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Monster March 2026- Day 25 Doppleganger

Yes I know it's May, almost June. Yes I know I've wanted this done for 3 months. I have six more days and most of those are already done. I always get stuck on Doppleganger. So this is kind of adjascent. So, for my Harpy submission, Dynasty, that's fantasy setting, here's modern day real life AU. Same characters, same premise just a very different setting and meet cute. Instead of moura mafia style, this is just, pure mafia but with it's own twist. Enjoy.

Huge thanks to @monstermarchevent by @borealwrites for keeping this open for so long.

Monster March 2026

Day 25- Doppelganger

Adora was practicing different kinds of stitches and got a call on her cellphone and frowned when she didn’t recognize the phone number, but her gut or instinct told her to answer it.

“Hello?” Adora answered.

“Is this Adora?” Came the voice that sounded like they were in the middle of a marathon. He sounded familiar but she couldn’t place where or how at the moment.

“Yes? Who is this?” She asked.

“This is Chez, Cesario Vitale from, uh, from school, listen, my brother needs medical help but he’s…we can’t go to the hospital. But he needs more than…can you come and try to patch him up? Please? He’s been shot, and he’s...” Cesario tearfully begged.

“Don’t you dare say I’m dying! I’m not! I’ve been hurt worse before!” Alessio snarled.

Adora’s eyes went wide as she gasped and shot up and began to move.

Technically she didn’t really know her biggest crush that well because she was shy and so was he and she had only transferred to the school almost a month ago. But they did go to school together and did have some classes together, had worked together in class only a few times and got along and were on good terms at least. She had no idea how he would even know she had any medical training. But he was clearly trying to hold it together and not panic and she knew he wouldn’t call her if it wasn’t an emergency. Clearly something was very, very wrong for him to 1. Get her number. 2. Call it.

“Yes, where?” She asked before he told her where to go as she wrote it down, practically shredding her clothes off and slipped into body armor she could wear under scrubs and then put said scrubs on and slipped back into her shoes while she had Cesario on speakerphone.

“Got it. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She offered.

“Thank you so much, I owe you one.” He offered.

“Let's just try to get through this first, ok? Do everything you can and use whatever you have, fuck, strip the clothes you’re wearing off and use them if you have to- to try to stop those wounds up and put pressure on them like crazy and tourniquet the rest. I’m on my way, GPS says 18 minutes, I’ll see you in 15 or less.” She offered before she ended the call and grabbed her mom’s epic medic bag and left a note about why she took it and the general area she was taking it too and got in her car, throwing the bag in the back seat and plugged in her light and turned on the siren that came with it that to at least try to identify herself to the other drivers she was a first responder in their personal vehicle and thanks to those special tags and stickers that the traffic lights stayed green for her and cars pulled over so she could race there as she hastily put her bullet proof vest on and made sure the guns she was wearing were fully loaded since her bullet proof vest had extra ammo for her guns that she carried on the way too. If this was a shooting, it would be stupid to not assume more shooting could happen. But she said she would help and she was a woman of her word and that was why she was wearing body armor, a bullet proof vest, and armed. She’d done this before, she could do it again, but this time, do so responsibly. She sent a quick text to “The Greatest Grandpa Ever” and hoped and prayed he would either see it and do as she just asked him to or actually either text her back before he would try to call.

She got there 13 minutes later and hoped she wasn’t driving further into an active firefight. But from the sounds of it, it didn't sound like it was active, at least anywhere close to her or would be between where she was and where she needed to go, so she kept going and sent a follow up text to her Grandpa as an update before she finally got a text back of confirmation and that her favor was being granted which gave her relief before she requested just, one more favor which that too was granted. Oh her Grandpa must either realize how serious this was or be in a very generous mood. Thank God, and that was why he was The Greatest Grandpa Ever.

“Chez I’m here, is he still with us? Or did we lose him?” Adora asked.

“I’m still here!” Alessio answered.

“Good. So I have a light and a siren on my car, is that ok or do I need to turn those off?” Adora asked.

“Turn them off!” Alessio hollered, clearly in pain.

“Got it, they’re off. I’m driving northwest and I’m driving a…” Adora gave the make, model and color of her vehicle just in case anyone outside were to see her and hopefully they might identify her as the CLS she was. It stood for Combat Life Saver, this wasn’t military combat but obviously close enough as she looked at the note and knew she needed to drive in deeper.

“Thank you, I’ll let everyone know you’re with us.” Cesario reassured her.

“Thank you, otherwise what I’m driving towards is…” Adora tried to tell Cesario before someone else named Vance got the phone and walked her through how to get to them and assured her and reassured her there were no more hostile enemies in the area which was confirmed by the fact that gunfire had finally ceased and those directions matched the intel Grandpa gave her, another relief when she confirmed the route and that she was being directed by friendlies on the same route and got an ETA of when she’d most likely reach where they were, based on heat signatures.

She got to the warehouse where three other vehicles seemed to be guarding it as she stopped the car and turned it off as Vance reassured her those were friendlies and told her who was about to meet her and bring her in as she got out of her car, identified herself as they did the same before she put her side arm away and hastily got her medic bag and put it on like a backpack again as Trevor and Julio lead the way and then jogged in as Trevor lead and Julio got on her six before they got in the building and pointed to where Alessio was currently before she ran around Trevor and sprinted as fast as she could as she recognized Cesario with- who she assumed was Alessio were as Cesario holding his own jacket up to his brother’s wounds as she ran over to them.

When she was only less than a dozen steps away, she- in one fluid motion slipped the bag off from being a back pack and started the zipper and then used her own body weight and the bag’s weight and momentum to start to unzip itself so that by the time she’d slide into them on her knees, she’d reach them and the bag would open like a book and in one leap, flung the bag in front of her to give her more momentum forward before she tucked her lower legs in front of her before she then hit the ground with her knees and lower legs, tucked in such a way as to protect her ankle pieces she had put on in the car too. The force and momentum of herself and the bag allowing her to slide right as she let go of the one handle on the end and grabbed another one on the middle portion to get the bag to orientate itself so it would be at the perfect angle before she and the bag slid to a stop only 2 inches away from Alessio as Alessio, Ceario, and the three guards, Vance, Trevor and Julio just watched in awed wonder that she could just do that and do that so smoothly and practically effortlessly they wondered just how many times she had done something like this before? Babyfaced badass that she was.

Adora had helped put this medic bag together and always helped her mom repack and restock it as she had practiced where each thing was so she could grab without looking or thinking as she got gloves out and her bottles of her wound cleaning supplies out first, clearly they had tried to use what they could out of the medkits they carried but because of this degree, it wasn’t enough and either they had a doc or medic who died and was apparently too far away to go and retrieve the supplies.

“Any allergies to latex or anything like that? Besides the- at least one bullet in you?” Adora asked Alessio as she got gloved up as the dry joke landed and made them all at least crack a wry grin if not snort a laugh.

“No to the latex or anything like that, yes to the bullets though.” Alessio bit out through the pain but had a wry grin, appreciating the candor.

“Aren’t we all? Ok, can either you or anyone else tell me what I’m dealing with and where?” Adora requested, assessing what she was looking at, mentally already knowing what she needed as she cut his dress shirt off.

