Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

Kay didn't waste any time after properly waking up to get up. With the warning from the night before that Cliff gave them, she decided to put on a pair of her leggings that she had packed on underneath her 'maternity' jeans she had brought with her and worn previously during this week. She then bundled on t-shirt, a vest over that, her 'ice coffee' hoodie and her biker jacket over the top of that. She knew it must have looked like overkill to some people, but she didn't want to risk the cold affecting her, especially as she was pregnant. Last thing she want everyone witnessing was her convulsing from the cold. She was still just layering up the last of her clothing and her boots when he asked about the chs ces of Fia being up.

"I'd like to say it's a high chance as she can prove she can get up but I'm having my doubts" she replied smirking slightly, standing up after getting her boots on and walking over to him, shoving her hands in her hoodie pockets. "shall we go see if she's up?" she asked, but in a tone that implied it more to be a suggestion than a query. She had to admit, part of her hoped Fia wasn't awake as she did want to see what they would do to wake their kid up.

 

[_gallifrog_]

While they all knew that Fia could get up early, John suspected that today she wasn't up at all. Or maybe it was wishful thinking, if she wasn't up there was far more opportunities to have a bit of fun, in particular a making good on a threat he made a while back while he still had the chance. "Sounds like a plan." He nodded in agreement with Kay's suggestion, pushing himself off the wall and heading out the door.

John headed towards the main entrance hall where he could hear voices. Rounding the corner he saw Chas, Elliott, Jay, Cal and Cliff chatting together. Cliff was following her own advice and had bundled up wearing a heavy raincoat with a large hood that wouldn't look out of place on a fishing trawler (probably because it was the coat she wore when out on the boats fishing). Chas had his leather jacket on while Cal was wearing a thick fleece lined hoodie to keep out the cold (like Kay and Fia she was affected by cold temperatures). Elliott and Jay were both dressed in leather jackets, Elliott's being a leather trench coat that gave off some serious steampunk vibes while Jay's was black with silver studs across the shoulders and decorative buckles on the side.

The main door was open to reveal that the sky was a murky dark blue black outside. The others were waiting outside, clouds of vapour rising from their mouths. Rinaa was right on the boundary of The House's defences with Moya, Charlie, Matteo and the dogs. Moya was wearing a familiar fluorescent yellow bobble ha. Cliff had made good on her promise and brought hot drinks in thermoses, as well as a packet of biscuits. "No sign of Fia I take it?" John asked, directing the question at Chas. "Nothing, I guess she's still asleep...... so what are you gonna do? I bet you have a devious plan in that head of yours." the cabbie asked, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

John nodded and smirked. "Not so much a plan, more of a threat I made earlier and can now fulfil." With his chin John indicated in the direction of the dogs outside. Chas smirked and nodded. "As usual you don't disappoint. This is gonna be good."

Spoiler: A cool leather trench I found online

I saw this online a while back and I think It would be totally the kind of thing Elliott would have bought to imitate John's style

 

[MzHyde]

If it was any other day, Kay would have quickly given John an action of affection, but time wasn't on their side as such and she was far too occupied in knowing whether Fia was up or not. She followed John out their room and down to the main entrance door where the voices of the other could be heard. She noted how everyone was dressed when they saw everyone and she could feel how much colder it was out, glad that she layered up the way she did. Seeing that Cal was layered up similarly, it made her feel not so extreme in her layering, being reminding that there was another similar to her who would get affected by the cold. She also noted Elliott's coat and thought two things, 1) it was a bloody cool trench coat and 2) it made him look like he was imitating John whilst still being different.

She also saw the thermos flasks that she promised the teenagers with, whilst letting John start the conversation topic of Fia. Looking at where he was gesturing toward, she smirked remembering the threat of making the dogs drag her out of bed. "this is going to be worth the watch" she chuckled, knowing that if the dogs get involved the wake up and reaction from Fia could be nothing but pure entertaining. "she's gonna do all she can to get payback but whatever it will be it'll be worth it for this" she added.

Back in her room, Fia was still fast asleep, the only sound coming from her was her breathing to show she wasn't dead and every few moments a little calm content sigh or whimper escaped her lips. One arm falling from her pillow and dangling down off the edge of the bed like her leg was.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Yeah, I know, she's gonna be seeking vengeance and plotting a comeback for ages. but there's no way in any of the circles of Hell that I am passing up this opportunity. And besides, doing it here and now means she can't use these dogs against us when it does come time for her revenge." John smirked. "Fair point on that." Chas didn't even want to think about what form of comeback Fia could do with three large, muscular, highly trained, extremely intelligent hunting dogs at her side. John rubbing his hands together in anticipation and not because of the cold as he made his way outside to talk to Matteo.

