𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐄 & 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐀 @mossyent

As Reggie struggled against her grip, Cassandra had to admit that he was not an easy man to immobilize. And in another context -in a real fight, for example- she wasn't sure the outcome would have been the same.

But this was just training, and he admitted defeat. She immediately let go of his arm, though she couldn't help but smile, quite pleased with herself. She didn't usually drag any satisfaction from her abnormal abilities. They symbolized everything she hated about her life: being a lab rat, a prisoner... But for the first time, she felt proud of herself.

Walking around Reggie, she then stopped in front of him and stretched out her hand to help him up. "It was fun," she then said with a smile. Wait, was he blushing?

He knew she would make him pay for being out of place. As she pulled his right arm up behind him he knew he had to get out of the hold or that would be it. He grunted as she jerked his arm fully into place to complete the hold. He tried to struggle against her. First trying to lift her to make her grip weaken but his feet were out of position and he couldn't get the leverage. Purely trying to bend his arm back round and out of her hold was a no go aswell. (I need to ask her about this strength) He couldn't get her to budge with any thing he tried. (Looks like Mouse gave her the motivation she needed then) He let his body relax after struggling against her in vain. "You win Cass" Those three words stung more than he thought they would. Atleast losing to Cass wasn't an issue, might actually help her befriend Mouse even. She released his arm and he slumped down to his knees infront of her. knowing she was standing behind him with him on his knees he couldn't help his mind flashing the imagine from moments ago of her straddled across his lap. A slight blush spread on his cheeks with a smile. (If we do more grappling, things to get fun)

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha trusted Killian with more than her name. She trusted him with her life. "I know," she said softly, battling the lead that kept falling on her eyelids, tempting her to just fall asleep and stop fighting the pain and the exhaustion. "I know," she repeated one more time, finding it harder and harder to stay awake.

The ambulance arrived just in time, snapping her back into consciousness as they hauled her onto a stretcher. She grabbed onto Killian's hand almost by reflex, relieved to feel him next to her as she was taken into the ambulance and to the hospital. The sound of sirens was like a strange background noise, reminding her over and over again that she was hurt.

"I'm scared," she finally admitted to him, as if there was some false sense of privacy within the enclosed space.

As the doctors pulled her away from Killian to take her to surgery, she thought about Ruby, bleeding on that kitchen island 15 years ago. For some strange reason that she didn't fully understand, it gave her a little bit of courage.

Killian sputtered a little laugh at her reminder of the rules he was so sure to follow. Sometimes there was a need to step outside of them, he despised doing it but in such an occasion as theirs, it had to be done. He was still struggling with some inner turmoil about having found out her name but she had given it to him so willingly after so long that it somehow felt more a reward than any rule breaking. "I know," he said back softly and gave her another small smile. If it weren't for their secretive work, the name sharing wouldn't have caused even a second thought.

"Yeah," he agreed for the ambulance, sparing a look up in the direction he was sure the sirens were coming in. "You'll be in good hands, I'll make sure of it." He promised and while it was said lightly, almost as if he was teasing, he was not. He would make certain anyone who so much as touched her did so right!

"I'll stay with you, okay? I'll be right beside you or just on the other side of a wall." She was going to need surgery with the bullet still wedged inside he knew that much and figured she did too. As pushy and determined as he was, he was not going to be able to push his way into a surgery. "I promise, I'll be here when you need me."

Sloane would have to pay for this though, whenever he appeared it seemed he would charge through like a tornado and vanish again into nothing. He was a danger and Killian knew full well that he would see him again, he would only really have to wait for him to come to him. But to have shot Samantha like that? He remained as ever a coward. "I'll watch for him too, he won't get near you."

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Relieved to see that Killian seemed to have unfrozen from his torpor, Samantha flashed him a gentle smile. "It's nothing," she assured him, "I get it. It's all... A lot to digest." She was back at the cutting board, finishing to prepare the meat. "When I looked at the kitchen earlier..." She shook her head. "We're doing the best we can here."

