“NINE UNEMPLOYED GIVEN ACQUITTAL,” Montreal Gazette. January 6, 1933. Page 4. ---- Vitre Street Refuge Men Charged With Having Disturbed the Peace ---- SYMPATHIZERS ATTEND --- Evidence Shows Trouble Arose Over Desire to Have Relief Card Restored to Alleged Communist ---- Acquittal was given nine unemployed workers all inmates of the Vitre street day refuge by Recorder Aime Leblanc in the Recorder's Court yesterday on charges of having disturbed the peace. Their arrest followed in the wake of a rowdy meeting on December 2 last between a delegation of the unemployed workers receiving relief and G. B. Clarke, manager of the Protestant Relief Committee's offices on St. George street, over cancellation by the relief bureau of the relief card of an alleged Communist. 

Evidence before the court showed that one John McMartin, branded by the police as a "Communist," had had his relief card cancelled by officials of the Protestant Relief Committee on December 1 last on the grounds that he was disseminating subversive propaganda amongst inmates of the Vitre street refuge. McMartin complained at the St. George street offices of the committee, and was told to see Mr. Clarke on the morrow during business hours. 

The next day, McMartin, accompanied by a group of the unemployed receiving relief, turned up and asked to see Mr. Clarke. They affirmed that they comprised a "delegation," and wanted to protest against cancellation of McMartin's relief card. Their request was refused because they had not appeared during the specified business hours of the office, but the men became so persistent that Mr. Clarke was obliged to see them. He told them that their complaints would be Investigated, but they demanded the immediate renewal of McMartin's relief card. Surging into the office, the crowd of men is alleged to have become menacing, and the police were called.

Arrested on charges of "disturbing the peace by shouting outside of No. 1027 St. George street,” nine of the men faced the Recorder yesterday in chambers. Outside in the lobby was gathered a crowd of "sympathizers" estimated at some 60 in number. 

DISTURBING OF PEACE. Following deposition of evidence, J. H. Blumenstein, attorney for the nine accused, asked that the charges against all men be dismissed. Complaints against them charged that they had disturbed the peace "outside" of the St, George street offices, he noted, but there was no disturbance there. What had happened - and it represented but the submission by the nine men of definite-demands to Mr. Clarke - had gone on inside of the offices. 

"If a delegation waits on somebody and lays down certain demands, is that to be interpreted by the law as willful disturbance of the public peace?" Mr. Blumenstein asked.

Recorder Leblanc, in his judgment, acquitted all nine men.

Knights of Liberty - Wikipedia

Pictured here is Moses Dickson, from the frontispiece illustration of the 1879 book A Manual of the Knights of Tabor and Daughters of the Tabernacle. In 1872, the Rev. Moses Dickson founded the International Order of Twelve of Knights and Daughters of Tabor, an African-American fraternal order focused on benevolence and financial programs. Dickson was born a free man in Cincinnati in 1824, was a Union soldier during the Civil War, and afterwards became a prominent clergyman in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Dickson showed an interest in progressive fraternal organizations early on – in 1846 Dickson, with others, founded a society known as the Knights of Liberty, whose objective was to overthrow slavery; the group did not get beyond the organizing stages. Dickson was also involved in Freemasonry – he was the second Grand Master of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Missouri.

Dickson’s International Order of Twelve of Knights and Daughters of Tabor – or Order of Twelve, as it’s more commonly know – accepted men and women on equal terms. Men and women met together in higher level groups and in the governance of the organization, although at the local level they met separately – the men in “temples” and the women in “tabernacles” (akin to “lodges” in Freemasonry). The Order of Twelve was most prominent in the South and the lower Midwest. The major benefits to members – similar to many fraternal orders of the time – was a burial policy and weekly cash payments for the sick.