Discussing what exactly he wanted done and whether or not the dogs could do it took about three minutes, by the end of which Matteo was smirking and all the others outside had gathered around to listen and position themselves in such a way that they could see what was about to happen in The House without actually setting foot in it. Matteo crouched in a squat to instruct the dogs running a hand through Koso's fur as he talked. John had told him where Fia's room was as well as which of the steps in the main staircase was creaky. Instructions given he stood up and declared to all. "Let the chaos begin! Go!"

The dogs bounded into The House, which had no problems letting them in. They easily took the stairs in their stride, skipping over the creaky step without breaking rhythm. John couldn't help but be impressed by how relatively quite they managed to be given that they running up wooden stairs. Koso was in front when the three stopped in front of Fia's door, carefully listening for any sounds of movement. The alpha stood up on his hind legs, grabbed the door handle in his mouth and slowly, carefully twisted his head, causing the bolt to pull back. The other two joined in and pushed open the door, Rhys stopping it before it had a chance to hit anything and make a bang that could alert Fia to their presence. Treading softly across the floor the dogs got into position, the two males each grabbing a corner of the bedspread Fia was wound up in, while Meyer went for the pillow. A tail flick from Koso was the agreed signal and all three yanked at once, pulling the pillow from under Fia's arm and the duvet right of the bed, the intent being to pull Fia off the bed in such a way that she would land on the duvet to cushion the fall. They then bolted, taking the bedclothes and pillow with them.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay knew that no matter what the comeback would be, John would still find it would be worth it. She also didn't need to be told that he wouldn't pass this opportunity up no matter what. She also knew he had a point when it came to the dogs, as she also didn't want to know the kinds of things Fia could be capable of with the three dogs at her side. She watched him walk over to Matteo and explain what he wanted out of the dogs, as she geared herself up for the impending scream that would no doubt come from the teenager.

She stood out of the way when she saw Matteo give the dogs the command and they came bounding into The House effortlessly and quietly. "so whose coming up to watch the carnage?" she asked everyone, having a feeling that John would want to see his devious plan unfold in front of his eyes. After waiting a few seconds to see who was coming up to see it, she then crept upstairs, staying out the way in the process and watched how the dogs managed to unlock Fia's door and creep in. She took her phone out wanting to get that perfect moment captured for those who couldn't enter The House.

Fia made a grumbled noise as her head flopped down onto the flat mattress from the pillow being pulled away from her, but she still didn't stir, even though her sixth and final alarm started to go off. She remained asleep the entire time, even when the duvet came off of her, but she did try and curl up into a ball to regain the warmth the duvet gave her. Kay was impressed at how perfectly coordinated the dogs were being, finding this was the moment to start recording, remaining as silent as she possibly could.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John had to admit he was impressed at how the well dogs could work together. Turning a round door handle was something he had been convinced the dogs wouldn't be able to do, and was fully prepared to open the door for them in order to make his plan work. But Matteo assured him that unless the door had been properly locked, they could easily (and more importantly quietly open the door). Koso, Rhys and Meyer made an impressive team, they were a strong unit and knew their jobs, doing them without any argument. He had always known dogs were highly trainable and intelligent, but seeing these three working together without any verbal communication made him see it in a new light. It certainly explained why dogs trained by the Isogrii would have such a reputation. If these were dogs trained by ordinary fisher people and hunters, the idea of a dog trained by professional assassin was quite frankly terrifying.

Though the fact that Fia could somehow stay asleep while the dogs pulled both the pillow and the duvet away was also impressive. John knew full well that if it had been him, he would have been awake in a flash. He watched silently as the dogs dumped the duvet and pillow near them in the hallway before going back for round two. Once again they crept back in, moving low and slow, just like wolves on a hunt. There was more at stake this time, without the blankets Fia would be able to feel their breathing and their bodies when they got close, which could give the game away. Now in position they pounced, digging their jaws into Fia's clothes and body, not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough to potentially bruise. Moving as one and as fast as they could the trio dragged her from the bed, across the floor and out of the room, past the others watching and down the corridor.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay continued to watch as the dogs worked perfectly together, amazed at how well they were trained, seeing why after spending so much time with them, Fia would want a dog of her own. She could imagine Fia training a dog to be a right hand in cases if she ever decided to go that far, but she also was still unsure about having a dog in either of John's homes.

