeremy with a smirk on her face, "Just another thing to try and make me do, hmm? Take it easy? If you think I’m restless now, these next few months are going to be eye-opening.” She said before leaning back against her pillow again. After a few moments of silence, Harper couldn’t stop herself from asking, "So what…what exactly happened? No one’s been willing to tell me what happened and for a moment I didn’t want to know…but now I think I’m ready to.”

Looking at Jeremy closely, she tilted her head. "And you've been less chatty lately, what's up with that? As much as I enjoy hearing myself talk, it's getting kind of boring at this point." She teased before sighing. Harper had some idea as to what happened at the club that night in terms of who had been behind the attack because there was really only one family who had been out to get them. The idea of Savvy's family being capable of something like that was extremely unsettling and Harper wondered if the woman even had any idea of who had been hurt in the attack. They had been so close at one point and Harper looked up to Savannah. It brought her to nearly the point of tears thinking about that betrayal. Clenching her teeth as she fought back tears again, Harper looked to Jeremy with a raised eyebrow, silently waiting for him to say something.
with: Jeremy BasDorcha
mentions: Shona Pyroclast

Natasha McCarthy
McCarthy Residence
~ Sutton, Dublin ~ ​

Natasha had been optimistic about Leo making it through his trauma after the double date they had with Lorelei and Benjie. He seemed to be doing a lot better and Nat had made sure to keep conversations light and fun as well as the dates they had gone on just by themselves. "Mom! Did you leave yet? Leo’s going to be here any minute!” Natasha hollered to Blake, who was in her bathroom getting ready for her date…or whatever it was going on between her and Adam now. "I’m nearly finished! What’s the hurry, love? You and Leo going to do things I won’t approve of?” Blake hollered back with a smile on her face, not being able to see her daughter's face but knowing her face was probably beet red now. Natasha let out an embarrassed scoff, watching as her cheeks turned red in her bathroom mirror as she placed her other earring in her ear.

Once she fluffed her hair out a little, she marched down the hall to her mother’s bathroom and leaned in the doorway. "I think I should be more worried about you and Adam. You guys haven’t seen each other in like what? Almost 3 weeks?” Natasha said with a slight tone to which Blake laughed. "Don’t you worry about me, dear. I’m way past the age of having any happy accidents! You, however, need to practice safe-“ Natasha let out a loud groan to stop her mother from uttering anything else embarrassing. "PLEASE DON’T! The last thing I need is a recap of the talk you gave me when I was 13.” She hissed and Blake laughed again. "Alright alright, fine.” She said before moving to look at her daughter before moving to pull up the v-neck she was wearing a little higher. "Mommmm, stop it!” Natasha swatted her hand away before looking at her top. "Any higher and it would be a turtle neck.” She muttered to which Blake said, "You’d look fantastic in a turtle neck.”

"You should really get going, don’t want to keep Adam waiting, right?” Natasha said, starting to grab her mother’s shoulders and push her out of the bathroom. "Alright! Jeez, I’m going!” Blake said, following Natasha as she ran down the stairs, grabbing her mother’s keys and purse to hand it to her. "Have a wonderful time!” She sang out to her mother, pushing her shoulders towards the front door before opening it for her. "Woah Woah! Slow down, Nat. Aren’t you forgetting something?” Blake asked lightly as she turned to look at her daughter. "What?” Natasha asked and Blake rolled her eyes, "A hug and a kiss.” The woman said to which Nat smiled softly and moved to throw her arms over her mother’s shoulders to hug her. Blake moved to kiss her cheek and hold her close. "You tell Leo I said hello, I also left you guys some brownie that I made this morning for Collin’s sleepover. Help yourselves to the alcohol in the cabinet and if you need me I’m only a phone call away.” Natasha nodded her head and pulled away from the hug, "Got it, mom, thanks!” She said, "Have fun at Adam’s.” She told her mother to which Blake nodded her head with a sigh. "It’s going to be interesting.”

Blake moved to step out the door, giving Natasha hope that she was finally leaving before the woman turned around to face her daughter again. "And when I said have fun…don’t have too] much fun, okay?” Natasha stayed silent and Blake took that as a sign that she knew what Natasha was rushing her out the door for. "If you are going to have fun tonight remember to be safe about it, condoms are in the second drawer of my bedside table if you need them.” Natasha’s face was horrified, "MOM! EW! Please go!” She hissed, moving to push her out the door again to which Blake laughed and shook her head. "Fine! I love you, sweetie!" She called only to have the door slammed in her face.