What many people today remember about the Order of Twelve is an institution founded in Mound Bayou, Misssissippi in 1942 – the Taborian Hospital. Michael Premo, a Story Corps facilitator, posted his appreciation for the impact that the Taborian Hospital had on the lives of African-Americans living in the Mississippi Delta from the 1940s-1960s. The Taborian Hospital was on the Mississippi Heritage Trust’s 10 Most Endangered List of 2000, and an update to that list indicates that the hospital still stands vacant and seeks funding for renovation. Here are some photos of the Taborian Hospital today.

Want to learn more about the Order of Twelve? Here are a few primary and secondary sources that we have here in our collection (with primary sources listed first):

Dickson, Moses. A Manual of the Knights of Tabor and Daughters of the Tabernacle, including the Ceremonies of the Order, Constitutions, Installations, Dedications, and Funerals, with Forms, and the Taborian Drill and Tactics. St. Louis, Mo. : G. I. Jones [printer], 1879. Call number: RARE HS 2259 .T3 D5 1879

—-. Ritual of Taborian Knighthood, including : the Uniform Rank. St. Louis, Mo. : A. R. Fleming & Co., printers, 1889. Call number: RARE HS 2230 .T3 D5 1889

Beito, David. From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State: Fraternal Societies and Social services, 1890-1967. Chapel Hill, N.C. : University of North Carolina Press, 2000. Call number: 44 .B423 2000

Skocpol, Theda, Ariane Liazos, Marshall Ganz. What a Mighty Power We Can Be : African American Fraternal Groups and the Struggle for Racial Equality. Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2006. Call number: 90 .S616 2006 (1)

(1)  From The National Heritage Museum -   http://nationalheritagemuseum.typepad.com/library_and_archives/2008/05/moses-dickson-a.html

SOME ADDITIONAL INTERESTING INFORMATION ABOUT MOSES DICKSON

Moses Dickson, prior to the Civil War was a traveling barber.  Later he became an AME minister and was known as Father Dickson.

He was one of the Founders of the Lincoln Institute, now Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Misouri.

In 1879 along with others such as James Milton Turner, John Wheeler and John Turner he helped create the Committee of Twenty Five, organized to set up temporary housing for the more than 10,000 travelers who passed through St. Louis each year.

He was President of the Refugee Relief Board in St. Louis which helped to shelter and feed 16,000 former slaves who relocated to Kansas.

Moses Dickson was the first Grand Lecturer of the Most Worhipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Missouri upon its foundation in 1865.  He was the second Grand Master of this Grand Lodge and the Grand Secretary in 1869.

In 1876 Companion Moses dickson was elected Deputy Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Holy Royal Arch Masons of Missouri and Jurisdiction.

Moses Dickson wrote the Ritual of Heroines of Jericho penning the “Master Mason’s Daughter,” the “True Kinsman,” and “Heroines of Jericho” degrees. It was sold and distributed by the Moses Dickson Regalia and Supply Co., Kansas City, Missouri and entered into the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. in the year 1895.

The Knights of Liberty was organized by 12 Black Men in secret in August, 1846 in St. Louis, Missouri.  They were also known as the Knights of Tabor or the International Order of Twelve. Tabor is a Biblical mountain in Israel where the Israelites won a big victory over the Canaanites.

Moses Dickson was a leader of the Underground Railroad.  He and 47,000 other Knights enlisted in the Union Army as soon as Linclon authorized Black men to sign up.

Disbanded by the Civil War many of the Knights of Liberty reformed after the War was over into a benevolent fraternal society named the International Order of the Twelve Knights and Daughters of Tabor. Moses Dickson authored “International Order of Twelve 333 of Knights and Daughters of Tabor,” a book outlining the Constitution, Rules and Regulations of the Temples of the Uniform Rank of Tabor and Taborian Division.

Moses Dickson died on November 28, 1901. A truly remarkable man!

Originally published at the National Heritage Museum’s blog. The National Heritage Museum is an American history museum founded and supported by 32° Scottish Rite Freemasons in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States of America.