Now that she was done with the meat, she started to look for a pan. Luckily, it was an easy find. Every time she opened a cupboard, she couldn't help but worry it was going to contain yet another horror. But so far, this house was normal. Terribly, absurdly normal. A part of her would have maybe preferred for there to be grimoires and bottles of potions in the cupboards. At least, it would have made it easier to accept the things these people had done. But no. These people seemed to be... just people.

It wasn't the first time that Samantha learned normalcy could hide horrifying secrets.

"The coffee table would be perfect, yes!" With the pan on the stove, she turned it on and threw the meat on there. She hadn't waited for it to heat up first, worried the sound of sizzling food might trigger Killian. And her, too.

"You're very confident for someone about to be destroyed in Monopoly," she quipped with a chuckle, unaware of Killian's past.

Killian just found he couldn't move, it was as if he just didn't know what to do and so could do nothing. He could have sworn what was left on the knife was wriggling. Was it bugs? The whole place was just disgusting. The cultists, the blood, the rotten food, the scraps of people!

Samantha moved to take the knife out of the way and Killian snapped out of it. Embarrassed as he watched her put it in a bag, out of sight. "I'm-- thank you," he said after a moment, becoming unstuck to get to the sink again and running the tap to wash away what was in the sink.

It was a sad reminder of reality but he didn't want to stay quiet, he sniffed away his worry and got to work on opening the cans. "I think we can use the coffee table for the board games," he mused instead, pausing to think of the last time he played board games, while he was in the day room at the hospital, he had been rather good come to think of it. "You know I don't really play many games at home, but I don't let that fool you, I'll wipe the floor with you in monopoly." He teased again but he was still shaking off the small reality bump and it was evident in his uncertain voice.

𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐄 & 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐀 @mossyent

Cassandra didn't often have fun while training, but she had to admit that she always had fun with Reggie. And today, it seemed she was getting caught up in it, feeling more playful than usual.

And so, she was more smug than ever when he tried to retaliate, and then failed. It was easy enough for her to dodge the punch, and she wondered if it was her unusual strength that was taking him by surprise, giving her an advantage.

Without wasting any minute, she used her current edge to grab his wrist and twist his arm, jerking it behind his back. "I'm getting a knife today," she taunted with a smile. To be fair, a knife could be very useful. She obviously wasn't allowed to bring any weapon back to her hut, but a gift that she could hide in her boots... That could come in handy.

She didn't make a comment but the fact her cheeks flushed slightly as he popped back to his feet told him everything he needed to know. (I wasn't quick enough, she noticed. Fuck!) He barely registered her moving towards him. Then she struck. Again the hit had more force than he expected from her. So much that he stumbled back a step to catch himself. (Shit! I need to step this up) He shook his head to try and refocus (Too much distraction with her) He bounced between his feet to gain a bit of movement then darted in at speed with a right jab. She wove her body to the side to dodge (Perfect!) His left came swinging round after she had avoided the first feint. She stepped back to avoid the second feint as he hoped. (I have you now) He stepped in with a full force right hook aiming for the space she was stepping back into. (WHAT?) The strike didn't land as his body twisted continuing with the momentum. Cass had stepped back forward immediately after the second feint and dove under his right arm to dodge. (How did she get there so quickly?!) Now he was over balanced, his feet out of place and she was behind him. He knew she would monopolise now that he was wide open and in no position to defend himself.

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Barbara Finch and Theo Beneventi. Two people who had never really met before, even though Samantha and Killian had been friends for over 15 years. It was a relief for her, to finally tell him, and while she wished it could have been done without bleeding all over the pavement, she knew it was also the only way. Because Barbara and Theo were never supposed to meet.

"I'm trying," she said with a smile, thinking about the blood drenching her shirt and Killian's jacket, and worrying about him. She knew he didn't like blood, he didn't like touching it. She was worried about herself too, of course, but surprisingly not as much. "I'm trying to stay awake." Her eyelids felt so heavy.

"I know you won't. I trust you." She smiled back at him. "I would have told you before, but you know the rules." She raised her eyebrows, almost to tease him.