Natasha watched as her mother’s car pulled out of the driveway, honking three short times to signal the words, ‘I love you,’ before disappearing into the night. After a brief moment of silence, Natasha moved to the phone to order some takeout, not feeling like cooking anything fancy for the date tonight. Once that was ordered, she moved to the living room to sift through the plethora of VHS tapes they had, wondering what would be best to watch for the occasion. In her search, the doorbell rang and she leaped to her feet nervously. Natasha couldn’t understand why she was so nervous about what was to come, but she knew that if she wanted to keep it cool she would have to stop feeling that way. Taking a deep breath, Natasha moved from her living room to the front door and opened it immediately. "Took you long enough.” She teased Leo sweetly before moving in to kiss him softly, "I literally had to shove my mom out of the house. Collin’s at his friend’s so we have the house to ourselves. I ordered takeout, hope that’s okay. Mom said she had brownies for us in the kitchen and that we could help ourselves to the liquor cabinet.” Natasha beckoned him inside before closing and locking the door.

"I couldn’t decide what movies to watch so I figured I would wait for you to make the final choice. How are you doing today? I missed you!”
with: Leo Melanin-Gxdess
mentions: Adam Misty Gray

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Chapter 11: Father Figures
Sunday 30th June 1985
...15 days later...
Dublin: Early Evening - Mild, Dry, Cloudy
London: Early Afternoon - Warm, Sunny, Light Cloud
New York City: Afternoon - Hot, Sunny, Clear Skies

******************************

******************************
Sullivan Family Home
~Dublin, Ireland~

Aliana Sullivan

​

It had been nearly a month since her attack and Aliana had yet to properly discuss what happened with her husband. As much as she wanted to be able to confide in him as a wife should be able to, she couldn't until she was able to find the right approach. Finn had given her his most honest opinion - one she was grateful for - on how to speak with Conor. Getting advice from him was more than helpful and she was grateful that he had even done so. Yet, every time she tried to approach her husband and have that conversation with him she wussed out. She'd ask if they could talk only to smile, shake her head, and say, "Never mind." She wasn't sure why she was having such a hard time finding the courage to talk to him, but she figured all she needed was time. In fact, the same day he had told her he was going to New York was the same day she was going to talk to him, but his journey into enemy territory took precedence.

Ali was happy that he and her father got along and that Conor had been willing to take the older man's advice, but she didn't see why he had to leave Dublin. It would be his first time being so far away from her and the kids but that wasn't what worried her. Thanks to her attack she worried even more about his safety and knew that even though Moretti said something it didn't mean he meant it. Hearing that Gabriel wouldn't actually be in attendance and that Peter was going along with him did little to nothing to calm her nerves. Not only did she worry for her own husband but now she was worried about Peter and Sinead. Nothing ever seemed to go well when their husbands were out on dangerous journeys, so why would this be any different? But just as Finn suggested, Aliana needed to show support for her husband. So instead of letting that worry show or asking if he really needed to be present, she mustered up the courage to be supportive and encourage him it was the right thing.

While it'd been a struggle to do and say, she meant every word of it. If there were even the smallest piece of hope for peace between the two families she wanted to take it. She didn't know how much longer they'd be able to live knowing they'd have to watch their backs. Guards around the clock, being able to go to certain places, it was all exhausting. Aliana Cartwright knew this would be her life when she became a Sullivan, but she didn't know the true extent of it. Had she known then what she knew now she would have tried harder to convince Conor to walk away... Not that it would have done any good.

Along with not speaking to Conor about the incident, she hadn't spoken to Sinead about it either. In fact, the two of them had rarely spent time with each other as of late. Sinead had been weighing heavily on her mind as did the memories of the two when they first met and started to become friends. They'd been close back then and were able to confide in each other about anything. It hadn't been for lack of trying, either, the two of them had been healing and trying to take care of their respective households. But now that their husbands were off in enemy territory it gave them the perfect opportunity to see each other. She'd invited her over to keep each other company as they often did in the past. Anytime the men were out doing something dangerous they'd all meet up to keep each other company and this was no different.

Aliana had extended the invitation to her stepdaughter, Michelle, whose unannounced appearance was a welcoming surprise. The woman had finalized her divorce, which had come as a shock to Aliana. The last time they had spoken their marriage was in a great place so it was heartbreaking to see it come to an end. Regardless, Ali made sure to lend her any advice or shoulder she could to make her feel better about the whole ordeal. The next thing on her list of things to worry about was the fact Conor had filled her in about everything that happened. The same way she wanted to keep it from Leo she had wanted to keep it from Michelle.