“Three Gunshot wounds and two stab wounds, pretty sure. The one right here, I can’t tell if it’s both on top of each other or just really close to each other.” Alessio answered as she put an oxygen monitor on Alessio’s finger to keep track of his oxygen level at least and then hooked Alessio up to a small portable oxygen tank before she pulled Cesario’s jacket away and cut the remainders to Alessio’s shirtback and quickly assessed the wounds and found the worst one and gave Cesario two packs of gauze with collagen sponges to help the wounds from bleeding too much and got more out for him to trade out when those got used up as she got Alessio’s right hand that had the better veins for her to get an IV.

“Yup, you’re right, this is a GSW and a stab. Ok, Chez, use these and press on this and this. Alessio, use your left hand to press on this. And I’ll tape these others, I need to get an IV. By the grace of God, does someone have a torch? A flashlight? I need more light and I need to see what I’m working with here better.” Adora asked before Vance and Trevor put their lights overhead to put as bright of a spotlight on Alessio as they could while Vance was on another cell phone, speaking rapid Italian and Trevor was on a radio getting status updates from others, but using very heavily influenced Mil-slang with some twists that were as surprising as they were interesting. And Adora, sadly, understood both and unfortunately caught every word. This was officially a shit storm. Oh she was so fucked if she didn't save Alessio’s life and play dumb as she made sure her facial expression revealed that she was ignoring everything beyond her focus on patching Alessio up. She was called in as a medic, that's it.

Don't ask, don't tell.

“I’m so sorry Leo. You shouldn’t have had to take half of this. It’s like one minute we were…” Cesario tried to apologize before a look from Alessio had him cutting his own words off.

“And the next it was a shootout. I don’t know what happened.” Cesario finished as Adora’s face finally changed in alarming realization but also like she knew or suspected or had gotten confirmation of something as she looked from Alessio to Cesario then back to Alessio’s chest and mouthed the words ‘fuck’ as she shook her head slightly and tried to refocus on Leo’s wounds as Alessio, Trevor and Vance noticed her reaction. She clearly knew something about Cesario that they didn’t seem to know.

Adora got an IV started on his hand and got a special saline solution going before she injected ESA, Albumin and everything she could as she tried to give him something for pain before she got out the purple IV bag and hooked that up too and had those IV’s lines wide open. She quickly tied the tops of the two bags together so that he wouldn’t have to awkwardly hold the ends up and passed the holding the two bags together to the guard who was holding the light above her and had put the beam over Alessio’s chest.

“Hold these please, I need the gravity feed.” Adora offered as she gave Vance the strap which he put to counter the weight of the flashlight because Alessio was losing more blood at a faster rate than she could stop right now before she taped as many collagen pads as she had on the other wounds to hopefully stabilize before she could get to them.

“What’s the purple bag?” Trevor asked.

“It’s a synthetic blood substitute that is universal for any and all blood types and is actually better than any transfusion I could give even if I had the blood to transfuse. It’s obviously not standard in most medical kits. But it’s standard in my mother’s. Once I got an IV, I gave an ESA which tells your bone marrow to make blood like crazy, and everything else my mom had for hemorrhaging to help your blood to clot and hemoglobin to keep the volume up, to keep your cardiovascular system from collapsing. Blood can run pink as long as you have enough volume, your body will fix the concentration later.” She answered.

“So this is your mom’s medical kit?” Alessio asked.

“Yup, she’s a trauma nurse, but she’s at work so she didn’t need it, by the grace of God.” Adora answered before she flushed the wound with saline and antiseptic as Alessio bit back a curse in a grunting growl.

“Don’t hold back on my account, if you need to scream? Scream, if you need to cuss? Cuss. Whatever will help you get through the pain, because what I gave you for pain is IV, quick in but also quick out.” Adora urged Alessio with a quick glance up to his eyes before focusing back on the wound she was working on as she had to go from kneeling to sitting cross legged, pulling the bag over to get what she needed as she continued to work, leaning on all the knowledge she possessed to get through this trial by fire as it were as she just followed protocol and procedure she was taught, but did so as thoroughly and quickly but also as efficiently as she could, but not realizing that as she sat cross legged, both of her ankle guns holsters showed on the inside of her ankles.

“Nice carry.” Alessio noted as he nodded to it.

“Thanks, Chez said GSW, if there’s one, you should always assume there’s potential for more, thus the vest. But when Chez also said that you guys were the only ones here, meant I could keep my big guys in my trunk. Don’t use a hammer when you need a scalpel and vice versa.” Adora answered casually as she set up her first few stitches as Cesario looked both shocked yet impressed, because of course his crush would be not only medically trained but also come in with guns, ready to blaze. Because of course, no one would suspect the sweet blonde shy girl in the front corner would be an absolute BAMF out of school. Fuck he should have asked her out on her first day at school or even that first week as Alessio blinked in pleasant surprise at his brother’s reaction.

“Smart. So where did you learn to do all of this? You don’t look…” Alessio asked before groaning through gritted teeth.

But he paused when she turned her gaze to him and time seemed to slow down to barely a crawl, something seemed to move behind her eyes, like a predator moving just enough to make sure the other predator in the habitat recognized it as it was- before moving back into invisibility and vanished from sight, but its presence fully felt in its enormity that made every other predator to think twice about getting any closer to something they only saw a fraction of and knowing that the small fraction was a kindness to them. A warning to not become a problem, either of interest or threat or most fatal of all, underestimation. Alessio immediately realized his mistake, he tried to make an assumption, a near fatal one, about the appearance of something he did not yet know or understand because he had yet to gain a frame of reference to try in the first place as he lowered his gaze to her lower lash line, a very subtle but very powerful display of apology and submission as it moved back behind her eyes before time seemed to flow back at a normal speed again.

“My mom was a Flight Medic for MEDEVAC, also known as DUSTOFF. Epic Medic, epic medic bag.” Adora answered before she nodded to the bag then refocused on trying to get this damn bullet out of this wound, it was like the knife shoved it deeper as she wished it had gone through him as her lip curled in frustration trying to get the damn thing.

“She may be a civilian trauma and triage nurse for Medflight now, but if she had it her way, every medical professional should have to be a Flight Medic for DUSTOFF so they don’t get whiney, lazy, spoiled or heaven forbid sloppy or biased. I’m just grateful she’s not here right now and grading my performance even though I am literally following her DUSTOFF protocols down to the letter.” Adora answered with a grunting growl as she finally fished the bullet out of the wound with her tool.

“Gotcha ya!” Adora grinned triumphantly as she pulled the bullet out of Alessio’s chest and then looked at it for barely a heartbeat before her grin vanished into an angry scowl when she recognized it as she narrowed her eyes dangerously as a fire seemed to burn in her eyes that was as gorgeously captivating as it was terrifying. Now that predator found a problem, irritated it was not worthy of its focus.

“Of course you’re a 10 millimeter auto. Nice, thanks a lot for making this so much harder! I didn’t need Boss Mode to jump to Ultra-Nightmare. No wonder you were a bastard to fish out! I don’t even want to think about the layers of what and who you went through to get that deep into him! And then to get stabbed in deeper? Your audacity as the motherfuckin monkey-wrenchin, overachieving narcissistic Napoleon short man syndrome, micro-penis havin’ fucking cunt! You just wanted to be a 50 caliber when you grew up didn’t you? And you made that everyone else’s problem!” She snarled in a rant with a growl as she rolled her eyes and shook her head as she put it aside, took a cleansing breath and tried her best to refocus as Alessio and his crew and Cesario’s eyes got wider before they looked at Cesario meaningfully in a very ‘where did you find this girl?’ as he looked at Adora like ‘I have never seen a more perfect woman in my life, I’m going to marry her as soon as I can.’