With the dogs stalking in carefully Kay watched on eagerly and what was about to happen didn't disappoint her. With the dogs locking their jaws onto Fia and pulling her off the bed, Fia woke up with a yelp wondering what the hell was happening. "WHAT THE HELL?! FUCK FUCK FUCK WHA--?!" She started cursing repeatedly, flailing out of shock until the dogs let her go. Kay caught the whole thing and followed on laughing hysterically at her daughter's reaction, her eyes lighting up as she laughed, tears starting to fall from her eyes form laughing so much. Fia looked so flustered and confused before looking around seeing what had happened. "JOOOOOOHHHNNNN!!!!!" She complained out loud, knowing exactly who was to blame for this.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Fia's reaction was utterly utterly priceless and John knew that whatever happened next they would NOT be deleting the footage of this event. EVER. If they had to timelock it, the so be it, this was one of the funniest things he'd seen in a long time. He started laughing to, as did Elliott and Chas who had also gathered to watch it first hand, John just about managed to stay upright despite the fits of laughter rocking through his body. All the other's laughter was genuine and in no way malicious. Like Kay his eyes had lit up as he laughed and were practically gleaming like two shards of melting ice, though Kay was the only one who had laughed so hard she cried.

Kay wasn't the only one filming the whole thing, Chas and Jay were too, the latter having snuck up the stairs to join them. Not only was the assassin recording it, she was streaming what was going on to the others who were waiting outside. The idea had come about because Rinaa couldn't enter The House to see the whole thing and wished she could watch it in real time. Jay was genuinely laughing at the spectacle, her laughter was quieter than the others, but like with most things, her emotions were the most visible in her eyes, a which were currently a swirling mass of quicksilver. Jay knew she would have the steadiest hand when it came to filming while laughing.

John knew he had two options when Fia correctly identified him and the one behind this. He could either run away, or a dig a deeper hole for himself by making the situation even funnier (thus inciting more revenge from Fia). John being John, took the second option. While Fia was still dazed on the ground looking very much like some kind of baby bird that had been flung from it's nest John took his opportunity. "Yes that is indeed my name, well done." He drawled sarcastically before he picked up the pillow and the duvet, walked over and dumped them on top of Fia's head. "Five minutes kiddo, then we set the dogs on you again." He told her before placing thermos on the ground in front of her and patting her head through the blankets. "Drink this, doctors orders. It won't cure the embarrassment, or erase the footage but it tastes damn good apparent;y." He then turned whistled for the dogs and practically waltzed down the corridor and the stairs with the trio following close at his heels. There was something about the sight of of a man in a trenchcoat being followed by three large dogs that appealed to Elliott's artistic side, so he leaned over and snapped a couple of shots for reference.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay saw how much John lit up when he laughed this much and with everyone else laughing it just became infectious, making her laugh all the more. She also noticed how Jay was recording the whole thing as well and how much she was amused by the thing. If there was one thing she had learned lately with the arrival of their teenage daughter, it was that Fia never gave them a dull moment. When Fia correctly called out the blame for such a prank, Kay's first thoughts were 'we now have a dead man walking' knowing that there was no way Fia was going to let John get away with this. She eventually managed to stop laughing enough to wipe her eyes and catch her breath, only to see what John did next making her laugh all over again.

Fia was trying to still comprehend what the hell had happened in the sense of she knew what happened, but was trying to properly compute it. She looked att the dogs, "you traitors" she told them, but there was still fondness in her tone as she was still very much dazed from it, only to yelp slightly when John placed the duvet and pillow on top of her. As he patted her head telling her she had five minutes, she pouted but took the thermos, her hand just creeping out from the duvet as it took it. If there wasn't anyone nearby that couldn't know the truth of who she was, she would have called out behind him 'hate you dad!' even though it wasn't true, but she didn't want to risk someone hearing it who shouldn't.

So instead she picked herself up, grabbed her bedding and pillow and with expert balancing, flipped John off with her middle finger from behind him as he walked away with the dogs before walking into her room and closing the door so she could get dressed. Kay had stopped filming when Fia walked into her room and walked toward the main front door behind him, finding how pleasing to the eye the sight of him with the dogs was. She turned to Elliott, "send me a couple of those shots" she quietly said now she was well and truly composed.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John didn't have to look back to know that Fia was flipping him off, he had a sort of 'sixth sense' for knowing when people were giving him the middle finger behind his back. It was surprisingly accurate, though that could be to do with the fact that he regularly pissed off a lot of people. He responded to Fia's finger with the same gesture before making his way down the stairs. With Fia's door now firmly shut Elliott and the others made their way downstairs too to wait for Fia. Glancing over at Jay beside him. Elliott wasn't at all surprised to see that she had taken the literal interpretation of John's words and set a five minute stopwatch on her own phone.

At Kay's request he nodded, knowing that Kay could also see how aesthetically pleasing the sight was (even if she was biased by the fact that any shot with John in it would automatically be more pleasing than if it didn't have John in it). "Sure, give me a sec to take a proper look at them." Once they were at the bottom of the main stairs Elliott leaned up against one of the banisters and flicked through the photos deleting the very blurry ones before sending the other four on to Kay. While Elliott sent the shot to Kay, Jay was sending a copy of her footage to Chas, John, Kay, Elliott and Rinaa. The dogs made their way back outside to Matteo, who was still fending off the end of a fit of laughter.