How his children saw him was very important to Aliana, which meant she was willing to die with whatever dark secrets she needed to. It made sense that Conor would have wanted his own daughter to hear from his mouth about the events the past month, but that didn’t mean Ali wanted her to know. The woman had her own issues to deal with and she also didn’t want to be another one.

"Mom, we're leaving," she heard Rhiannon shout. Both she and Leo were walking down the stairs. Rhiannon was already at the bottom, waiting for Leo who was purposely taking his time walking down them. "You're insufferable, you know that?" He just chuckled and picked up speed as Ali walked into the corridor with a present wrapped in blue paper with a silver bow on top. Rhiannon's eyes grew wide and Ali just nodded her head. "Yup, I know. Figured you'd forget, so I wrapped it for you," she said, voice still hoarse. "Thanks, mom." Rhiannon took the present from her and gave her a hug before starting for the door. "Leo, let's go! I don't wanna be late." Leo rolled his eyes and tossed her the keys. "Then drive yourself." When Rhiannon pouted and glared at him, Leo chuckled and turned towards Ali.

"I'll probably be home late," he said, scratching the back of his head. With Conor gone to New York Leo figured he should stay home with Ali to keep her company, however, she had insisted he go do something if he already had plans. Hearing Sinead and Michelle would also be with her and Sydney he felt a bit better about leaving the house that night. "Oh? You and Nat up to something fun?" Ali asked, playfully raising her eyebrows. Leo stared at her for a moment before turning on his heels and clapping his hands together. "Alright Rhi, let's go." Ali let out a soft laugh before waving goodbye and heading back into the kitchen.

Aliana planned a night full of alcohol, snacks, and girl talk. Sure, she planned to ask Sinead about how she thought she should approach her brother the same way she asked Finn, but afterward, they were going to drink their worries away. She had plenty of supplies and ingredients for margaritas and was working on them with Michelle when the doorbell rang. "Sydney, don't you touch that door!" She waited for a moment, a momentary silence in the air before the soft sound of laughter came from the sitting room. "Okay, mommy." Ali shook her head looking at Michelle. "She's got a thing for opening the door, so if you ever see her trying to please discourage her," she said with a smile before heading for the door. Sydney poked her head from around the corner and Ali smiled at her and picked her up before answering. "Sin!" She said, her voice still hoarse. "Auntie Sinny," Sydney giggled.

Michelle ( BasDorcha )
Sinead ( Misty Gray )

******
Moretti Family Home
~Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn~

Elvian Moretti

​

The first time Elvian met Gabriel Moretti she could already tell that he had a strong personality. He was confident and sure of himself while not being too cocky. There was an air about him that set him apart from the rest of the men bothering her which was the only reason she even left with him, to begin with. From then they spent an ample amount of time together and she was exposed to more of who he was. He was also stubborn and headstrong, not one to change his mind about things once a decision had been made. It was frustrating in the early days of the relationship but over time she had grown to work with it and not let it bother her too much. After getting married it was clear that he would more than likely never change.

Sitting at the table in the solarium so looked between her husband and her youngest and she could see the similarities as light as day. While her oldest two children showed their own stubborn attitudes, it was Valentina who had been the most like Gabriel. Even from a young age, she had noticed just how alike the two were and that was the reason they bumped heads all the time. Every argument the two had had been because the other wouldn't back down - and neither of them ever would. For years Elvian tried to get them both to understand how alike they were only for them to deny the accusation. It was frustrating, to say the least, but she still loved them both and would continue to be their mediator. At least, she would've but the events that unfolded in Dublin had been her last straw.

Elvian wasn't the type of wife to question her husband or the things he did to protect their family. At times Elvian could be just as ruthless as her husband, but she, like many others, drew the line at children. Valentina and Teddy's anger towards Gabriel had been more than acceptable in Elvian's eyes. The attack on Liam had resulted in Teddy and Val arguing because she thought he had lied to her. When it was revealed Teddy had no idea the attack on the young boy was even happening all attention and anger turned to Gabriel. Elvian had found herself upset for a few different reasons but overall she was just disappointed in her husband. Christina's kidnapping had been a rough day for them all and the plans set in motion to get revenge for her were more than justified; for Leo, Ali, and Sinead that is. Liam was a child and hadn't even been privy to the war going on between the Morettis and the Sullivans, so there was no reason to involve him, to begin with. It was the first - and hopefully last - time Elvian would have to question her husband's motives.