"The ambulance will be here really soon," she then assured him, though she wasn't sure who she was trying to reassure. But the sirens were getting louder and louder, that was a good sign.

Her agreement of the plan was welcomed and Killian waited to hear her instructions on how she wanted to go about it all. There were often complexities in an agent having to go to hospital but Samantha was not really attached to any questionable antics from the group they had just visited - unless they really messed the mission up!

He had not expected her to give her name like that. Killian might have found some means of handing the hospital her insurance, some excuse through his FBI badge to keep her safe but there she was just telling him outright. After so many years, finally learning her actual name came as quite a shock. He felt both elated and mortified! Barbra Finch. Barbra. His arm under her back squeezed ever so gently, a silent thanks for sharing and a promise he would keep that information safe. Killian felt his eyes watering for a moment but he was sure to nod, he understood.

Should he greet her? Now he knew her name he could feel himself wanting to say it, to tell her hello! He resisted though. He could never use her real name of course and he was sure when the time came using Barbra to refer to her while knowing it was her real name would feel very strange, but it was something he would guard forever now he had it. "I'll make sure they know. But you're going to stay awake for me, yes? Have to make sure the ambulance crew know what to do." He'd protect her no matter what, but he would do his best to keep her awake too.

He could feel his jacket starting to turn damp under his pressure. She must have been losing a lot of blood, he repressed the worry of just how much was pooling under his hand, his head twitching for a moment as if he was banishing the thought. He'd just learned her name, he should focus on that. "I won't tell anyone else, I promise." He said instead, doing his best to shift his thoughts as he managed a small smile at her.

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha let out a burst of laughter. "Oh, you'll regret that smugness, Agent Jacobs," she joked as she finished cutting the meat into little pieces. "I was going to be merciful, but now you've awoken my dangerous wrath." It was nice to joke around with Killian, and if she focused hard enough and ignored the blood on the other side of the room, she could almost pretend that this was a normal evening, cooking with a friend. Almost.

When he seemed to freeze next to the sink, she turned to look at him, realizing in horror that she had forgotten about the knife. The knife Chief had thrown in the sink. The knife Chief had used to cauterize Ruby's bleeding leg. No wonder Killian was just stuck there. She felt very guilty for telling him to go to the sink! She should have remembered.

Without saying a word, she put down her knife on the cutting board and walked to the sink. "Here, I'll take it and throw it away," she said, trying not to make a big deal out of it, even though even holding the handle of the knife made her stomach churn.

She knew better than to open the months-old trash can, but it didn't take her too long to find a fresh trash bag and throw the knife there. Out of sight, out of mind. And they needed a trash bag for the cans anyway!

Killian so far had done a great job of not looking at the blood in the room with them. It was drying and he was sure he could smell it but he worried he would not be able to stop looking at it if he turned around. So he did his best not to do that. So blinkered to the blood, Killian did not actually spot Samantha had turned around at all and was instead busy looking for a strainer at her request.

He chuckled at her counter to his playful bow though, "that really is fighting talk. I think you got it wrong though, it's actually that you'll be in debt to all the streets." He shrugged his shoulders as he pulled out a colander and went to grab the corn and the beans. "Easy mistake to make though, don't sweat it."

He was just being playful and it was nice to let that little part of him escape as he went for the sink. He had forgotten what was lying in there though and as he leaned over to set the colander down, he spotted the knife from Chief. He looked it over for a moment, so sure he could see bits of charred flesh stuck the blade, was it wriggling?! Was it still sizzling? Killian just stood by the sink staring at it while awkwardly holding everything.

𝐃𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐒 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @imjustanauthor

"It's a new department," she admitted sincerely. She understood it could take agents a moment to adapt to this change, but she was also sure she could do some good here.

After all, Samantha had first-hand experience with the things that could happen on the field, and how they could change a person. Maybe she could help other agents cope with what they saw, and teach unruly agents to behave better. And while she missed Killian, and she missed working with him, there was something comforting in the knowledge that for the first time in 15 years, she was... safe. Or at least, as safe as one could be while working for the Program.