There was broad grin on Rinaa's face too, which wouldn't have lessened very much by the time Fia did come down. She had enjoyed seeing the whole thing play out, not in a sadistic way, but because it was funny to see Fia so confused and disorientated. Her 'cousin' clearly wasn't expected such a wake up call in a place she considered safe and probably dropped her guard slightly as a result. She doubted that Fia would be able to get back to sleep again for at least a couple of hours after being on the receiving end of a wake-up call.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was used to John giving her the middle finger back so just smirked at the reaction before she reached her bedroom and firmly closing the door behind her. She heard the others walking away from her room making her sigh with relief that she'd have five minutes of peace to get herself ready. She threw her bedding back onto the bed relatively neatly before grabbing her clothes and getting dressed in clean grey jeans, a black long sleeved shirt and her biker jacket, but she put an additional warmer coat on over the top with a fleece lining for extra warmth. She quickly pulled her boots on and for once kept her hair down, whilst fluffing the collar of the overcoat up so it wrapped round the back of her neck. Glancing at how much time she had left, she quickly threw the things she wanted to take back to Attil in her bag again, so she didn't have to do it later and walked out of her room.

In the time that Fia was getting ready, Kay nodded at Elliott's word about checking the photos first. As he predicted, she was just a tad biased, but she also was seeing the aesthetically pleasing image from an artist's eye as well. Even if it was entirely from a biased viewpoint, she was unapologetic for it and didn't see why she would be any other way. She loved the bloke, she had a right to find any image with John in it pleasing to the eye. With the other four images sent to her phone, she thanked Elliott before she got the video from Jay as well, smirking as she refrained from just having a giggling fit. "thanks Jay" she commented. She could see just outside how Matteo was still struggling to compose himself aswell as Rinaa who was still very much amused. She waited for her kid to come down, noticing how Jay was timing Fia making her smirk.

Fia managed to make it downstairs with about thirty seconds spare, thermos in hand. "no need to call in the dogs" she declared as she stepped off the last step. She was already plotting in her head hoe to get back at John for such a prank and thought how lucky Matteo was that he wasnt coming to Attil otherwise he'd have been on her hit list as well for giving the dogs the orders. She could see how everyone was fully amused by her rude wake up call whilst knowing she wasn't going to sleep until she got her revenge on John and it needed to be good.

Spoiler: Fia's clothing

Minus the thigh bag

 

[_gallifrog_]

By the time Fia arrived downstairs everybody was clustered outside drinking from various travel mugs and thermoses and chatting, half the first packet of biscuits was already gone. Cliff had made up a couple of batches of tea (of various strengths) and a couple of hot chocolate in various flavours (regular, dark and orange). Being the organised person she was, she'd even brought sugar and milk. Rinaa had snagged the orange one without even looking at the flasks, she could tell by smell which was which and nobody except maybe Moya could get between her and a piping mug of the orange hot chocolate. Rinaa's eyes kept being drawn to her girlfriend in the ridiculous bobble hat. That hat couldn't look good on anyone, but Moya came far closer to pulling it off than Rinaa ever did.

Jay looked up at Fia's arrival, turning the phone around so Fia could see the timer. "Made it by the skin of your teeth" was all she said before tucking the phone away again. Jay didn't know if Fia had seen her filming or not, but the footage was now dispersed to everybody and backed up to Jay's cloud account. So if Fia wanted to get rid of it not only would she have to break into everybody's phone, but she'd have to get through the bio-encryption and crack the passwords to Jay's account (a feat which neither Elliott, Rinaa nor Leah had succeeded at. The only one who had succeeded was her brother, but Jack was firmly out of the competition this time around).

The group set off for the harbour, chatting amongst themselves, the dogs zig-zagging between people and Meyer was running around, seeming almost hyper. It was as if she was deliberately trying to get under everybody's feet and trip them up. The sky had lightened in the minutes they'd spent waiting for Fia, but it was still too dark to see anything properly. A factor which Cliff's family had thought of and had brought along flashlights. Had it not been for Rinaa's fear of fire they would have used actual wooden torches to give the whole thing a mystical air. Benji had donned a headtorch he used for working on vehicle and boat undersides, while the torch Charlie had looked bulky enough to double up as a truncheon in a fight.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia didn't need necessarily have to see who was filming and who wasn't to know that no doubt nearly everyone was filming her misfortune. She would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed and in her timeline, if there were others in on a prank, then there'd always be numerous cameras filming it. She looked at Jay seeing she had been timing her and rolled her eyes, "still made it" she just retorted back, brushing off Jay's remark as she made it outside with everyone else. She sipped her drink that was in the thermos John gave her to find it was regular hot chocolate, but she didn't mind in the slightest. It was a good enough compensation for putting her through that wake up call. Seeing the packet of biscuits, she grabbed a couple of what was left before they all disappeared deciding she deserved a couple after everything.