The three of them were sat at the round table closer to the window. She put Gabe and Val across from each other while she sat in the middle. A pitcher of orange juice sat in the middle of small plates of hor d'oeuvres ranging from pastries to cheese pies. Elvian figured finger foods would be better since they didn't require utensils - which meant nothing for Valentina to stab Gabriel with. She wanted this small lunch to be peaceful, wanting the both of them to get all of their grievances out once and for all and start the healing process. Being in the middle of their disputes had always driven her crazy and she was finally done with it. Clearing her throat, Elvian looked between the two of them with a serious and stern look on her face. "I'm glad you've both agreed to do this today, though neither of you really had much of a choice." The authority in her voice was heavy as she continued speaking. "Now, no one is leaving this table until both of you have worked out your issues."

Val, Gabe ( Misty Gray )

 

[BasDorcha]

Chapter 11: Father Figures​

Sunday 30th June 1985
...15 days later...
Dublin: Early Evening - Mild, Dry, Cloudy
London: Early Afternoon - Warm, Sunny, Light Cloud
New York City: Afternoon - Hot, Sunny, Clear Skies
​

******************************​

Wilton's Restaurant
London
Jocelyn Jones
​

Jocelyn stood outside her apartment, nervously waiting for Tatiana to pick her up. It had been two weeks since the night with Kit and the men who hurt her. Thinking back, Jocelyn thought about the time between then and now, and how things had gone.

When Jocelyn had come back to the apartment the night of the bombing, Kit had taken her straight to the apartment and dropped her off, leaving without a word. When Tati got Jocelyn upstairs, she had dropped her jacket and the blood on her hands became visible, along with splatters along her shirt, face, and body. Jocelyn had dropped her gun on the counter and looked at Tatiana with a shocked and dazed expression. Tati asked what happened and Jocelyn picked up her pen and began writing.

Once she had finished and the angel before her took Jocelyn into her arms, she finally started to relax some. So much like the first day they met, Tatiana took her to bath, cared for her clothes and found her new ones – some of Jocelyn’s this time that they had brought over from the apartment – and had put her in bed. The big difference this time was that Jocelyn couldn’t keep her hands to herself, and they ended up in a tangled cuddle in bed, with Jocelyn holding her tightly the rest of the night. She was also hyper aware of the tension building in certain unnamed areas of her body that she was surprised Tatiana had politely made it clear would not be getting addressed.

Over the next two weeks, except when one of them had work, they were inseparable. Jocelyn started speaking more and more, progressing to a few words at a time occasionally. It had gotten so that Jocelyn felt like she didn’t belong anywhere else. Still, she was hesitant to throw it all in with Tatiana just yet, but it honestly felt like fate.

Tonight, Tatiana was taking her out on a date, an official date, and Jocelyn was nervous. She had gone to her apartment for some nicer clothes then the one she had, and to get dressed up. Would people say something? Would she embarrass Tatiana? Just thinking about the end of the night possibilities brought a deep blush to her cheeks, as she thought about going home to the woman and the dog again, and some of the more salacious thoughts her brain had been having. She wasn’t a virgin by any means, and not even inexperienced with women, but Tatiana felt different.

She wanted to impress her, and to make her proud. It was an odd combination, but she was enjoying every minute of it.


Mentions:
Melanin-Gxdess - Kit
Pyroclast - Tatiana

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

The Royal Taphouse
~ Bethnal Green, East London ~

Alex King, Darcey Hargraves, and Erik Snowden

​

For the first week after the attack, Alex spent the night in two chairs he pushed together in Harper's room. With the other members of his family in better condition, he was able to focus his attention purely on his sister's recovery. When the nurse interrupted his nap in the waiting room, Alex bolted to her room without hearing the full extent of her injuries. The only thing he cared about was seeing his sister. The moment his eyes laid on her he nearly broke down in tears. Had Jeremy and the nurses and doctors not been around he was sure he would've. She was asleep with tubes coming out of her mouth and hooked up to machines that kept her alive. The last person who should be in this sort of condition was Harper and Alex wasn't sure how to react. He was angry, disappointed, and heartbroken, but above that he was worried. Worried that this event would change her and worried that she would never be the same. When she woke up he was more than relieved and his nerves started to settle. Though she had been hurt and bruised and broken all over she was awake and that's what mattered.