Tonight, she'd come home to her husband. She was going to have a steady paycheck. No more traveling, no more hunting monsters, no more wondering if she'd come home or not.

"You're just here so we can have a little chat about the events that have unfolded recently," she politely explained, looking at all the bruises he was sporting like badges of honor -or badges of recklessness.

"I'm not here to lecture you," even though he clearly needed a lecture right now, considering his state, "I just hope we can have a talk, and see how you're handling things."

It didn't take long at all for Dallas to decide that he very much did not like HR. He took his time in sitting down - electing to take a long moment and look at the posters instead. Why did she need one about licking alien goo? Was that something that happened often? The alien abductions one he understood, but the goo? Really?

Lynchpin would have hated it too, Dallas told himself. They'd never needed an HR department before, and they certainly didn't need one now. Even if Lynchpin was gone and he wasn't getting along with Lockdown, they could still handle everything themselves!

But, then again, Dallas also knew that if Lynchpin were still around, he would be telling him to buckle down and work with the bureaucratic process rather than against it. He'd tell him to stop being such a hellraiser for a moment and to think about what he was doing - that there was a time for being a wildcat, and if he wanted to be smart, he'd realise that it wasn't when he was standing in the office of his employer.

Eventually, he did sit down, and it took all of Dallas' self-control to resist the urge to put his feet up on the desk. For now, his hat remained firmly on his head. Usually, he'd remove it out of respect, but... Well, he'd stick with his sirs and ma'ams, but he deserved his own tiny bit of rebellion still, didn't he?

"It's no trouble at all, ma'am," Dallas replied, faux smile still plastered across his face. "If you don't mind my asking, though, since when did we get this here department? I certainly don't recollect having dealings here before, nor hearing any mention of it. To tell the truth, I don't particularly know why I'm having dealings here right now."

That was a lie. Dallas was pretty sure that this was either to do with his argument with Lockdown, or with what the other man described as his 'increasingly erratic behaviour' - and he was also pretty sure that the utter weasel had reported it himself!

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

A little chuckle left her lips, she was happy to talk about food and board games, instead of thinking about the things lurking outside. Unfortunately, she faced a grim reminder as she turned and saw Ruby's blood still splattered all over the kitchen island. She turned away quickly. She'd cut the meat on the other counter, next to the stove.

"I'll cut the meat into cubes," she explained, trying to hide her brief moment of fright, "could you drain the corn and the beans in the sink, please? Then I can just cook everything together in a pan."

A smile managed to find its way back as he bowed in front of her. "You'll regret saying that once I own all the streets on Monopoly," she teased playfully, opening the can of potted meat.

It didn't take her too long to find a cutting board and a knife, so she started to cut the meat into little pieces, trying not to think about the blood on the other side of the room. Maybe she should try vegetarianism after this mission...

Samantha had a plan in mind and Killian was more than willing to go along with it, he would eat whatever she cooked and he was sure Chief and Ruby would appreciate a meal too. Especially poor Ruby. "That's all we need it to be," Killian pointed out for her description of the meal and grinned that little bit mischievously at the notion of sharing the chocolate pudding. "Might need it after facing the Capitalism Overlord," whether he meant in recovery or to forget the impact monopoly tended to have on people he wasn't even sure himself but it was all playful. Anything not to deal with what situation they were actually in until they knew what the hell to do.

"I'll help with the food, just let me know what you want me to do," he promised as he moved to the cupboard he had found the plates in earlier. "Beans, corn and meat," he listed off, it didn't sound particularly appetising but it wouldn't be the worst meal. Really he was glad there was food there at all.

"Consider me at your service," he mocked a fancy bow, really hoping that cooking, eating and potentially playing a board game would get both of their minds to settle enough to even manage just a couple of hours sleep.

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha couldn't really argue with that, especially with a bullet in her shoulder. "Trouble's just part of the job," she mused instead. And apparently, she had been too quick to forget about that.