“Sorry, that monstrosity was practically doing the ‘Nana-nana- boo-boo, you can’t catch me’ from your chest cavity.” Adora tried to excuse and apologize as she flushed but dove right back into the fray as it were, already diving into tunnel vision, trying to get this wound cleaned up then stitched up like she should but also as quickly as she could too. Alessio was still bleeding and while she bought him time, she couldn’t buy him too much more.

She patched him up, wound by wound, from the worst to the least as she used a fibrin adhesive to seal the wounds the best she could that didn’t need stitches. She and Cesario had to trade places a few times as she moved around Alessio as Adora made sure to praise Cesario and Alessio for pushing through this as she put another pain med through to keep Alessio as calm as she could to keep his heart rate slower from the adrenaline dump and to keep his heart from pumping blood out faster than she could try to keep it in, because otherwise a tranq right now would kill him.

Cesario was actually shaking from the shock as she took a moment to reach out and steady his hands as that were over Alessio’s other wounds that she hadn’t gotten to yet as that touch seemed to steady him.

“Breathe Chez, stay with me ok? I still need you to be steady for me, be my rock so I can keep doing this. Try to do a 2 count breath for me ok? Once you got that, then bring it to a 3 count then a fourth count. You can do this Chez. Just count, breathe in- 1,2, hold 1,2, breathe out-1, 2. Hold 1,2. Repeat. Good job Chez, you’re doing great, keep it up.” Adora urged him as he nodded and focused more on his breathing and staying with her in the moment.

“Now, bring it to three, three counts each one.” Adora coached him because Alessio needed no such coaching, he acted as if this was the norm for him. As if bleeding in a warehouse was his everyday life before she got to the final wound that while it was the least of it, it still needed the same treatment and stitches as she did her best to make sure she was doing things correctly but also efficiently and with speed, because she had run out of numbing medicine so the stitches hurt like hell as she was on her last wound that needed stitches as the others were minor that she flushed and then glued closed.

And then they all heard the police sirens as everyone tensed while those that had been tasked with listening in on law enforcement chatter messaged them that they had an ETA of when law enforcement would arrive which meant they had a manner of minutes to get out of there as her phone pinged as she glanced at it and saw a message.

‘Time to go Baby Girl.’

Fuck.

‘3stx pls’

‘3 stitches, 30 seconds each.’

‘Thx’

“Three stitches, 30 seconds each, good to go after that.” She told them as she made the last two stitches in haste while making sure that 3rd anchor stitch would hold before she tied it up and cut the string.

“Go! Go! GO! You got 27 seconds to clear the building!” Adora urged them as she quickly tried to repack everything and make sure she didn’t leave anything behind that would tie her to this scene, purposefully setting a canister to the side as she pulled the oxygen tank and it’s lines from Alessio but left he IV’s in, he still needed what was left of them.

“Please come with us!” Cesario begged.

“No!” Alessio immediately shot down but Adora’s simultaneous echo held much more weight.

“Absolutely not!” Adora barked angrily as that took Cesario and the other guards by surprise as she moved as fast as she could to close up the bag as Alessio did all the could to get to his feet as Trevor and Vance helped him up.

“Why not?” Cesario asked before her phone pinged again and then Adora’s eyes got wider and immediately texted a reply.

‘GO NOW!’

‘Drp wght gne’. She texted back.

“Because my clock just ran out! And I did not just work my ass off saving his life, just to have all of us die because of your proximity to me and who I’m connected to and if I don’t roll out and clear this building in the next 11 seconds, we’re all bricked in the building! I just hope that whatever I did- will keep you alive long enough to get the fuck out of here too.” Adora warned them before she looked back up to Cesario as she finally got the bag to fold and tried her best to zipper it closed as she had to use her body weight on it to make sure it was closed enough to try to zip at least half to 2/3rds of it closed. She could get out of here with it if she could just get that.

“Chez, don’t you ever call me to do something like this ever again! This needs to be a one and done and out, for your sakes, not mine. I’m gonna stay in that blissful ignorance where plausible deniability is the greatest protection I have. I didn’t ask, and you guys didn’t tell and vice-versa. Let’s keep it that way! Now roll the fuck out of here! I’m gone!” Adora explained as she finally got it all the way zipped up and partially laid into it, got it then used her body’s weight to counter it to roll the other way so she’d get the weight to give her momentum and got to her feet, used her custom aerosolized hydrogen peroxide to spray all over the area that had blood on it to destroy as much of that blood that had that precious purple additive in it, because that sure as hell would show up on any DNA testing on it and then fled back to her car, hurled the bag in the back seat and drove like a bat out of hell as her Grandpa gave her the way through to get out of there using a line that her former associates and the incoming law enforcement wouldn’t use because they wouldn’t see it, while getting the light off the roof and barely managed to get back onto the main roads and into traffic in less than 5 seconds before the front bumpers of the law enforcement vehicles were seen before they then immediately turned onto the street from around the corner as Adora prayed the cops would think she was part of normal traffic as she secretly hoped that Cesario and Alessio could get away before she drove like the wind to get home and then gave her Grandpa the full debrief, not using any filters or anything. Because if anyone needed to know everything she knew? It was ‘The Greatest Grandpa Ever’.

He, of course, was so relieved she squeaked by under the wire and didn’t interrupt her once as he was very patient in letting her practically- word vomit. He was thankfully so sympathetic and empathetic and very understanding, but also generous with his praise and commendation for following protocol and procedure and getting practically a motherload of intel without giving too much away either, which was a great source of pride for him and he was especially proud of her for impressing upon them the truth-that she actually was way more dangerous than they could ever be, considering everything. He assured her that her parents would remain ignorant and asked if she had a preferred cover story already and if she didn’t- offered a few options he figured her parents would believe and would monitor the situation to make sure she was never tied to any of it. Adora asked if she just blew everything and would need to move again, she was relieved yet pleasantly surprised to hear that if anything, she made a potential ally and a great reason to stay. And if she was going to make new friends, she could have done so much worse than make the biggest ones in the bunch that got her to laugh despite everything.

“Let me get home and let me get this clusterfuck unfucked if I can. I used that aerosolized hydrogen peroxide on all the blood because the last thing I need the cops to find is grape juice in that DNA sample.” She offered.

“You got it. You know what? I think if anything, you’ve earned an epic medic bag of your own. I’ll see if I can plant a bug in your mom’s ear about it. But you get me a list of what you used besides grape juice and I’ll get you replacements for it on this side but I may or may not have gotten these old mitts on some things. And since you got to be the first stake in the ground, make sure it’s in a spot where it can hit bedrock, but not be tangled in roots where it can’t slip out if it needs to either.” He advised.

“Sir, yes Sir. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much Grandpa, I love you so much, thank you so much for covering my 6. I realize I just jumped head first into shark infested waters, wearing pork chops. But thank you for at least putting some sonar in those waters for me. That is why you are The Greatest Grandpa Ever, Of All Time, The Goatiest of GOATS.” Adora praised as she neared home.

“Baa.” He chuckled which got her to giggle.