(via HAITI: A CALL TO ACTION! SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 2024; 1-3 PM EASTSIDE ARTS ALLIANCE 2277 International Blvd, Oakland, CA.)

The Biden administration announced a series of measures Thursday to track down and punish fraudsters who scammed billions of taxpayer dollars that were supposed to provide relief to Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Biden is pledging $1.6 billion to bolster law enforcement manpower and new programs that will be used to prosecute scammers, prevent fraud, and provide assistance to victims of identity theft.

“We want to not only capture them and get their funds, we want to send a signal to them that you can run, but you cannot hide,” said Gene Sperling, a Biden senior adviser who is overseeing the implementation of the COVID-relief plan.

THE LATEST

• The administration’s plans call for creating 10 Department of Justice “strike forces” that will include U.S. attorneys and other law enforcement officials to investigate COVID-relief fraud and help recover stolen tax dollars. The teams will target criminal syndicates and other major fraudsters. Three strike forces already are in place and have recovered millions of dollars in stolen relief funds, officials said.

• The administration also will propose increasing the statute of limitations to 10 years for fraud involving the pandemic Unemployment Insurance program, which has been hit especially hard by scammers.

• Some $300 million will be distributed to inspectors general at the Small Business Administration, the Department of Labor and the staff of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, a government watchdog over pandemic spending. The money would be used to hire investigators and make sure they have the resources needed to pursue specialized cases of pandemic fraud.

• In his proposed budget to be released next week, Biden will offer a package of legislative reforms to prevent, detect and recover payments made improperly through the Unemployment Insurance program.

• Federal grants would be made to states to help modernize their information technology systems to enable them to respond more quickly to fraud, decrease erroneous payments and provide more efficient claims processing.

• New initiatives also would be put in place to identify victims of identity theft, including an early warning system to stop potentially fraudulent transactions before they occur and a one-stop shop to report identity crimes.

WHY IT MATTERS

The federal government distributed more than $5 trillion in pandemic relief under programs approved by Biden and former President Donald Trump. The money was distributed quickly, leading to an increase in fraud and other improper payments, such as those that shouldn’t have been made or were made in the wrong amount.

The Government Accountability Office reported last month that the extent of fraud in COVID-relief programs is not yet known but that the Unemployment Insurance program alone was believed to have made more than $60 billion in fraudulent payments.

From March 2020 to last January, at least 1,044 people pleaded guilty or were convicted of defrauding COVID relief programs, the GAO report said. Federal charges were pending against another 609 individuals or entities for attempting to defraud COVID-relief programs.

Also, the federal government gave $5.4 billion in COVID aid to small businesses with “questionable” Social Security numbers, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee reported in January. The watchdog identified nearly 70,000 questionable Social Security numbers used to obtain pandemic aid from two programs run by the Small Business Administration.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Republican-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee has opened an investigation into fraud in COVID-relief programs. The committee held its first hearing on the subject last month.

Sperling, however, said the administration’s anti-fraud package isn’t a direct response to the GOP investigations. Most of the proposals were being prepared before last November’s election, he said.

two types of down horrendous

#OTD in 1920 – The American Committee for Relief in Ireland is founded in New York to provide support for those affected by the War of Independence.

The American Committee for Relief in Ireland (ACRI) was formed through the initiative of Dr. William J. Maloney and others in 1920, with the intention of giving financial assistance to civilians in Ireland who had been injured or suffered severe financial hardship due to the ongoing Irish War of Independence. Apart from the ACRI, bodies such as the American Commission on Irish Independence and…

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Volodomyr Zelensky and the people of Ukraine stood heroically firm. The Iranian people bravely rose up. At home, the American electorate rejected the worst of the election deniers and continued its rebuke of Trumpism for the third straight election. Congress passed a fair amount of reasonable legislation, including the Electoral Count Act. The January 6th Committee conducted itself seriously and honorably and in the course of its work documented a great deal of important evidence which was not previously known. Partly as a consequence of their labors—which were dismissed both early and late as being obscure and inconsequential—the Department of Justice now seems likely to try to enforce some accountability not just for the foot soldiers, but for the leaders of the insurrection. And for Donald Trump. �� What happened in 2022 was as remarkable as it was unexpected. And as a result, we enter 2023 in better shape than we could have reasonably hoped a year ago.