Alex trusted Jeremy enough to finally leave the hospital so he could get a proper night's rest, but even in the comfort of an actual bed it was tough. The events of that night played in his head on loop with the ending changing every time. Sometimes it was Harper under the beam, sometimes she didn't wake up and other times it was him instead. Truly he'd have preferred if it were him in that hospital bed, but it wasn't and there wasn't anything he could do about it now. That didn't mean that the guilt had left him - it had not. Even if the Sullivans were targeting Tatiana and Damian and had missed them, he was sure Conor saw himself and his family as collateral damage that he was more than willing to look past. And that was what pissed him off the most.

*****​

The only silver-lining to arise from the bombing had been the newest edition to their family, Edward. Edward Bruce Robert King, that is. A mouthful, if you asked Alex, but the kid was still cute and would definitely grow up to be someone great. Shona and Spencer had decided to have a small, family lunch to welcome their first kid into the world. Alex was ecstatic for Spencer to be a father so he would have someone to talk to when it came to his own son. Now Spencer would have first-hand experience when it came to a newborn all the way to when they started talking. And if Callum were any sort of example, kids could fucking talk. The event was being held at 'The Royal Taphouse' considering their nightclub had been burned down. Even if it hadn't, Alex was sure he'd have preferred the kid be brought here rather than some club. Not only because it seemed a tad bit more appropriate, but also because of the attractive new barmaid they had working behind the counter. When he stepped inside the bar was the first place he went, only to be slightly disappointed when it wasn't Kerry who was taking his order. He hadn't seen much of her since the hospital and wanted to check up on her, but it would have to wait.

In the meantime, Alex ordered himself a pint and was relaxing alongside Billy, Darcey, and Erik when Spencer told him they were to get to business. Alex placed his drink down in the table and pouted while crossing his arms. "Oh, boo! Not on baby's first day out!" He threw his hands up and shook his head, following his gaze towards Bruce. When his uncle showed his approval of Spencer's request Alex rolled his eyes and stood up resting his hand on Billy's shoulder. "Let's go 'n get this over with, huh?" He told him before walking over to the table. He sat across from Billy, his beer in hand as Spencer started speaking.

It was clear that this was the beginning of their retaliation plan and Alex immediately grew serious. Spencer made it pertinent that they weren't hurting anyone innocent - meaning those who had to the misfortune of being related to Sullivan or any kids. They were going to be better than Sullivan and Moretti combined and Alex didn't have a problem with that... At least, for now. A strong part of him wanted to hit Sullivan where it hurt for what happened to Harper, but he knew nothing good would come from it so instead, he bit his tongue. Looking around the table he tapped his finger against the table and took a heavy sigh. "Obviously we should just kill Conor," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Sure, he's got the wife and kid and family thing going on, but none of this stops until he's six feet under, right? Him and Syd? 'Cause who'd take over afterward?"

​

For the past two weeks, Darcey had been doing as her doctor instructed and taking it easy. And by easy she meant wearing headphones that muffled the loud noises going on in her garage. His instructions had been clear - stay away from areas with loud noises, try not to walk around so much, and definitely don't drive. Well, two out of three of those instructions were ignored. Darcey wasn't about to let the club explosion slow her down or change the routine she had become accustomed to. She figured to do so would show their enemies that they were weak and she wouldn't dare give them the satisfaction.

Darcey was more than relieved when she heard Harper had woken up. Though she had been in pain and had an apparent anxiety attack, the fact that she was awake and starting the recovery process had been the silver lining in it all. She couldn't count how many nights she stayed up worrying about the young girl. While Harper had been at the top of her list to worry about, May had been next. Darcey felt bad that she hadn't been able to show her as much attention as she had her family, but she was sure the young woman would understand. Though Darcey had begun to grow an attachment to May her family would always come first. Once May had been healed up she would start her employment with Darcey at the 'Golden Galleria'. The first few weeks she wanted her to get used to the place and had her working as something of an assistant. Her duties included making sure the parts for cars were ordered well in advance, scheduling appointments, and even tending to the employees. She'd been doing a great job thus far, but Darcey wouldn't put her in charge of some of the special shipments just yet.