Kay just smirked at Fia acting like the rude awakening didn't phase her but they all knew it did and Kay certainly knew that Fia's mind was running a million miles an hour trying to come up with a prank to get back at John. As they walked toward the harbour, Kay was sipping her tea refraining from making a content sigh at the hot liquid running down her throat. Fia saw how the dogs were being and noticing how Meyer was particularly being annoying, making her wonder if she should make Meyer trip up John, but then decided using the dogs in her comeback would be a lazy comeback even if it was highly tempting. Kay glanced at Fia seeing what she was thinking as she followed Fia's gaze. "if you're thinking of making Meyer trip up John, make it less noticeable on your face kiddo" she pointed out, destroying that plan flat out. "What? Me? Think of such a thing? Never!" Fia sarcastically replied.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Fia was right in thinking that Fia making Meyer trip up John would be a lazy comeback, it wouldn't come anywhere near matching the craziness of all three dogs dragging her from bed earlier. And there was a chance Meyer wouldn't do it or that John could simply see it coming and move away from the dog or catch himself in such a way that he didn't actually fall. The dogs only tended to trip and push people over when there was a river or soft ground nearby and the routeway to the main harbour was anything but soft. He could see the scheming look on Fia's face clear as day, anybody with half a brain could see she was trying to plot something while at the same time watching how Meyer was acting. When Kay called her out on it he couldn't help but smirk at the sarcastic reply before giving a genuine reply of his own. "Not a good plan anyway, not only is it sloppy and totally unoriginal but a bad fall from me could serious injure them, which is the last thing that any of us want."

Overhearing the conversation Elliott nodded in agreement, John wasn't fat by any means, but as a fully grown, slightly taller than average human man he carried enough weight that a bad fall could seriously injure one of the dogs. "And as I've been saying for the past while now, it's basically becoming my catchphrase for this situation..." Elliott never got a chance to finish the sentence because Jay and Rinaa did it for him. "Don't piss off the in-laws." "Don't piss off the in-laws." They looked at each other and smirked at their moment of utter synchronisation, there were often times in both Fia and Rinaa's timeline where Jay and her daughter would be right on the same wavelength and end up acting and talking completely in sync for a couple of minutes. The two then took a swig of their respective drinks, tipping their heads back in perfect unison.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia saw John smirking at Kay calling her out as everyone could see her plotting face. She wouldn't risk the safety of the dogs at all, and wouldn't put Meyer through such a thing anyway. As like the others, as soon as the idea came to mind, she also saw the cons to it instantly and shook it from her mind. She was about to reply when Elliott chimed in with Jay and Rinaa finishing the sentence. "1) I saw the unoriginality in it the moment it came to mind and 2) I wouldn't risk the safety of the dogs or piss off the in laws. In the words of Peter Griffin from family guy- I may be an idiot sir, but there is one thing I am not...and that is an idiot!" she quoted, putting sarcastic emphasis on the word sir that she aimed at John. The quote always amused her and in a very weird manner she did actually see sense in it even if in Family Guy, it wasn't meant to considering the character. "basically, you're an idiot but not that much of one?" Kay summarised, Fia nodding and giving her that point to say 'bingo'.

Kay just smirked and chuckled at Fia confirming what Kay summarised, seeing that Kay knew the quote well. "gotta admit, that is pretty spot on for you" she admitted. "exactly, I'll still get my revenge but I'll make sure it's when it's less expected. The best laid schemes and all that!" Fia smirked smugly. Kay just smiled and shook sher head in amusement as they head to the harbour, sipping her thermos of tea, suddenly realising the irony of sipping tea when this competitive drama was unfolding between John and Fia. "while you do that I'll just sip tea and watch on" she chuckled unashamedly.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John rolled his eyes at the quote, saying nothing while Kay and Fia talked about it's meaning. He knew of Family Guy but had never really gotten around to watching much of it, maybe the occasional half episode when it was the only thing halfway decent on the telly. He had no doubt that Fia would get back at him in some way or another, and was going to be very much on his guard for the next few days. Catching him off guard was a rare enough thing, he had his moment of 'Christ! You scared the life out of me!' when somebody appeared behind him without him noticing like anybody else did, but for the most part he was pretty aware of his surroundings. He needed that kind of awareness working with demons, though it had probably started with trying to recognise when his father was in a particularly bad mood or particularly drunk.