“Ok, I’m less than two minutes away from home. Let me straighten up. I love you, I love you, I love you. Can’t wait to see you when you get here Grandpa. I think you’re gonna love the house. It has a ‘mother in law suite’ and I hid so many easter eggs for you, just to give you something to hunt for between naps to keep you from chewing on the furniture.” She offered.

“I thought I was the Goatiest of Goats? Where’s the barn? Who do I get to headbutt?” He teased which got her to laugh.

“Oh, I think I just found a few bulls for you to bully especially if we get to stay. Ok, I’m home, I’ll call or text when I get to come back up for air. Love you Grandpa, I have missed you so much. I’ll see you when I see you.” Adora offered as she pulled into the driveway and breathed in relief when she made it there, turned her car off and just took a second to rest her forehead on the steering wheel and smiling sadly at how much she wished it was her Grandpa’s chest.

“And you’ll be a sight for these old tired eyes Baby Girl.” He cooed.

“Hey, your body hears how you speak about it, if you tell your body it’s old, it’ll start acting like it. You are not old, you’re well traveled, well seasoned, you’ve been tried and you’ve held true and you’ve been wise enough to learn from other’s mistakes while not fooling yourself that you’ll never make any yourself and the last thing that can make you fall is your own pride, because it is the reason why you have the strength to stand in the first place. And those eyes are sharper now than they’ve ever been before because they have a wealth of knowledge and ten times as much wisdom and a hundred times the discernment to see the truth and the ten forests beyond the trees that everyone else is stuck behind and can’t see past. Thank you for keeping on the watch for me, it’s what kept me steady and I knew I wouldn’t get lost because I knew I was already found and would never be lost or forgotten. I’m just sorry if I kept you from resting or interrupted a nap. I’ll pay it back in westerns, sourdough bread and chicken and barely soup for the rainy days, sandwiches on the sunny days and cook outs on the weekends and fires in the firepit, especially when the stars are out, bear hugs and forehead kisses.” Adora promised, her eyes shedding tears but her smile shaming the sun.

“Paradise on Earth Baby Girl. It’ll be worth the wait, I promise.” He offered.

“Paradise on Earth Grandpa. Bye, love you, be safe.” Adora offered.

“Be safe.” He ended the call and Adora looked at the time, took a big breath in and then moved. She had way too much work left to do and way too little time to do it in.

Meanwhile, previously…

“Where the fuck have you been hiding her? How have you been sitting on Miss Perfect this whole time? And how long have you had her in your back pocket?” Alessio asked Cesario as Cesario was helping his brother get out of there as quickly as they could as those sirens got louder from coming closer.

“She’s not in any pocket! She’s been hiding herself in plain sight! I didn’t even know she was a card in the deck, let alone something that was even on the table that I could use! I had no idea she’d be that wild of a wild card! I barely know her at school! She just moved here less than a month ago! And I’m kicking myself for not making more of an effort on that first day because I was trying to give her a chance to settle and find her bearings because I’m shy, she’s shy! She's in front of the class, I’m back of the class! She’s the one who graded my math classwork and got on me about showing my work. Believe me, if I knew that Adorabella was Miss Perfect- Highest Trump Card- Wild Card before today and instead found out the first time I got to meet her? I would have married her by now if I could!” Cesario confessed.

“The reason she even got on my radar for this clusterfuck was that at school yesterday, Manny bragged that she’s perfect for patching him up and never asked questions and that he could trust her and count on her to pull through for him because he's in an underground fight club for Christ’s sake! And I just assumed he had paid her accordingly! That's why I thought she'd be cool! I had no idea she'd come with…I don’t know what but even though she didn’t say much, she didn’t need to say more than she did. There is some serious fucking power there that has my soul shuddering as much these butterflies are fluttering.” Cesario defended.

“Oh our souls are shuddering too.” Trevor echoed.

“I just…I had no idea she would know or do…everything else. I had no idea that the girl that I’ve been crushing on is a badass! Did you see her slide in on her knees like a fucking action hero?! She’s like the epitome of BAMF and she’s my age! Adorabella is only 17! How is she only 17 and can know and do all of that?! Just the medic patch was way better than doctors three times her age! How did she even know that was a 10 millimeter auto?! I thought only gun enthusiasts and forensic experts would be able to do that! After they ran tests and shit! But nope! Not her! One second and one look, boom, instant identification after she removed it from your chest! And she cussed it out! Like it had personally offended her!” Cesario gushed.

“Because it did! Which is an ire I hope we never get because we wouldn’t survive! When she slid in did your brain slide out? She told us herself where she learned it and how- she and it came from the same place- the Military. Obviously you’ve made the near fatal mistake of assuming that just because she may look like a fellow student at your school that she’d be anything like any other student, that’s the best camouflage for her to allow her to hide in plain sight as she continues to learn as she grows but that doesn’t mean she’s not just as lethal or even more so than any other predator out there in the open. She’s growing into something we need to find a new frame of reference for. You didn’t see what I saw in her eyes. She did me a bigger favor of letting me see it in the first place than the other favor of saving my life.” Alessio appraised as Cesario finally seemed to understand that for all of his looking, he had clearly missed seeing the obvious, again.

“But she did see and acknowledge and praise you for pushing through and enduring. She saw you struggling, and gave you the steadiness to keep going. This wasn’t her first rodeo but she clearly didn’t want your first to be your last either, which means that someone has obviously done her the same favor that she was simply trying to pay forward. It was a gift that you’re still trying to grasp, but once you do, you’ll appreciate it for its rarity and pricelessness. If she saw all of that in you, including your potential, obviously you have what it takes too Chez.” Vance reminded Cesario and that helped him to hold his head up just a bit higher as he seemed to remember that too.

“Like her stamp of approval is a badge of honor I'll probably never get to have now though. She’s seen me at my worst too much already.” Ceshario murmured.

“Chez, you don't need to be taking this as hard as you are. She didn’t see you at your worst, she saw all of us drowning and gave us a life line. Doesn’t mean she thinks we can’t swim.” Alessio tried to reassure his brother, he had only ever seen Nick get this bent out of shape, but it was over a girl just as epically perfect though. Apparently the universe did make more than 1 of them.

“Oh but she has though! Today was just the most recent example for her! She is made in a computer- levels of perfect! I will probably beat myself up over fumbling the greatest catch and find of the century for the rest of my life! I will always regret not asking her out like when I saw her in the halls before class, as she was trying to figure out the school’s layout before Manny walked up, introduced himself and helped her out before I could even make a step in her direction. The only reason I didn't and haven't is because on her first day at school, in math, she chose to sit in the front seat of the same row I was in and she had to grade my math worksheet that I didn’t do because I hadn’t been paying attention to anything Ms. Hatfield was saying because I was paying more attention to Adorabella’s perfect cherub golden blonde curls! I got so distracted then I practically had a brain aneurysm trying to do in less than a minute something I could have done in less than 8 minutes of the 15 minutes we were given to do it that she got done in 3 because she's practically a math genius too! I blanked out on everything else so when it was time for us to grade each other’s papers, instead of passing forward, we all passed back which meant me being in the back of the row meant I had to get up and walk my disaster of a worksheet up to her and hand it over to her and I never wanted for the ground under my feet to open up and swallow me whole so badly in my life because I knew she was going to see it and know that I’m just as stupid as I look. So, of course she graded it as an F! I fucked up and assumed she would think I’m a brain dead idiot and there was no way for me to live that down ever since. God, if she could have just…known me or seen me outside of this clusterfuck, or that clusterfuck- what I would give for her to not see me or us at our worst.” Cesario groaned and whimpered because now it was his own injuries that he had ignored for Alessio that were coming back to bite him in the ass before Trevor came and helped Cesario while Vance helped Alessio get into another SUV that didn’t have the windshield shot out because a hail of armor piercing bullets most of which were those 10mm autos. And Adora had been right, it had gone through the windshield and the driver and his body armor and the seat to then get into the front of Alessio’s body armor and then into him.