William Kristol writing in The Triad – a Substack by Bulwark+.

Yep, 2022 was not exactly perfect but it was WAY better than it could have been. When we’re united and positive and recognize our common core values we are more likely to make progress and resist authoritarianism.

📸 Owing to provisions scarcity at my refuge, and under an agreement with 'One Happy Family', I reluctantly began bi-weekly trips to their facility for meals every Tuesdays and Thursdays since October 06th, 2023. Nevertheless, they unreasonably terminated our agreement on October 31st, 2023, leaving me without food.

Despite limited time and resources, preventing recording and publishing every visit, one event stood out. On Thursday, October 24th, 2023, after procuring two servings and notifying a guard about my plea to the pertinent entities, I noticed a female MSF employee near the entrance on my way back to my shelter.

In light of countless ignored emails, I tried to obtain the 'MSF' director's contact details from the female employee present. Nevertheless, a guard unjustifiably interrupted our brief discussion, leading to an escalating situation thereafter.

Read more details here: 👇

👉🔗 https://chng.it/QyYqcwgTjY

Please sign the Petition now, Donate and share. 🙏💔🆘

Less than three months after U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and her colleagues launched an investigation into the four major American manufacturers of inhalers, three of the companies have relented, making commitments to cap costs for their inhalers at $35 for patients who now pay much more.

25 million Americans have asthma and 16 million Americans have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), meaning over 40 million Americans rely on inhalers to breathe.

Inhalers have been available since the 1950s, and most of the drugs they use have been on the market for more than 25 years.

According to a statement from the Wisconsin Senator’s office, inhaler manufacturers sell the exact same products at a much lower costs in other countries. One of AstraZeneca’s inhalers, Breztri Aerosphere, costs $645 in the U.S.—but just $49 in the UK. Inhalers made by Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, and Teva have similar disparities.

Baldwin and her Democratic colleagues—New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders—pressured the companies to lower their prices by writing letters to GSK, Boehringer Ingelheim, Teva, and AstraZeneca requesting a variety of documents that show why such higher prices are charged in America compared to Europe.

As a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Baldwin recently announced that as a result of the letters they had secured commitments from three of the four to lower the out-of-pocket costs of inhalers to a fixed $35.00 rate.

“For the millions of Americans who rely on inhalers to breathe, this news is a major step in the right direction as we work to lower costs and hold big drug companies accountable,” said Senator Baldwin.

A full list of the inhalers and associated drugs can be viewed here.

It’s the second time in the last year that pharmaceutical companies were forced to provide reasonable prices—after the cost of insulin was similarly capped successfully at $35 per month thanks to Congressional actions led by the White House.

-via Good News Network, March 25, 2024

More than 140 NGOs call for parties to Yemen conflict to restore and renew truce and build lasting peace Country: Yemen Sources: ACTED, Action Contre la Faim France, Action for Humanity, Adventist Development and Relief Agency International, CARE, Caritas, Danish Refugee Council, Handicap International - Humanity & Inclusion, International Rescue Committee, INTERSOS, Islamic Relief, MedGlobal, Mercy Corps, Norwegian People's Aid, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, People in Need, Polish Humanitarian Action - Polska Akcja Humanitarna, Première Urgence Internationale, Qatar Charity, Relief International, Saferworld, Save the Children, Vision Hope International, War Child International, ZOA "The six-month truce shifted Yemen into a new phase, one that could represent the beginning of the end of this conflict. We call on you to ensure this opportunity grows into lasting peace and promise." https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/open-letter-yemeni-parties-conflict-141-ngos-restore-and-renew-truce-and-build-lasting-peace-enar