But she found it hard to regret this mission, because she'd been so happy working with Killian again. She thought about his question, earlier. Then, she thought about how life would have been like if they could have been friends outside of the Program. He could have come to her wedding, he could have been her best man. He could know little Darlene, and be her godfather. Maybe he'd get along with Craig, and maybe she'd get along with his wife. She'd like to think so.

But they had met through the Program.

She nodded. "Yes, good idea." She doubted Sloane would stick around after this fiasco. Because even if he had managed to escape, he had left empty-handed all the same.

How did she want to go about this? She'd have to give the insurance her real name, and frankly, she kind of wanted Killian to have it too. Even if she preferred Samantha, well, she had his real name. It had bugged her for so long now, this inequality between them. At least now she had a good reason to fix it.

"We'll tell them we're friends if they ask. They'll ask for my insurance though, and if I'm unconscious-" she was certainly feeling more and more lightheaded, "tell them my name is Barbara Finch, ok?"

"Too good at multitasking," he mused back at her and felt already as if the sirens were mocking them, as if he had been hearing them for half an hour already and they were still far away. "Gets us out of trouble but is very good at getting us into it too," well, sometimes anyway they had certainly learned over the years what worked and what didn't.

"Once you're patched up and we get some rest at the hospital," no he would not be leaving her side thank you. "We can check if he's still in the area before I take you home," or as close to home as he would allow himself to get for her. He doubted Sloane would stick around but he was not about to underestimate him either. He didn't think he would be sleeping in the hospital, worrying that every new doctor, porter, nurse, technician, janitor, patient or visitor that walked by could be Sloane.

"How do you want to go about this?" He asked her quietly, they were not there on any major reaction mission, it was a HR visit but was she Samantha? Did they know each other? It wasn't the first time they had to visit a hospital for one or the other but each time it was played differently. Samantha knew Killian was actually 'Theodore' after his burn but that had been for the insurance, did Samantha need that?

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

While Samantha had never known hunger or poverty, and didn't know why Killian was so good at finding food in unlikely places, she was used to cooking with whatever she could find in the house. After her mother's death, her dad sometimes spent days without cooking or buying groceries. But if anything, she thought it had made her resourceful. A skill that was proving very useful today.

"I can cook something with the corn, the beans, and the meat. It won't be the best, but it'll be filling and nutritious, and enough for four." And they both knew the stove was working since Chief had used it to burn the knife. Though she didn't want to think about that, either.

She grabbed the chocolate pudding. "And we can share this for dessert," she said with a wink, "just the two of us." She thought they deserved a little pick me up. Right now, this chocolate pudding felt like the most comforting food in the world.

Unaware of any jealously, Killian thought he had helped to ease the worries at least a little bit with his fathers words, finding comfort in them himself in any case. He laughed at her capitalist overlord comment and worried that he might have been entering a champion's ring by the sounds of it!

Killian smiled up at her for her praise, touched that she thought to offer it. He had some experience in trying to find food in unlikely places though. While he was no thief, he did understand where a good hiding place was when clueless visitors came over. At home, they used a broken vent in the trailer for their food and what cash they did have.

"Sounds like a good idea," Killian agreed to making some dinner, there was plenty there for the night already and he really hoped they would be long gone before they felt they needed more. He looked over what cans they had pulled out and tried to work out what meal could be made from them, though he wouldn't be opposed to just having a can of something each and being done for the night. "Ruby should have the soup, it'll be the easiest for her to eat and for us to feed her if we need to." He looked to the corn, beans, meat, fish and chocolate pudding. "You pick what you want," he encouraged her with a smile, "ladies first," he knew he could eat anything he was given.

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha smiled at Killian's answer about his father. A little part of her couldn't help but be a little bit jealous that he still had his mom, but it was a part of her she didn't like very much, so she ignored it. She had never really dealt with her grief, too busy helping her dad deal with his.

But she didn't want to think about all that, even though Ruby was clearly stirring up some old feelings. She focused on a can of cream of mushroom soup, checking the expiration date.