“You and me both.” Alessio agreed.

“Regardless though, goddamn was she the perfect one to answer our prayers. You calling her in still saved my life today and it was everything I could do to not cry or scream but the way she had that pain killers pumping in after, I honestly didn’t give a shit and trying not to fuck that up for you Chez. Do you have any idea just how lucky we got because of her? Because she’s…she’s somehow the perfect person to call in even if it would come with nuclear levels of risk for whatever she alluded to. But goddamn am I impressed and so proud of her for putting her foot down and commanding that her boundaries demand nothing but the highest respect for because she wasn’t doing it for her sake. For ours, to keep us safe from the danger that came with her that clearly escaped the danger we were already dealing with. She’s perfect because she’s a predator that no one would ever suspect is there, which is a mistake she clearly wants everyone else to make, because it’s safer for her that way. She only showed us a glimpse so we wouldn’t make that same fatal mistake. Oh we owe her so big. Like that whole- ‘Esther- have half my kingdom’ thing. God and her name totally fits. She is as adorable as she is terrifying. Fuck. But you did hit this out of the park with her. Do you know if she has any sisters? Cousins on whatever side made her as adorable or even a fraction of badass that she is? Just because she’s dangerous and connected to something even more dangerous, doesn’t mean close family might not be.” Alessio offered with a giddy grin.

“She does, an older sister, in Juilliard of all places that she really looks up to and tries to emulate, because apparently the oldest in Julliard has all the finesse that Adora feels like she doesn’t have, even though she does, in spades, obviously, she calls her oldest sister Miss Especially Spectacularly Perfect. Which, if Adora is Miss Perfect, I can’t fathom what her idea of perfect would be. But… she does talk about another one, another older sister. But the way she talks about her, something…something happened there. Something bad. Something like her sister went no contact and she was too young to know or understand why, kind of thing.” Cesario recalled as both Cesario and Alessio didn’t catch the look shared between Vance and Trevor, both of them slightly wide eyed as those pits in their stomachs got way bigger and heavier.

“What does she call that one?” Alessio asked.

“Vera- Vera Very Wild.” Cesario supplied as Alessio seemed to shake its way from the back of his memory and practically flew off the shelf and tried to fly straight at him.

“Why does that sound familiar though? Like I’ve heard it but it had to be like a few years ago or something. It was something like that but slightly different. Vera Very…Violet? Volatile? Plus Adora, she looked…she must have one of those faces, why do those names sound…? I can’t, I lost too much blood, my brain isn’t working.” Alessio rhetorically asked as Vance and Trevor looked at each other again, their eyes slightly wider as they wordlessly urged the other to tell him.

They knew.

But was it the right time for the Vitale Gentlemen to know? There was only one other person who referred to having a sister named Vera, but she had been referred to as Vera Very Violent. Because she was, apparently, violence incarnate. There was no way this was a coincidence as Trevor and Vance instantly realized who and what Adora was and what danger she had only needed to allude to but that they were still very well aware of- that they should have avoided the first time they were warned. They got lucky last time, because that danger allowed the person that had warned them away from seeing them as a problem, to either solve, or to neutralize, but that they weren't worthy of that danger’s focused attention, and do ignore it in favor of something that was worthy. It was the most harrowing experience that they had ever survived. And if they were right, it meant that they were just in the presence of the most precious, most beloved, most prized and protected pride and joy of that same great danger that was the most apex of apex predators, the kind that was indistinguishable from the deep blue sea, only when it swallowed a blue whale hole like it was simply taking in a breath where the blue whale was in the open water one heartbeat- then that danger’s stomach the next, eviscerated in the space between heartbeats and dead before they got the chance to register the instant and the pain with it, of their own death.

“What was her last name again?” Alessio asked Cesario once they barely managed to hide from the cops on their way out, in an alley, behind a dumpster.

“Fortunada. God I hope Adorabella made it out of there.” Cesario answered as he turned and looked through the back window as Alessio looked at the guards with wide shocked eyes as Alessio finally seemed to catch up then Alessio’s looks turned pleading as he subtly shook his head no as Vance and Trevor nodded before Vance drove out of their hiding place then home.

“Beautiful Bella Baby Girl.” Alessio breathed in a shudder because the last person who had said those words about the wonder he was just in the presence of, was a wonder he genuinely believed the universe had only made in its own perfect singularity only once. He knew her by another name but Miss Especially Spectacularly Perfect…fit. Alessio swallowed thickly and blinked back tears.

“What?” Cesario asked, barely registering that Alessio had even said anything.

“Nothing, we need to get home.” Alessio offered, but as much as his gut was wanting to dive into the deepest trench to escape, something told him to pause, to wait and see. He had told Cesario that assumption was potentially fatal. He couldn’t be a hypocrite and do the same. Assumptions did kill. And Adora? She chose to save a life, not end it. She didn’t need permission, she didn’t need orders or instructions, she didn’t need to think about it, she didn’t need to see if it would benefit her. In fact, she came when she was called, she helped because she could, and she did it, knowing it would cost her, knowing it was a risk. Because she knew a life was on the line, and she wanted to save it. That’s all she knew. And for her, that’s all she needed to know. Beautiful Bella indeed, but a baby girl- no more.

When Adora got off the phone with her grandpa, she grabbed the clothes she had been wearing before and took the hydrogen peroxide on the medical supplies shelf after she put the bag down on the bench to repack after she took care of herself. She got into the laundry room and poured that hydrogen peroxide on all the blood on the scrubs and then put the scrubs in the washer and dumped the load of dirty laundry on top of it and started the load of laundry as she got redressed and then once the washer and dryer were running she ran back to the ‘medical office’ and quickly cleaned up the bag, using the rest of the hydrogen peroxide to get the bit of blood that got in it and on it, and then double and triple checked everything to make sure not a single thing was missing or out of place in this epic, spectacular, perfect medical bag. Once she repacked her mom’s bag and had made a list of what she had used and what she had repacked, just in case her mom especially would notice in the inventory, she took a picture of it, sent it to her grandpa, got confirmation and agreed on the cover story and blew out a breath of relief once she was all done, thankfully before either one of her parents got home, or her little siblings from elementary and middle school, which was the true clock she set herself to. She practiced the story she was going to tell her parents the whole time.

Because ‘hey I go to school with the brother or son of a mafia boss and he just called me in to do a favor for them because they just had a shootout with a rival in a warehouse that I went into without even knowing if they were still in the middle of shooting it out. So now I’m connected to the Vitale Mafia or whatever it would be named, and they now owe me a favor but will most likely ask for more favors back and forth and once you’re in and once you help, you’re in it for life. But that’s ok because Cesario, for coming from a mafia family is the sweetest, purist cinnamon roll that I would slay every other mafia family for if it meant I could protect him and keep him safe and keep that light in his eyes to burn as bright as any sun, any star,’ was never going to fly. Especially since her oldest sister had already…Adora couldn’t bring herself to finish that thought or sentence as Adora realized the parallels of the situation she now found herself in and her oldest sister’s as that seemed to settle like an anvil in her stomach as she prayed that this would not be or turn out like that.