“HAMILTON TRIES TO REDUCE RELIEF,” Brantford Expositor. June 23, 1932. Page 7.  ---- Suggestions Made at Meeting of Controllers Yesterday ---- In view of comparisons that have been made from time to time between the relief systems in Brantford and Hamilton and the government's threat to cut off assistance at Hamilton unless the system were made less costly, efforts in the Ambitious City to alter their arrangements are being followed with interest here. Already controllers from Hamilton have been here to study the Brantford Community League plan and there appears to be a possibility that a similar organization will be set up in the neighboring city. 

In response to the request of government officials that expenditures for direct relief were high, the Hamilton Board of Control yesterday instructed Relief Officer John McMenemy to revise the relief lists and reduce allowance, wherever possible, to the level of last summer's rates. The session was marked by a clash between Controller Lawrence and Mayor Peebles. 

Controller Lawrence objected to such action being taken, and believed it would only result in general dissatisfaction among relief recipients who would come to him to have their allowance adjusted. 

Mayor Peebles then suggested that a committee of three members of the City Council should be appointed to deal with all grievances, and in this way Controller Lawrence would be relieved of the troubles he anticipated. His worship said: "We will ask all complainants to submit their grievances in writing, and we also shall obtain a written report from the relief officer." 

"I won't do it," broke in Controller Lawrence. "You are just trying to make me a messenger boy. I would have to sit here and get the complaints and then go to the relief officer and get a statement." 

Mayor Peebles: - All right, then, keep your old system. I just thought we might be able to relieve you a little. 

Controller Lawrence complained bitterly that he was the most persecuted of men. 

The mayor continued: "All right. I withdraw my motion about the committee. I won't discuss the matter further with you." 

It was explained that no reductions had yet been made this year in relief allowances, although such action was taken last summer. Controller Bell urged that the city engage competent investigators, and pay them good wages, as their inquiries would save the city thousands of dollars by perhaps discovering the names of many persons who are not deserving of the city relief.

do you know where are the the best places or mosteffective to donate to help palestinians atm? like charities ect

In terms of direct aid it is better to give money directly to families in Ghazza than to a charity. Charities, governmental and nongovernmental organisations &c., are seldom able to use funds to distribute aid right now, as few trucks are getting through, and none to the north of Ghazza.

ETA on Charities in Ghazza:

Taawon Association (in partnership with the Bank of Palestine) are distributing hot meals in Ghazza.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is getting food parcels into Ghazza, though I can't find them sharing a more specific location anywhere. Donate here.

The Palestinian Children's Relief Fund (PCRF) is providing medicine, food, and water. Their website specifically mentions food relief in north, central, and south Ghazza, and water delivered to north and south Ghazza.

Direct aid to Ghazza:

Money given directly to families in Ghazza is used to help them cross the Rafah crossing into Egypt, and/or to purchase plane tickets and apply for visas so they have somewhere to go after arriving in Egypt.

Help Christians in Ghazza get visas to leave

Help Hala Abu Ramadan's family of six leave Ghazza (organized by Mohammed Samhouri, vouched for by @psychoticgerard)

Help Dr. Intimaa AbuHelou's family of 22 leave Ghazza (organized by professer Steve Tamari)

Help Shayma and her family of 16 leave Ghazza (organised by Fardowsa. You may remember a link to a paypal going around to help Shayma; however, paypal has frozen those funds)

Help Shaymaa's family of 13 leave Ghazza (organised by Shaymaa herself, who is in Canada)

Help Sanaa and her family of 5 leave Ghazza and establish themselves in Belgium (organised by Eyad M, vouched for by Motaz Azaiza)

Help sisters Duaa and Deena leave Ghazza and get medical treatment in Cairo (organised by Shereen Alhayek, @.littlestpersimmon's friend's acquaintance)