A few days ago May approached Darcey with a question. Unfortunately, she had been so swamped with work that she was unable to properly help her. Instead of just leaving her out to dry she gave May Christian's information and recommend she see him. He had been able to find out information for her so she figured he would be able to do the same thing for May. She figured it went without saying that whatever Christian found out he would tell Darcey as well. May was still under the scrutinizing eyes of Bruce and the boys and since Darcey was going out on a limb for her she wanted to make sure she knew everything. The last thing she wanted was to be blindsided when she was trying to make sure the young woman didn't get killed.

Sitting at a table with Shona and Erik, Darcey smiled watching Shona bounce baby Edward around. Motherhood seemed to suit her so far, which was a stark difference when Darcey thought about herself. Having children of her own had never been something she wanted but she did love seeing it on other women. They looked so happy and complete in their lives - a natural glow that most people seemed to be envious of. Darcey was one of those women who had decided that being a mother wasn't for them and that she didn't need children of her own to feel complete. Bruce and his boys and Harper had been more than enough for her and would continue to be so.

Shona expressed her gratitude to both herself and Erik, to which Darcey just smiled and shook her head. "Of course, love! I wouldn't miss this for the world, especially not because of some explosion either."

*****

​

Thanks to Billy's attentive nature, Erik's recovery had gone far better than he assumed it would. The doctor instructed Erik not to put too much pressure on his leg while it was healing so Billy took it upon himself to tend to him. After the intimate moment they shared in the hospital, Erik was more than happy to spend even more time with him. Billy still hadn't verbally told him how he felt, but his actions were showing that very clearly. As much as Erik was wanting and willing to take his actions and let it be enough his heart wouldn't let him. He needed Billy to say it with his words that he wanted to be with him - not just show him. Despite how many times Erik told him he would be fine on his own and for Billy to worry about his family, the man stayed to help. Erik appreciated it more than anything in the world.

A few days ago, Ava surprised him by showing up on his doorstep. Teddy had apparently told her about the bombing and that he may have been involved. It'd been a nightmare trying to get a flight to London but when she finally managed she wasted no time getting to her cousin. Billy had been the one to open the door, Ava immediately pushing past him on a hunt for Erik. When she found him she hugged him tightly and leaned forward just a bit too much, Erik wincing. She quickly apologized to him and Billy for being so rude before formally introducing herself. Hearing his name her eyes grew wide and she had to force herself not to say anything incriminating. Putting a face to both the voice and name she heard so many times before felt nice. And seeing as it was the guy her younger cousin talked about incessantly warmed her heart.

The invitation to the pub had been extended to Ava, but because she was still getting used to the time difference she opted to stay behind. She promised to make up for it at a later time and sent Erik with a gift for Shona - a yellow and white stroller she picked up from one of the nearby stores. "Shona," he said when he arrived, the present wrapped questionably in silver wrapping paper. "Congrats! This is from my cousin - she's sorry she couldn't come." His eyes then drifted towards Darcey and he gave her a smile, Darcey returning the gesture. Once the three of them sat around a table together, Shona thanked them both for coming then offered them her hospitality. In the two years, he had been in London Shona had become someone he respected and liked to be around.

"Thanks for that. It's rough bein' so far from Ava sometimes, but knowin' I've got you guys makes a little bit easier."

Bruce, Shona, Billy ( Pyroclast )
Spencer ( Misty Gray )

​

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

McCarthy Residence
~ Sutton, Dublin ~
Leo Sullivan

​

It'd nearly been a month since Leo watched his mother's throat get slit and he still hadn't talked about it with anyone. Natasha's idea of an outing with his cousin and her boyfriend was a welcomed distraction and he thanked her repeatedly for it. She had been helping him through most of his emotions despite him not actually saying anything about them. Her patience had been unmatched and truly Leo didn't deserve her at all. Whenever she wanted to go on dates or just hang out he willingly accepted with no hesitation - though it was unclear if it were because he was trying to avoid the family tension. The three of them - Ali, Leo, and Conor - had been tiptoeing around the situation still. And with Michelle's arrival, it looked like they would continue to do so for a while. It was hard to talk about what he'd been through and what he'd seen with anyone - let alone his parents. He knew that they would be the people to talk to since they'd been through similar situations before but he wasn't sure how, nor was he sure he wanted to.