Because Adora could already feel and sense and intrinsically knew that the magnetic pole that her life had always orbited around, and found that if she orbited closer the length of the proverbial leash actually got longer, the collar looser. And she had been practicing slipping in and out of it. The leash would always be attached to the collar, because if it wasn’t it would be wrapped around her so tight, she would have died before she ever would have gotten a chance to live. Vera had rebelled, bit and ripped and shredded the collar until she was muzzled and caged and she had warred against it until she was practically broken, her will dying just a little bit, every day, believing that if she ever moved, ever barked, ever whined, she’d be snuffed out completely. Her oldest sister, Miss Perfect, had never tried to escape it, had only pulled once and when she was yanked back, she didn’t try to pull again and instead fallen in line and was perfectly obedient, all while a wrathful, rageful resentment festered as it ate more and more of her soul making her a shell, only warmed from the fury inside, Vera, as cold as the metal around her, hiding the last flickers of a candle, waiting for the one with the keys to finally come back, either to kill her or set her free, she didn’t care, just as long as the one who held the keys would hold no others for anyone else. Both were just different kinds of dying, because they had yet to see and get the point.

Bend before you break, don’t bend so far that you broke your stem, don’t stand so rigid you broke when the wind blew harder than you could stand. Bend with the wind, knowing that after it blew, you could stand up again. That was what she had learned and it allowed her to grow much more than most ever saw or could really perceive either and growing an inner strength a mental one, an emotional one and especially a psychological one as she amassed as much knowledge and truth and details and ‘receipts’ as it were. Because of her orbiting so close the magnetic pole had already shown her how they did what they did and she could see and understand the why and once she understood the how, the map made sense. The assets, the resources, the leverage, the loyalty, the duty, the service, and what each member of this very extended “family” had access to, what tools they had, and what tools they preferred and leaned on the most. And she had oh so subtly picked up the ones they never used and while she had to use a little bit of manipulation towards the magnetic pole and the owner, instead of her buying them, they were given to her as something of an inheritance, as something of a responsibility and a ‘starter tool’ for her to learn how to use and how to use well. And if anything, now, she had picked up so many “little tools” that now, no one seemed to notice it. Not even the magnetic pole. And what she had been oh so quietly building with it, would hopefully be enough to either switch the polarity of the pole, or, if she could, turn the damn thing off and keep it off.

But right now, she needed to practice this cover story, over and over as if her Grandpa was there, having her repeat it and getting the sense, the stress and the modulation just right until it would be perfect as Adora chided herself that her oldest sister would have gotten this on the first run. Vera would have gotten it on the second. Only she felt like she needed at least three. But yet, she could still hear her oldest sister remind her of something she seemed to forget often. She only needed one. The right one, the perfect one. It didn’t matter how many she had to mentally go through, thousands, hundreds of thousands if need be. But one, the right one, the only one. That’s the only one she needed.

And that’s what she had now.

“Hey Honey…what’s wrong?” Her mom, Isabella asked as she came home from her shift and saw that her daughter was pacing in the kitchen, as it was clear she had been trying to make dinner but didn’t get very far while her other children were already at the kitchen table doing homework once Adora was able to finish a full 2 minutes before she had to get her younger siblings off the bus and had spent the time from that point, to this one, staging it. It was ready, it was time.

She was ready. She was terrified, but she was ready.

“I did something both good and really stupid.” Adora answered as her eyes glazed with tears before Isabella took them to the mud room by the back door, because Adora wouldn’t be like this, if it wasn’t something bad or at least really serious.

“Ok…?” Her mom nodded.

“And I don’t want dad to overreact or give me consequences just for being a good samaritan.” Adora continued.

“He’s not gonna.” Isabella insisted as she furrowed her brow in concentration.

“A kid I knew from school came into class, a few weeks ago, and then again a few days ago, looking beat to hell, both times. His parents don’t have health insurance and the school nurse did jack shit for him. I barely know him but I felt really bad for him so after school, both times, I had him come to my car and I got my first aid kit out of my trunk and did what I could for him, all he told me was that he got beat up, which considering his wounds? Hell yeah he did. But after that second time a few days ago, I just had a feeling that whoever was beating him up was just going to keep doing it, I didn’t know if he had an abusive parent or family member or what, but he didn’t want to open up about where or who or why or anything. But, I just…I had that gut feeling. Not the one that says ‘if I don’t do something right now, they’re gonna die’, but a ‘when they’re ready, they’ll see the danger and do something. And when they do, they need to have the right person to ask’. So I gave him my number a few days ago. And I told him to use it when he would need me to help again. Even if he would just want me to help, all he had to do was ask.” Adora began.

“Ok, so what did he ask for today?” Isabella asked.

“He asked me to save his life.” Adora choked on a sob as her hand went to cover her mouth, her other to her stomach, fisting her hand in her shirt before her mom pulled her tightly into her arms and hugged her so fiercely as she hugged just as fiercely back.

“He was in a warehouse by the docks. But it wasn’t his life specifically, it was his brother’s. I didn’t ask but considering what I saw and where we were, I could only assume they’re in some kind of underground fight club. But, I know from talking to him before that his family also has all of his surviving grandparents and his great grandmother, all of them living with him and his family, five generations all crammed in together in this tiny apartment and I’m guessing they were doing it just to make extra money for their family or something? Because he doesn’t dress or brag or threaten or anything like that. I have never seen him show any signs that he ever used or uses any of it for himself; he has just enough to blend in with everybody else and that’s all he needs. But I was the only one he could think of to call in for help. Their grandparents must be undocumented or something, and his parents may not even have…but he was scared, they were scared that if someone called an ambulance that there would be police involved and deportation and all that. But I didn’t ask, and they didn’t tell me a whole lot besides the injuries I was working on, and plausible deniability was the only thing I could think of to do to protect myself from whatever was going on. But that’s what the context clues I was able to notice told me. I’m shit at Spanish, especially any and all other dialects out of Spain. And they were speaking so, so, so fast I couldn’t catch any of it because I was too busy trying to pull the fragments of the bullet out of his brother. But, deported was the one thing I was able to catch. And that was the only word I needed to know as to why he felt he needed to call me, not to save himself, to save his brother, someone clearly trying to share such a heavy load and burden with and I couldn’t…five generations! I couldn’t…they can’t…break.” Adora sobbed into her mother’s shoulder. The tears, the heartbreak, the determination- the story- to a degree, even the faces in her head all real. She simply put them as stand-ins in the setting. That’s the only detail she changed. The only thing that mattered, protecting the one thing she needed to protect.

Now, action.

“Apparently, who his brother fought, didn’t take kindly to losing and they ended up shooting his brother three times and stabbed him twice, I don’t know at what order what happened, but from the worst wound, it was a stab on top of a bullet wound, that knife only broke the fragments apart even more and made it so much harder! I almost lost him, more times than he should have ever had to endure. There was no way for him to wait to get traditional care, he would have died today if I hadn’t intervened! I’m proud of myself for going in anyway and when he called, I held up my end and answered, he called, I answered, he asked, I helped, just like I said I would. I did everything I could. I followed the DUSTOFF protocols, your protocols, down to the letter. I followed the procedures, step by step. I worked on the worst wound first and then worked from worst to least and I had my friend put collagen sponges on the 2nd and 3rd worse wounds to help stop the bleeding, I gave his brother everything in the bag for hemorrhaging to get and keep the blood volume up as much as I could.” Adora explained before she started shaking in real fear.