Chas nodded in agreement with Kay. "I'm with you, l'll bring the popcorn for this spectacle then." While in the future he would occasionally help Fia with certain pranks, the Chas of this time was going to just sit back and let the carnage unfold. "This time round I think you can count me out of this altogether" Elliott sighed, taking a sip of the hot chocolate in his mug, like Rinaa he wasn't a big tea drinker and with coffee off the menu hot chocolate was the next best thing."There's no doubt all kinds of shit that needs sorting out when we get back, technically I am an escaped prisoner at this moment in time.... that's gonna have consequences." "And the artist forums to trawl through and map out, see what they know and what they're planning." "As if we could forget that what with the seventy two reminders and bookmarks you have on your phone." Elliott rolled his eyes, but in a fond way, the fact that Jay had volunteered to trawl through everything spoke volumes about how important she considered Elliott to be. "No harm in some advanced planning."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay smirked when Chas said he would join her in the watching from the sidelines with the tea by bringing in the popcorn. "deal!" she replied, as Elliott said he was staying out of it all together because of everything else going on, which Kay totally understood. She heard everything that was being spoken for his reasons and how Jay was with him on it to deal with the seventy odd bookmarks over the artist revolution that was seemingly happening. "that's utterly fair" Kay told Elliott. "and let's face it, the best laid schemes are carefully thought out. I could get my own back in a matter of hours or weeks! Who knows when I'll strike with my revenge!" Fia added with a devious grin, which showed she was willing to play the long game to really keep John on his toes and this wasn't her first rodeo.

"Chas I think we'll need the biggest tub of popcorn if that's the case." Kay commented, hearing that Fia was willing to do whatever it takes to guarantee that John would get caught off guard. Fia was also thinking that not everyone else was entirely free from her impending prank, they all let John do it and all filmed and laughed at her so as far as she was concerned, if her prank on John also travelled down to getting the others? Then she would declare herself the prank queen. Oh these next few days were going to be very very interesting. She was even willing to lead John to believe she'd do something classic to make him look the other way, just to get the upper hand as she knew she had to work hard to catch John out.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa stayed out of the whole pranking conversation, she knew Fia had a reputation for pranking people and taking the whole thing very seriously, it was the same in her timeline. She had been on the receiving end of a few childish pranks when both were kids, but as a teenager she'd emerged unscathed in that regard. Either her Fia didn't see her as somebody worth pranking or was too caught up with coming up with even more creative and cruel insults to bother coming up with pranks on top of that. The insults in question were not just directed at Rinaa herself, but at the fact that Jay had found somebody else, somebody who wasn't Elliott. Jay kept a stony face the whole time, but Rinaa knew the words hurt every single time. Her timeline's Fia hadn't even bothered to find out the story behind Jay and the other woman, who had been through some serious shit too and also had people she carded about die. Instead she continued slowly sipping her drink, appreciating the taste of it and talking to Moya, still not quite over the fact that this amazing, ambitious, gorgeous girl would want anything to do with her, a person who would die before the next few months were out. There was a sort of irony about travelling all these years through time and light years through space and to just bump into the right person by accident.

"Well good thing Cal and Cliff have that massive popcorn bowl back at theirs." Chas replied with a grin, referring to the ginormous bowl the two had dug out one movie night, the bowl they used whenever the full crew was over hanging out. Upon seeing it Jay declared that it could practically double up as a bubble cockpit for a single seat fighter plane. "Might have to use it as a shield or something." John smirked "Or you could just use an actual suit of armour from the spare room Fia now sleeps in at theirs. That might be enough to protect you, who know?"

By now they'd reached the main harbour and were heading towards the end of the main pier where a sort of fenced observation area had been constructed. It's main purpose was a spot for somebody to sit and watch the seas outside the harbour, but by sheer coincidence it ended up in the perfect position to view the sunrise over the water. The sea was calm, and the tide was high, the waves gently rolling against the pier supports. There was a light band of low level clouds across the sky, which Cliff knew would break up the light and make the sunrise even more spectacular.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay chuckled knowing Chas was indeed correct. When John said he might have to use said bowl as a shield she saw Fia give them that look that said 'that won't save you daddio' knowing that only her close family would actually know what she was truly implying. "I don't think Fia would let him anywhere near the armour, that look she has is just of pure evil scheming. Hate to say it John, but I don't think there's any saving you for this one" she laughed, whilst her tone conveyed sympathy for him along with 'glad I'm not on the receiving end of our daughter's schemes'. If it was just them Fia would have come out with 'well I learned from the best schemer in London... Dad so yeah, he's fucked!' but she refrained from doing so.