For now, his attention was focused on the date night with Natasha. Their relationship had been steadily progressing and Leo could feel his feelings towards her growing as well. The line between childhood best friends and lovers seemed to be getting thinner and he knew that eventually it'd be crossed completely. A part of him felt as if tonight was the night it would somehow, but he was going into this date night with no actual expectations. With a bottle of white wine in hand, both he and Rhiannon departed after Aliana teased the thought of something steamy happening between the two of them. His face had gone read which was the reason he turned around so quickly and exited the house. Rhiannon caught sight of this and immediately started teasing him once they had gotten outside. "I can't wait for you to start dating so I can tell about all the embarrassing shit you do," he said. She shrugged her shoulders and retorted, "Nothing's more embarrassing than not realizing a girl's into you."

After dropping off Rhiannon for their cousin's birthday party, Leo headed for the McCarthy home. With all the pent-up tension he was feeling he knew being around his girlfriend would definitely help release some of it. He chuckled to himself just thinking about it - how Natasha was able to make the rain cloud hanging over his head disappear just by being herself. It amazed him and opened his eyes to a lot more things he'd missed along with not knowing she had a crush on him for all those years. The main thing was how she made him feel like that even when they weren't dating. Which made him question - has he always had feelings for Natasha?

The thought lingered in his mind as he returned her kiss. "Had to drop Rhi off at Syd's. She took forever getting dressed," he said, blaming his sister as per usual. When Natasha informed him they had the house all to themselves he gave her a mischievous grin. "Oh, does that mean we can throw a party of our own?" He joked, "I'll call Thomas, then. He could stand to get out of the apartment too." Leo followed after Natasha and when the topic of alcohol was brought up he held up the bottle he was carrying. "Great! Now I don't have to be stuck drinking wine and pretending I like it." Though he was telling the truth about disliking wine, he was also teasing her about the many times he pretended to like it. "Erm, how about something... In the horror genre? Nightmare on Elm Street?"

Hearing that Natasha missed him made Leo smile as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and brought her in for a hug. "Just can't get enough of me, hm?" He kissed the top of her head before pulling back and shrugging his shoulders. "I'm okay, I guess. Michelle's back so that's been interesting," he said, though he had the feeling that's not what she was asking. "How've things been on your end?"

​

Natasha ( Bellz )

*****
Syd's House
~Dublin Equivalent to Area 51~
Rhiannon Sullivan

​

Though Rhiannon wanted nothing more than to see her cousins tonight, she couldn't help but feel conflicted about it. Not because she didn't want to see them but because of what Lucas had told her just a couple of weeks ago. He'd told her about the attack on Sinead and Lucas and that the former had been stabbed. A part of her wondered why her parents hadn't told her about it, but she could never find the courage to ask. She knew her family had been going through... Something, but she didn't want to make things worse by asking the wrong questions. Instead, she was going to keep it to herself - or maybe ask Jeanie about it.

JJ then ran up to give her a hug and she returned it before holding out the gift to him. Whenever he decided to open or peek in the wrapping paper, he would find a Deathstroke action figure. "Happy Birthday!" She said with a smile. After he took it she went and smoothened out the skirt she was wearing before turning her attention back to Lucy. "Um, Aunt Lucy? Will you tell Syd mom says she's sorry she couldn't be here? She feels really bad about it," she said. After Lucy agreed to pass along her message she turned her attention back to the twins. Her smile grew wide at seeing them and she immediately gave each girl a hug. "Ew, I would never leave you guys hanging!"

After the greetings were all taken care of, Jeanie and Jane managed to pull Rhiannon away and to safety. The last thing she wanted was to get both her new outfit and her hair wet tonight. She's worked very hard to get the bow positioned just right and the last thing she wanted was her clothes to be wet. Jeanie turned to her and asked how things were going and Rhiannon took a moment to answer. With her brow furrowed she looked down trying to think of what to say. She wanted to ask the twins for advice, but she also didn't want to be a bummer at the party. "I guess it's alright. Michelle's been staying with us the past two weeks so that's been pretty cool." She shrugged her shoulders and looked between them both. "What about you guys? I bet you're totally stoked about the new house and everything!"