"You're not wrong," she chuckled, "I've heard I can be quite ruthless when playing Monopoly. Apparently, I'm a capitalist overload in disguise!" Anything to get their mind off of the things lurking in Ophir would do the trick, really. And the more she thought about it, the more it seemed like eating some dinner would be a good idea. She wasn't hungry, but food would provide a sense of normalcy.

"Ohh well done Killian," she praised as he revealed what he had found, "that was true police work!" She remembered how he had looked at her FBI badge.

"I think we can use some of these cans to make ourselves a small dinner, we need energy." She hadn't eaten since her flight, and she supposed it was the same for Killian. "We'll make enough for four, so Chief and Ruby can have dinner too." Chief would come back from his watch eventually, and Ruby might wake up before morning.

Killian was pleased that he seemed to have helped? He thought he had anyway and smiled at her with her hand on his arm. He had no idea if it was a good thing or a bad thing that they would likely be awake all night. He was tired but he also didn't want to sleep if it meant being vulnerable to whatever was out there. "Yeah, he's pretty great," Killian said of his father and then went back to looking for more cans, finding a few soup cans behind a sad looking cereal box.

"I don't know if Monopoly is a good idea," he mused a little playfully, trying to lift the mood in the room as if they might have a chance of pretending they were safe. "I hear it's torn families apart and turns even the best of friends into enemies," though he did have a smile on his face as he added on, "Challenge me only if you dare." Killian had played only twice before, he was not very good at the game and didn't fully understand it in truth other than buy the colours and keep putting hotels on there and try to spend as much time as possible in jail.

Food was the focus for now though and while Killian didn't believe the people of Ophir were particularly hard off, he imagined there were some cult rules that meant food had to be monitored or rationed so he started to check a little more thoroughly, nearly at a police inspection level as he pulled out the foot of the counter to look under them. Sure enough there was a small stack of canned tuna, salmon and a single can of chocolate pudding. "Jackpot," he said as he pulled them out.

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀 & 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Mina was nodding enthusiastically, now. "Yes, that's so true. Because with blurry pictures, people always say it could be anything, and it's super frustrating." So what if photos of Bigfoot and Nessie were always blurry? People were just looking for excuses to not believe in hard proof! But with a clear picture, then no one could argue with her.

At Andrea's question, she perked up. No one ever believed her, but Theo did. So surely, his fiancé would too, right? "Well, I was abducted by aliens," she explained very frankly, "but no one believes me. So if I can prove that other supernatural things exist, people will have to believe me." That sounded like a solid plan to Mina.

At the hot dog stand, Cassandra had heard Mina mentioning aliens, but she tried to not panic. Andrea seemed like a nice lady, so hopefully she wouldn't... hold it against her little sister.

"Thank you," she smiled, focusing back on Theo (still felt weird!) and trying to not worry about Mina talking about aliens and cryptids. "Hot dogs sound really good right now." She had to admit that she was having a good day. And Theo had been nothing but nice to them, he had even helped with things that would have freaked out most people. She was starting to think that maybe, they could be happy here.

Looking at the hot dog salesman, George, she felt he wanted to tell Theo more things, and she wondered if he was some top-secret FBI informant or something. She thought it would be very cool. "Yes, I'm ready to go," she agreed, following him back to Mina and Andrea.

Andrea beamed warmly and that little bit excitedly as she thought they had come to some sort of compromise over mothman and how to catch him on film. "Yeah exactly and you never know, with a trail cam things might be steadier and harder to dispute, right?" Or was it easier as they were often poor quality. Not that she was going to argue that point, she was going to take the compromise as it came and be grateful that she had not walked herself into spending a night in the woods somewhere. She did notice the dip in Mina's smile though, "So what got you interested in Mothman?"

As Cassandra thanked him, Theo did give her a smile, he did expect them to go to school eventually. He knew it was important for settling them into the city, for them to have friends and places to go as he had enjoyed in his youth in the city. Though, there would forever be the looming threat of Delta Green's eagerness to recruit them. Mina was far too young and he hoped Cassandra not remembering the ordeal meant she would be spared such a life but he just didn't know.