“But at the same time, what I’m more scared of is if Dad tracked me there and I don’t want him to come home and think I’m involved with whatever went down there before I got there. I was just there to help save a life, that’s it! But I don’t want Dad going after them either because they’re already in a compromised situation and I don’t want Dad making things worse for them or think that they pose any kind of threat to me, they don’t! But I pose the largest, greatest, most terrifying threat to them on account of Dad and him watching me like a hawk, especially from work. I saved a life, but I don’t want so many lives destroyed just because I helped someone who may not be…” Adora sobbed.

“Worthy.” Isabella breathed as Adora nodded as Isabella's heart broke even more. If anyone who Bella felt was worthy to help, they were worthy. Adora did not extend a helping hand easily or carelessly. She was always discerning, always watchful, always trying to see the real person, the real needs, but also the real wants, the real strings if they had any and how they tried to pull them. What games they would be playing or what methods of manipulation they used and if they were honest, honorable, loyal, trustworthy, but also if they were noble, because nobility of character had nothing to do with the blood in their veins, it had everything to do with their heart, their intentions, their spirit, their motives.

“I can’t… not after what Stella…” Adora sobbed harder as Isabella scrunched up her face at her eldest daughter’s nickname.

How that went down was wrong. And she could feel Stella pull away from everyone and turn much colder. Stella was still with them out of duty but also preservation, her own and who she too had saved and helped, and who she actually, genuinely loved. But she kept herself separate from him to keep him safe from the forces in the family that most couldn’t even comprehend the kind of power and influence they could pull, draw and apply as they wanted to and needed to- to protect the family as a whole, keep them safe, keep them taken care of where no one in the family gets left behind, unless they left first. With or without the family’s blessing as a whole. Stella pulled away and grew colder even towards Adora, when Adora was innocent and hadn’t done anything to deserve the distance or the coldness and Adora had tried to reach out and tried to scale the walls Stella had put up around herself to protect herself from everyone and everything, especially the rest of her family as a whole in general. Adora didn’t know or understand- the what or the how or the why, other than Stella was pulled away from someone after she saved them, because who she saved, her father and especially her grandfather and everyone else in… “their family” didn’t approve and didn’t think was worthy either, especially once it was clear she had fallen in love with him, even for as complicated and dangerous as he was, all on his own, but with Stella, it was clear she brought the best out of him, but still, it had to be Stella’s choice, especially when Stella was made to choose between who she saved and loved, but knowing that if she did, she was out. Out of the family, out of their protection, out of everything, her family’s love as a whole and her place among them included. And if anything happened to her, even if she called, even if she had innocent children she was trying to save, no one was going to answer. And if they did? They were out too. Because who she had saved and who she fell in love with posed a greater threat to her, her immediate family and the greater family as a whole by association because of who and what he was and who he was to everyone else outside of her and her immediate family. But neither Stella or who she loved were going to give up. Because Isabella had found a single loophole, a single lifeline between them and herself and her children. It was the only thing keeping Stella, her love and Isabella and her kids together and their own cell in their family, in their extended family.

But, right now they were actually looking forward to having Grandpa with them. And Adora did love and adore her grandfather and he loved and adored her twice as much. Had since her birth and especially after…

Isabella shuddered a sob as she tried to stay focused on Adora and what she was saying.

“But, there was so much blood, there was no way for me to make out if they had any gang tattoos or whatever and while I couldn’t catch what they were saying, how they were saying it didn’t sound like ‘We’ll get them back for this’ it was all fear! It was all ‘if the cops come, we’re fucked and our families are fucked’. They were scared, they were scared for this guy’s life but they were also so scared for themselves. So, I just got tunnel vision on the injuries, and keeping him alive was all that mattered to me and I at least tried to explain what I was doing either before or while I was doing it to have something akin to informed consent. And I made a list of what I used, I used a lot and I know it’s not cheap and I know it’s hard to get a lot of this stuff.” Adora insisted as she couldn’t help but start to shake even more as her mom softly shushed her to get her to calm down and to stop shaking.

Adora, rightfully, but heartbreakingly- being more fearful of her Dad’s reaction than whatever danger her daughter went into was a problem that needed to be fixed as Isabella started crying too. She was going to make sure her husband Lior would not react badly to this and Adora was not going to face any consequences over this either. She knew Lior could and would be overprotective sometimes, but even he needed limits and let their daughter slide on this. This was obviously a worst case scenario. Adora got the list out and put it into her mom’s hand behind her back as Isabelle took a quick glance at it, not caring how much it would cost to buy the replacements or who hard it could be either. Her daughter saved a life, she did something good, even at serious risk to herself, but also did it even when Lior posed a greater threat to them, just by connection and association.

“I know Honey. I know you’d never knowingly get mixed up in something or anything like that. Don’t worry about Dad ok? I’ll handle him. And trust me, I will see to it that Dad will understand and I’ll make sure he doesn’t discipline you for obviously doing the right thing. He may not be happy about where you did it, but that was clearly outside your control and you did the best you could with what you had and I’m so proud of you for taking everything you needed. I’ve needed to make you your own medical bag anyway and this is the perfect excuse to get you one and it’s going to be fitted out just like mine is and just like your Dad’s is. But you were so brave going in anyway, because you knew a life was on the line and you were the only one they knew they could turn to, that they could trust to help them but also trust your confidence too. They could trust that you knew what you were doing and that they could count on you to pull through and show up for them especially since you were the only one who could. They’ve both been your patients and while it wasn’t in a hospital, HIPPA still counts and patient confidentiality still counts too. And your dad respects plausible deniability just as much. And that’s just one more layer of protection for you.” Isabella soothed and comforted her daughter.

“Thank you. It just sucked because of course, after the gunshots, everyone else scattered so that by the time I got there, it was just him and his brother and a few other close friends who I didn’t know but I’m guessing were in the same circumstances he’s in? Most likely? But I did what I could to save his brother’s life and when I left, he was still alive and getting dragged to a friend’s car to get out of there before the police could come because, again, gunshots, of course that would get reported to the police. And thankfully I did what I could before they showed up and I got away before I could get caught or detained or questioned or anything and I passed the cops on the streets, after I pulled out of there and was far enough away, I hope they assumed I was with regular traffic. I have no idea if they got out or not and I did my best to not leave anything that could trace me there either, other than my GPS. I didn’t ask any questions that could be incriminating or whatever, neither did I get names or anything like that, I didn’t even get his brother’s name, the guy I was working on. I just needed to know what the injuries were, not names, not who did it, not what they were doing or why or whatever. It was stupid that I went into the situation blind, beyond knowing a GSW and stabbed. And it was stupid to practically run into a metaphorical fire without any other gear than your medic bag. But I asked him not to call me again for anything like that ever again because I didn’t want to be involved with whatever was going on there. Fixing him up at school is one thing, this was something completely different. While I’m proud of myself for choosing to help anyway. I’m not cool with ever doing anything like that again. And I already blocked his number and I feel bad doing that, but I don’t think either you or dad would be cool if I became a Florence Nightingale for an underground fight club or whatever. I know I’m not.” Adora explained, crying and being as truthful as she could be.