When they reached the main harbour she could see how perfect this spot was for watching the sunrise or if anyone wished to, the sun set making her now wish she did exactly that at some point. She watched on as the clouds lined the sky and she had admit, she was glad she agreed to do this, knowing it was something she would never regret, and seeing it with her new found family just made it all that more perfect. The whole scene in front of her was incredibly calming for her and she couldn't help but loop her arm through John's and rest her head against him as she looked out.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Kay wasn't the only one who reached for her significant other as they waited and watched as the sun rose. Cal and Cliff each had an arm around each other's waist, as did Cliff's mother and father. Moya reached for Rinaa's hands, linking her fingers together with her girlfriends, giving their conjoined hands a gentle squeeze, at the same time wrapping her right wing around the other girl. With Jay and Elliott it wasn't clear who made the first move, Elliott had originally intended to take photos of the sunset as it progressed, but decided that doing so would only ruin the moment of peace and contentment that had not only fallen on him and Jay, but everybody else in the extended family. They each ended up with a arm around each other's waist, heads resting against each other.

At first there was nothing to see except puffs of vapour rising up into the air. But slowly, the scenery before their eyes began to change. It started with the sky changing from deep dusky blue to a very pale yellowy tone, which darkened through spectrum- pale oranges, bright oranges, delicate pinks and finally deep reds. Thanks to the clouds the sky took on a streaky texture with various bands of colours rippling across the sky. There was something kaleidoscopic about the way the colours faded, brightened and morphed together as they moved across the sky. The sun itself appeared first as a hazy smear on the horizon, hidden and distorted by the veil of sea fog that had, up until that point been obscured by the darkness. As the sun rose it burned away the sea fog, the vapour drifting away in columns, the sunlight also passed through these droplets, diffusing the light and breaking it apart, letting even more vivid colours come into play. The sunrise alone would have been beautiful, no matter where it was, but it was the reflections created by the sea itself that were the star of the show. Anything that happened in the sky also happened in the sea, but was slightly distorted and broken up by the movement of the water. It was breathtaking and beautiful, even a hardened man like John could sense that there was something unnamable, something he couldn't quite put his finger on about the whole thing. If anybody was to glance over at Jay during the sunrise they would see that her liquid silver eyes were acting like a mirror and the sunrise could be seen reflected in them.

All in all the sunrise took about ten minutes, the colours dying away as the star climbed higher into the sky. But as they all stood there in silence, only punctured by slight inhales and exhales, just taking it all in, it seemed like time had stopped, that they were all suspended in this perfect moment for an eternity.

 

[MzHyde]

As they watched on, Kay was completely unaware of how all the other couples were linked in one way or another, just instead completely focused on the sunrise in front of her. As it went on, her arm remained looped through John's but her hand ran down the inside of his arm and held onto his hand. The action itself was subconscious and done without her even realising it, it was like her soul was just moving her body for her as it got emotionally touched by the sunrise. She remained silent the entire time and just felt like she could experience this for the rest of her life and she'd be perfectly content by it. The colours as they streaked through the sky seeming to pick up the reds and yellows in her hair, just as they reflected in Jay's silver eyes.

Fia noticed how her parents were being and it made her smile fondly at them both briefly before looking back out at the sunrise and beauty that was in front of them. Due to not having a significant other to latch onto lovingly, she stepped back just a few steps behind everyone and took a photo of everyone from behind being half sillouetted out by the light in front of them, as well as taking the moment to take a rare photo of both her parents together, framing it so no one else was in the shot. She also took one just of Elliott and Jay then one of Moya and Rinaa and none of Cal and Cliff before silently stepping back forward again to see the sun rise through her own eyes and not a phone lens, deciding she would send them the photos later on. Seeing the majority of everyone coupled up did make her feel momentarily lonely, craving to have what everyone else had and wondered if there someone out there for her.

Ten minutes later when the sun was fully up, both Fia and Kay sighed happily. "......wow" was all Fia could say almost breathless at what she just experienced. "agreed kiddo" Kay replied, reluctant to stand up straight from where she was.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Nobody said a word for a couple of minutes after the sunrise finished, being in a state of shock and awe. All of Cliff's family had seen such sunrises before, but there was something different about this one, something particularly magical about it. For Cliff's family this was potentially the first time they'd seen a sunrise all seven of them together in the one place. As there was such a spread in the ages of the siblings and Cliff choosing to live of word just barely into her teens, it was rare for every single one of the seven to be in the same place. And having the new extended family with them made it all the more significant. This was a whole side of the family they hadn't even known existed or in Elliott's case, was still alive. Nobody dared break the silence, it was so rare they got a moment of pure and utter peace in their lives that.

The others all nodded in agreement at Fia and Kay's words, some still rendered mute by what they'd seen. The sunrise had had an affect on all of them, the only way thing John could think of to describe it without using the word 'magical' in it's wishy-washy fluffy story context was 'the visual equivalent of a siren, something so beautiful to look at that you couldn't help but be drawn to it and left in a sort of stupor afterwards'. The sun's affect on Fia and Kay and Fia's hair was the most noticeable, but hey weren't the only two whose hair was affected by the filtered light. All the blondes on the island, their hair seemed to turn golden in colour as the light passed through it. The effect was most striking in John whose hair was always more dirty blonde than pure blond, from the back it gave starnge sort of halo affect to his head, while the light bounced through Rinaa's hair in such a way that it showed her hair wasn't as fully black as it first appeared, there were streaks of very dark blue in it too.