​

Twins, Adults ( Bellz )

​

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Biancardi Residence
~ Queens, New York City ~
Theodore "Teddy" Wycliff​

Theodore Wycliff had assumed that there was nothing left in the world that would be able to surprise him. Upset wife, moody kids, temperamental boss, it had all become something he was used to. If he got a phone call around a specific time he was sure it was to tell him that something had gone wrong or that he was needed to fix something. He had grown accustomed to these things in the past decade to the point where he had gotten comfortable knowing he couldn't be surprised anymore. Sullivan looking to take out Tatiana and Damian by blowing up the Kings nightclub had been more shocking than surprising seeing as the risk that followed such an action. Gabriel going behind his back and planning to have a kid kidnapped in his daughter's name? Expected and not too surprising. But Gabriel Moretti agreeing to settle decades of disagreements between the two families? That was a surprise. Teddy was sure that his request and advice had fallen on deaf is as they had so many times before, but Gabriel had listened and considered the idea. The only catch? Teddy had to be in attendance.

Being in a room with Conor had been the last thing he wanted to do. The man had his daughter kidnapped and even though what Teddy had done seemed to be worse, nothing could ever make up for the trauma his kids had suffered. He wasn't sure he'd be able to keep his sarcastic remarks to himself or keep himself from bunching the man square in the jaw but for the sake of his family, he would have to try his damndest. Luckily he wouldn't have to attend the meeting alone - Ricky being not just the host of the meeting by having it at his home but also being the mediator. He was surprised to hear Roxie wouldn't be in attendance, but after hearing something had happened between the two of them he understood. Instead, it would be Conor and Peter - the latter he had never met.

Teddy had been the first to arrive, willfully agreeing to be patted down by the guards. "Remember now, I'm married and a new man," he playfully warned before turning his attention to Ricky. Though he was always wary of Ricky in a business sense, he still found the man to be more pleasant than most. Ricky explained to him the pat-down, calling it a formality, and alluded to the fact that this was supposed to be a peaceful meeting and not a violent one. Teddy wasn't sure he could promise to not get violent but he sure was going to try his best. "Nice to see ya too, Ricky," he said, returning his handshake with one as equally firm.

Before Teddy had a chance to begin idle chit-chat with his friend, a taxi carrying both Conor and Peter pulled up. The genuinely friendly smile that was on his face had slowly disappeared. It took everything in the man not to frown as he shoved one hand into his pocket and used his free hand to rub above his upper lip. Conor and Ricky then exchanged words, Conor making a similar joke which made Teddy let out a subtle, amused chuckle. Perhaps in another life, the two of them could've been friends as well. Unfortunately, the man had gone and tried to hurt his family so that could never happen now.

Once everyone had been fully checked for weapons and such Ricky led them to where their meeting was to be held. Teddy took a seat next to Ricky and watched as Conor took the seat directly across from him. The last time the two of them had been this close was when Teddy had been trying to get a rise out of him for... Research purposes. Conor then responded to Ricky's question, bringing up the very event he had been thinking about which made Teddy smirk and let out a slight chuckle. He leaned back in his seat and shrugged his shoulders, eyes on Conor. "What can I say? I'm good at my job, aren't I?" Teddy had to immediately bite his tongue afterward as he felt himself gearing up to ask how his wife had been - which would have ended the meeting before it could get started. Conor stated they were here to protect their families and Teddy nodded his head in agreement. "Protect our families and find a proper way to end this before it gets even messier. The wrong people are getting hurt," he said, in reference to both his child and the Kings.

Ricky, Conor ( Misty Gray )
Peter ( Bellz )

 

[BasDorcha]

Michelle Romano​

Michelle had been home for two weeks now, and the things she had found out made her brain swarm. Her father had kidnapped a child to bring home Uncle James. The result of that was the attack on her step mother, her half-brother, her aunt and her cousin. While she had always had some resentment at Aliana for being the cause of her father and mother not being together, that did not mean she wished harm on the woman. Now, she wasn’t sure who was the least liked in her book. She loved her father, and she had moved here with the specific intent of getting to know them better, him better, but now she wondered if this was what she had to learn to deal with.

As they moved around in the kitchen, she laughed as her half siblings gave each other a hard time and waved them out the door. Sydney was playing, and Michelle watched with familiar smile, knowing that phase from her children. She felt a bit sad that everyone kind of kept her at a distance, but it was to be expected when she had been gone all except holidays for most of their lives.

While Ali was answering the door, she popped open a bottle of pink Moscato and pour three glasses, and one wine glass of apple juice (plastic glass) she had bought especially for Sydney to be able to participate in girls night. She sat them all down on the table for the ladies, and brought the snacks over where they could sit and talk in comfort. “Hey Aunt Sinead. Long time no see.” She offered the woman a hug before taking a seat at the table in front of one of the wine glasses.

Mentions:
Misty Gray - Sinead
Melanin-Gxdess - Aliana