"Of course," he answered for his patience, "I have already asked a lot from you both, I am not about to throw you in at the deep end with school as well." At least he was aware it was going to take some time for them to be ready for school. "We don't need to worry about that right now anyway, right now it's all about hot dogs," he smiled as George at the stand finished with his customer and beckoned them over. Theo placed their order and engaged in some quiet chit-chat though it was clear that George had more to tell Theo but would not in front of Cassandra. He instead handed over their hot dogs and bid them a goodbye with the promise of speaking to Theo later.

With that, Theo turned to Cass, a hot dog in each hand and checked on her quickly to see if she was ready to head back to Rea and Mina. "I think I saw some benches free up ahead if you're ready to go?"

𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐄 & 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐀 @mossyent

Cassandra only got to gloat for a few seconds before Reggie pushed her away from him. Still, she could have sworn... No, she had imagined it, right? Her cheeks were definitely a little bit pink as she watched him stand up.

"I can handle myself," she replied dismissively, though her smile betrayed that she felt smug about it.

And, emboldened by her recent success, she didn't give him any time to get too comfortable. Quick on her feet, she leaped toward him, aiming for the ribs again. This time, she landed the punch, sending Reggie stumbling backward.

As she took him by surprise again, their position was reversed suddenly. (How is she this strong? i'm probably twice her weight) He was stunned for a moment as he looked up at Cass now sat astride his lap. (CALM DOWN!) It may have been too late already but he had to act quickly to not have an embaressing moment and her discover something. He quickly tucked his hands around and under her knees. Lifting and pushing away from him to create some room. He used enough force to over balance her backwards meaning she would have to follow the motion and stand up to stop herself from going over again. Once she was in motion he quickly tucked his legs under himself and popped up to his feet ready (phew! that was too close) "I see you have a few tricks then" He joked smiling

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Samantha tried to laugh, though the sound wasn't very convincing in her current state. It sounded more like a fit of coughing. "Just like the old days," she confirmed with a smile.

It should have been a safe, easy mission. And now she had a gun wound in the shoulder. It all felt like a very bad joke from fate. On the first day, really? How had Sloane even found out that they'd be there? She wasn't naive, she knew this was no coincidence at all.

But that meant that he was on their tail. Looking for them. Looking for Killian. The thought felt like ice water, spreading through her veins.

"We should just wave back, yes," she agreed, "that would freak him out." She didn't need to ask to know that he'd shoot Sloane on sight the next time. Still, the image was funny, and talking kept her mind off the blinding pain that irradiated all over her chest. Being in Killian's arms helped too, it made her feel safer. And with the ambulance on its way, she knew that this would all soon be nothing but another scar to add to the list.

"Well, we've always been great at multitasking," she joked softly.

Her laboured breathing worried him terribly and his grip on the jacket got that bit tighter as he pushed it against her shoulder, trying to stem the bleeding. Next time he knew to just pull the trigger, just kill him and be done with it. He felt bad for putting her in a position where she was comforting him instead and Killian found himself just nodding for a moment, agreement that she would be fine. Sloane did seem to have shot either very well or very poorly, she would recover but he hated seeing her injured, it was her breathing that was troubling him. He wrapped his other arm around her carefully, there didn't seem to be any blood at her back which was both good and bad news but it did mean he was able to hold her and he hoped comfort her properly.

"Just like old times," he tried to joke carefully even if he sounded just that little bit shaky in his voice. He was still so tense but thankfully no one had tried to approach them and he was sure he could hear sirens in the distance. Good! "Next time, we'll just wave back, huh?" he let a little nervous laugh escape, trying to keep her calm as best he could. "Imagine his confusion, he'd probably panic." The image was quite funny in truth, it would be the last thing Sloane expected of them even if it would never happen, Killian hated him too much to let him go but he was glad he had stopped for Samantha.