Help Ahmed (@90-ghost) and his family leave Ghazza via ko-fi, paypal, or gofundme (@unionfish is offering stickers and prints in exchange for donations)

Help a family of Ghazzan refugees in Egypt get medical care and relocate

Buy an e-sim for use in Ghazza

Interruption of arms sent to Israel:

Palestine Action targets arms manufacturers in the US and UK

Palestine Legal offers legal defense for those who get arrested &c. in the course of protest or sabotage on behalf of Palestine

If you have some barrier to donating or to buying e-sims yourself (someone looking through your transactions, no room on your phone for new apps, don't want to mess up the instructions, don't have time to keep up with what's being called for at the moment, literally whatever), I can buy e-sims and move funds on your behalf. My venmo is @gothhabiba; paypal paypal.me/Najia; squarecash $NajiaK; DM me for Zelle information. Feel free to leave a note about where you want it to go (specifically for e-sims; aid to people in Ghazza; &c.)

BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions)

You asked specifically about donations, but if you haven't looked into the boycotts being called for by the Palestinian Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), I urge you to do so.

BDS chapters in your locality may be calling for their own boycotts, so look into that as well. Think creatively about how to minimise purchase of boycotted goods (e.g., getting your union to refuse to shelve Israeli groceries).

Monday strikes

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) has called for weekly strikes on Mondays. Talk to your union or coworkers about strikes or work stoppages on Mondays, if you can. At least avoid making any purchases (goods, recreation, entertainment, food, &c.) on Mondays.

(via FANMI LAVALAS OF HAITI IS COMING TO OAKLAND!)

THE AL-SHIFA COMPLEX SIEGE HAS ENDED 14 days Palestinians in the Al-Shifa Hospital and neighbouring homes were starved, tortured and murdered. Here is what we know so far:

Dr Ghassan Abu Sitta - 15 hrs before the ending of the siege "I received this message from a colleague in northern Gaza: It's day 14 of the siege imposed on Al-Shifa Medical complex. Based on testimonies from the medical staff inside, the situation as follows; 107 patients, most of them are severe cases that had been in the ICU, and 60 of the medical staff have been incarcerated in an old building in the hospital that does not have the capacity to host such number of patients nor the equipments. The situation as reported by many of the staff is horrific and inhumane; no ventilation, cleaning conditions, water, nor minimum medication has been provided leading to septic wounds with white flies out of them. Doctors mentioned that they ran out of gloves so they started using plastic bags when changing on wounds which ran out as well. In addition they reported the lack of elderly diapers, especially that 30 patients are bed ridden and use diapers and in intensive need of medical care and nursing that the limited number of staff is incapable of providing. Furthermore, patients' companions are either executed, arrested or displaced to the south by the military which add another burden on the staff. Moreover, the military is starving the besieged patients and staff with no food or drinkable water provided for days. The staff representative tried multiple times to convey their needs to the military leadership, however; he was met by violation and mistreatment."

Video footage of a man's testimony and martyrs around the Al-Shifa complex.

Resistance News Network Occupation forces are withdrawing from the vicinity of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in #Gaza City in the northern Strip, towards the southwest of the city amidst heavy cover fire and artillery shelling. This comes after 14 days of siege, execution of hundreds, and the kidnapping of nearly 1,000 among the patients and displaced Gazans in the hospital, and the destruction of homes in its vicinity. Eyewitnesses report the withdrawing vehicles are indiscriminately firing at buildings and people during their withdrawal. The Emergency Committees in the area called on citizens not to rush to inspect the conditions around Al-Shifa Hospital for fear of the presence of ambushes and IOF snipers.

Middle East Observer The army killed 200, arrested 500 others, and detained about 900 for investigation during its operation in the Shifa complex and its surroundings. [Note: Numbers are from April 1st. Subject to change with further investigation]

The occupation destroyed the buildings of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex over the heads of the displaced.