Jay blinked a couple of times shaking her head slightly and Elliott swore that the vivid colours of the sunset stayed suspended in her eyes for a brief moment longer than they should've. John ran a hand through his hair, pushing the blond locks to one side with a sigh. Having regained the power of speech Elliott couldn't resist being a typical older sibling and saying to Fia "told you it was worth getting up to see this." "This was something else indeed, even for us who've lived here most of our lives... that... well I don't think there is really words for it."

 

[MzHyde]

The way the light affected John's hair didn't full go amiss on Kay or Fia. Particularly Fia who did take a couple of silent photos for everyone in that brief moment. When everyone was able to actually talk after Fia and Kay did, Fia just smirked and gave Elliott that playful typical little sister nudge into his arm as a comeback, as his comeback did make her feel truly like his sibling. "all the sunrises I've seen on Earth feel completely pathetic compared to that" Kay commented, knowing there had been times when she stayed up in both London and Seattle to watch the sun rise whilst keeping an eye out for her chasers.

With everyone having come round to their senses slightly, Fia sent each couple a copy of the photos she sneakily took of them from behind so they each had one to remember it by, but without everyone else having said photos. The only one she put in the group chat was of all of them in the shot. Each photo wasn't edited as it didn't need it, the striking colours of the sunrise being bright and deep even on her phone.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Agreed, even the patterns created by the sun rising through the smog of pollution back home pales in comparison to the one we've just seen." Chas agreed with Kay, John said nothing, just nodded. The sunrise had been incredible, there was very little John had seen that would come close to it not just in beauty, but the sheer array of colours throughout the display. John felt that if he did open his mouth out of instinct he'd either say something dismissive, downright offensive or both. So for once he kept his trap firmly shut as they began making their way back to the house.

Seeing the photos Fia had taken, the various couples couldn't help but smile at how they turned out, none of them had been aware that the photo was being taken and as a result the photos had perfectly captured the intimacy of the moment. Looking at it made Elliott realise that there were very few photos of him and Jay together (even before they got together they were rarely in the same frame) and for a brief moment his mind went on a tangent about Rinaa's timeline. For the teenager, this photo and the wedding ones were potentially the only ones she'd ever seen her parents as a couple in, a heartbreaking realisation. Rinaa couldn't help but smile at the photo of her and Moya, it was a beautiful photo and warmed something deep inside her. In a couple of months she'd have no need for it, but Rinaa was very sentimental deep down, hence why she'd never erased any of the photos of her and her past girlfriends, even after the disastrous break-up with Cass she'd kept the photos. And in a way this photo would be something for Moya to remember her by.

Inside the house was a direct contrast to the chilly morning air outside. The heating had been turned up high before the family left, so the house had a warm cosy feeling when they all entered. "So, final meal here, anything in particular you guys want? Or will whatever random cereal we pull out of the cupboard suffice?" Cliff asked, removing the thick fisherman's jacket and hanging it on the hook.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay nodded in agreement at Chas' comment, fully agreeing with what he was saying, whilst John's silence didn't go amiss on her in the slightest. She didn't question his silence however, just assuming that he didn't really know what to say about what they all just witnessed so she dismissed it as quickly as she noticed. She stood up straight as everyone headed to the house together, one hand still very much in John's whilst her free hand took out her phone and saw the sneaky photos Fia took of them all. She looked at the group one in the group chat first and smiled, seeing how artistically pleasing the sight was, before going into her other message to see that there was one just of herself and John.

She saw on the list of numbers that it was sent to just herself and John, and looking around it at everyone looking at their phones, it was clear to her that Fia did the same tactic with everyone else. She then looked back at the photo briefly finding some solace in it, thinking it might possibly be the most 'couply' looking photo she has of herself and John to date. Putting the phone away in her coat pocket, she took Fia's hand with her free hand, pulled her in close squeezing her hand. "thanks kiddo" she said softly to her before letting her hand go and Fia just giving her the nod to say 'you're welcome mum'.

Getting into the house, Kay and Fia instantly felt the temperature difference sighing happily from it as they both took off their outer layers of their jackets. Fia then unzipped the biker jacket but kept it on, sitting down. "I'm fine with whatever cereal" Fia commented, never been the fussy one during breakfast time. Back in her timeline she had a habit of just raiding the cupboards and fridge and taking what she wanted if she knew Kay wasn't cooking anything. To see Fia walking around with toast or a spoon hanging out of her mouth in the morning was a pretty common sight to see. "I'll be good with anything Cliff" Kay added, still in the mindset even after all this time that anything she was given was a luxury compared to what she did have to deal with.