"Hear that? Sirens are on the way," he managed a proper smile that time, relief in being able to tell her and that they were perhaps only a few minutes away from professional help. "They'll have you patched up and safe and we'll have still done more than Not Fast."

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

Maybe it was selfish, but Samantha was relieved to hear Killian wouldn't sleep either. The night would be easier with him by her side. "It's okay," she said with a little smile, examining a can of beans, "we'll keep each other company. Maybe they have board games here?" If they played something silly, like Monopoly, it could keep their mind off the horrors lurking outside.

She put down the beans, next to the can of corn, and grabbed a can of potted meat. She was looking at the expiration date when Killian started talking, and immediately looked up to meet his eyes.

Her smile fell. "Killian, I'm so sorry." She was touched he would share something like that with her, but couldn't even begin to imagine how scary it must have been for him. No wonder he couldn't sleep after that! And after what had happened here...

"Your dad sounds great," she replied, "it's a very nice way to look at it." She put her hand on his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for sharing this with me." Was it awkward to say that? She appreciated his trust and wanted him to know it.

Killian watched her with Ruby's head and did note how she seemed to be a natural at it. He wondered if she had to look after her father in such a way after her mother's death but he didn't voice his thoughts, instead just waiting for her to come with him to look through the kitchen since they had established neither of them wanted to be alone.

He lead the way into the kitchen and thought it was very likely he wouldn't be sleeping a wink either. "No I don't think so," he confirmed and gave her something meant to have been a smile even if his heart wasn't quite in it. He was so very glad that Samantha was there with him, he felt they already understood each other and that so far their promise of looking out for one another was still being honoured. He thought of the last time he had faced a sleepless night, how trivial it seemed now in it's own way. He opened a cupboard and found a stack of plates before moving on to another one to check for cans.

"When I was younger my parents were robbed," he explained, comfortable sharing the detail with her given her openness with him earlier about her late mother. He didn't feel he owed her the information but wanted to offer it regardless. "I didn't feel like I could sleep safely for weeks afterwards," he still struggled if he could not at least see enough to make objects out. "But my dad told me that I shouldn't be afraid of the shadows because if I could see them, then there must be light near by." Was this any help? It comforted him in some ways but he wasn't sure he wanted to be seen by whatever was out there!

𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 & 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐀 @multipleoccupancy

[📲: World’s Best Agent 🌟] Blockbuster for Exhausted Parents™ [📲: World’s Best Agent 🌟] I think that's a solid business plan. [📲: World’s Best Agent 🌟] You paid for your hubris so fast. That must be a record. [📲: World’s Best Agent 🌟] Maybe not your office ringtone, otherwise you'll be rage-fueled 24/7. But every time an agent misbehaves, change their ringtone to Baby Shark.

[Miss Sunshine 🌞] I think you would do well businesswise [Miss Sunshine 🌞] A nice mix of movies for the exhausted. [Miss Sunshine 🌞] Is it bad that I kind of want to set the office ringtone to Baby Shark? [Miss Sunshine 🌞] I feel like it would spur up enough rage that whatever is happening on the other end, someone will know they have to do their job properly? [Miss Sunshine 🌞] Or is that too mean of me? [Miss Sunshine 🌞] ... [Miss Sunshine 🌞] I've doomed myself, it's in my head. Send help.

𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐒 & 𝐄𝐕𝐄 & 𝐍𝐎𝐀𝐇​ @uselessdevice​

Funny. Their stories were so similar. It was a sad kind of funny, bittersweet. But in all this sourness, there was still the strange comfort of knowing that someone understood what they had gone through. Murderous parents weren’t all that common after all.

Maybe that was why Noah got out of his torpor, looked at Saros, and replied.

“Yes,” he confessed, “our dad tried to stab me.”

It was odd, to say it out loud. Eve looked at him, surprised. For once, she was the silent one. It was their taboo, but it was still his scar. This was his story to tell. The little glitch between them, the only difference.

“It only missed the eye by a little. I could have gone blind if he had stabbed just a bit further. Lucky me, right?”