"Patience, O people of Al-Shifa, for your relief is near... The third siege, for the 11th day. 28/03/2024 Doctors of Al-Shifa Hospital" Writing found on the walls of Al-Shifa Hospital following the withdrawal of the IOF from it after a two-week siege

Reports from doctors and journalists on the ground say the complex can not be revived, Al-Shifa Hospital, The Healing Hospital, is no more.

Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in central Gaza, 1946 - 2024

78 years of healing

girl i am BEGGING you to write a hotch story with his beard and reader doesnt know he has it because he never told her and when he comes back shes more in love with him!!! you can take it any direction you want

off guard

hehehe 🤭 cw; fem!reader, established relationship, heavy suggestiveness, fluff and bearded aaron 😵‍💫<3

after what felt like forever, came the long awaited knock on the door.

"finally." you breathed out as you threw the door open, immediately tucking yourself into aaron's chest and wrapping your arms around his middle.

the longer he was in your hold, the more you tightened your arms - as if you would blink and he'd be right back in pakistan, miles and miles away from you yet again.

it was late, or early depending on how you looked at it. the moment you received the message aaron was back in the states - prematurely and under urgent circumstances - you had insisted the second he had wrapped up, no matter the time, to come directly and strictly to your apartment.

lucky for you, he had already planned on doing so regardless.

"god i missed you." aaron sighed out in relief just as much as you, the empty void in his heart filling at last, making him feel whole again.

he had spent countless nights fantasizing of you being in his arms, the feeling near and distant simultaneously, as if he could reach out and grasp it. for the first month overseas, he had difficulty sleeping even, so used to sleeping beside you - the familiar weight of you laid on him, matching his breathing to yours, or the fact you were simply near.

the longing for you had been torturous. and at last here you were, right where you belonged.

"i almost can't believe it," you mumbled into his t-shirt, tears threatening to spill from your eyes. "five months was too long. too, too long."

you loosened your hold, just enough to peer up at him, just now getting a look at him. however, you found yourself taken aback, any eased, impending cries halting at once.

it was your aaron - your loving, wonderful aaron - staring back at you, but it didn't look like him.

his hair was longer, his body a bit more lean, but the major difference; a beard graced his face.

you've seen aaron with some stubble - not shaving during a weekend off, or his occasional five-o-clock shadow. but that was the result of a mere few days. this was months in the making, and it wasn't unwelcome in the slightest.

endless words could describe the sight before you, but your mind and mouth had run both dry. it was hot, to put it bluntly.

"jack hates it too." aaron admitted as his hands fell to your waist - not daring to part contact, mistaking your hesitancy for dislike. "i was going to shave it, but you did say to come right over-"

"hey- no." you blurted out, blinking up at him. "who said i hated it?"

his eyebrows furrowed, surprised. "you don't?"

"absolutely not," you insisted, looking almost offended at the proposition. you touched his cheek, feeling the coarse hair under your soft fingertips and igniting something deep within you. "quite the opposite, actually."

"really?" a pleased smirk formed on his face, his eyes darkly intrigued and amused.

"just when i thought you couldn't get more attractive." you smirked right back, toying with his shirt. "trust me, i like it more than you know."

aaron's fingers dug into your hips, backing you into your apartment, kicking the door shut behind with his foot.

"please tell me you have tomorrow off, because you won't be stepping outside this apartment if i can help it." you pleaded, your voice coming out as an eager whine.

"well, the team is to be evaluated by the senate committee, hearing date pending. so for the foreseeable future," aaron bit down on his bottom lip lightly, his eyes locked on yours. "i'm all yours."

"good. mainly because i missed you, but that," you eyed his beard again, a heavy breath escaping you. the ends of your lips quirked up into a mischievous smile, and aaron's lips found yours hungrily. as he frantically continued to back you towards the direction of your bedroom, you mumbled into his lips. "we can have fun with that."