“Adora, I’m so proud of you! You did the right thing. I’m proud of you for going in there and doing what you could and I know that you know enough as far as procedure and protocols and I’ve seen you practicing stitches all the time and nothing forces you to know and use what you know like those kinds of situations. It doesn’t sound like you gave yourself a chance to panic until after you got home, obviously. I’m not mad or upset or anything. Being a good samaratan is never a bad thing or something you should ever be punished for. I’ll talk to your Dad and make sure he doesn’t go after who you were helping either, because if they’re undocumented or whatever, they shouldn’t be punished for needing that help either. And being in that location when you were can be explained away a thousand different ways. And I’m also proud of you for putting your boundaries down after the fact too. But I wouldn’t block his number or anything like that. You were obviously the only person he’s known that he can count on for something like that and obviously it was a huge favor that he can probably never repay.” Isabella soothed.

“No, he can’t. I don’t want him to even try either.” Adora offered as she shook her head as she nuzzled her face into the crux of her mom’s shoulder and neck as her mom petted her head and hair, soothing her more.

“Because you’re a good person with a good heart and you care in a world that doesn’t. It doesn’t sound like he was taking any kind of unfair advantage of you either. It was an honest and genuine emergency.” Isabella offered as Adora silently nodded her head before Isabella pulled away slightly to hold her daughter’s face in her hands and kissed her daughter’s tears away by peppering her face with kisses and repeating that she loved her and was proud of her between each one until Adora started to giggle before Isabella hugged her again, but tighter too before she felt her daughter relax and sag which was what most people did when they finished getting all of that kind of thing out.

“Here, you rest, you had a really big, rough day, I’ll finish dinner. Don’t worry about Dad ok? If he asks? I’ll answer with what you’ve told me, as the honest truth as it clearly is. And if he has any further questions? But not obviously entrapping or incriminating ones, I’ll help you answer or if you don’t know? Then you don’t know. And I’ll make sure that your ‘I don’t know’s’ are accepted, because you can’t give what you don’t have. Again, you didn’t ask, they didn’t tell and you can’t tell what you don’t know and he also knows that assumptions are dangerous because what you assume and what the truth is may be way off and it may not even be that bad, or even if it was worse? You didn’t know and your ignorance is another layer of protection too. Honestly I’m so relieved it wasn’t an active crime scene that could have been like a gang on gang thing or even a mafia thing because I think that area belongs to- I don’t know, I don’t keep up with any of that, but that is a thing in this area too. But a warehouse even on someone else’s turf is still fair game for stuff like that. But even if it was? You’re ok. You’re safe and in the clear. Because you came in and helped, not knowing and especially for not asking? It means you’re golden and if anything earned even more respect and trust. ” Isabella reassured her as Adora simply nodded and tried not to cry anymore.

“Did you tell them about what risk they took when they called you?” Isabella asked.

“I only alluded to it, I never told them any specifics or anything or even who or where or what it could be. But they seemed to pick up on it and seemed to believe me. When I was almost done, last three stitches on a wound I couldn’t get glued shut and we heard the sirens and tried to get the fuck out of there after I did the last three as fast as I could and cut the string before I told them ‘I could never do that again because I posed a greater risk to them than they and whatever they were into -to me.’ And at least I learned that lesson through Vera and not personally. But Dad could very well have used those same drones or satellites to track and hunt them too and I just don’t want him to. And I called Grandpa just in case, and I told him everything already. He agreed I did the right thing but he did remind me that I should probably look before I leap next time but he agrees that I should probably get my own medic bag that to him, I earned it and that if you weren’t pissed at me or disappointed in me for using such precious supplies for who I did, that if it was an active engagement, you’d be cheering me on so loud you’d grow wings.” Adora admitted as Isabella laughed through the last of her tears.

“Well, yeah Grandpa is probably the best person you could have told about this and if anything Grandpa will protect you like he always has and especially if he was proud, Dad will be too. I promise that I’m not pissed or disappointed. I’m just as proud of you right here right now. Because to me, it might as well have been an active engagement. And honestly, if they mess around, they will find out. All it takes is one move, one word from you to either Dad or especially to Grandpa since you are his favorite, always have been, always will be and he’d send troops, squadrons and a literal army for you. Otherwise, they’ll have the unit up their asses so far they’ll be puppets.” Isabella snorted a laugh and nodded as Adora nodded emphatically with big, wide eyes.

“At least you warned them. That warning, if they take it seriously, will protect them too. Because while you helped, you can unwittingly harm too and they can’t afford the risk you come with.” Isabella noted as Adora kept nodding emphatically.

“I just…I would rather they be protected by never being on the radar in the first place.” Adora answered.

“Ok, consider it done.” Isabella nodded.

“Baby Girl, you did so, so good. Don’t worry about this, I’ll take care of this. No biggie. And your dad never notices until we get down to three or less of anything. And we have like, six or seven of this stuff, I sincerely doubt he’d ever notice. Besides, I keep that inventory, not him.” Isabella reassured her.

Thankfully, Lior had been working, directing the unit deployed overseas anyway and hadn’t noticed but once Isabella told him as he was driving home, then he called Grandpa and Grandpa told him what he and Adora agreed he would tell him and he agreed with his wife and Grandpa that Adora had done the right thing and he would be praising her but would keep this under wraps and off the radar. Lior came home and just hugged Adora tight as she started crying again as he just held her and comforted her.

“Baby Girl, it’s ok, I promise it’s ok, everything is fine. You’re ok, I’m ok, everyone else is ok, that’s all that matters. You’re ok, you’re safe and sound and still in one piece, that’s an achievement trust me.” Lior soothed as Adora mumbled a ‘but…’ into his chest as his shoulders sagged.

“No buts Baby Girl. I’m so sorry that you have to worry more about me reacting than you did about going into something like that. Honey, I would never punish you for this or anything like this either. You did the right thing, you were called in an extreme emergency and you answered because you said you would. That’s what matters. You followed through and you are a young woman of your word, just like I’m a man of mine. I’m very impressed that you were able to do all of that and if he was still alive when you saw him last? Holy cow did you do great! I’m so proud of you too! And you got away too?! Epic, Baby Girl!” Lior praised his daughter as she stopped her sniffles and peeked up at him as he cupped her cheek in his palm and then kissed her forehead.

“You did good. I’m so proud. And if law enforcement or whatever try to attach you to any of that? I’ll take care of it. You had the choice to help or not to help and you made the right choice today. You chose to help, you chose to go in and help when everyone else was running away and honestly, you were perfect for something like this, and they made the right call in calling you in the first place, they really lucked out with you. Plus, you have patient confidentiality, HIPPA, plausible deniability, don’t ask- don’t tell and a squeaky clean record going for you too, you’re all kinds of covered and protected and we’re on your six ok? You have such a good heart and you temper that with a firm grip on reality and healthy boundaries and you don’t get taken for a fool or are naive to think that just because you’re a good person, doesn’t mean everyone else is. You do all of that to keep yourself safe. Plus, you’ve never given me any reason to worry or especially any reason to doubt you or not trust you and you’ve earned every bit of respect and trust and faith. I never have had a reason to worry about you. Plus, you’ve never betrayed any of it and you obviously aren’t gonna start now and I’m so proud of you for calling Grandpa in first, because you know he’d pick up and he’d listen and he’d always have your back because you didn’t know if either Mom or I would be in a position to drop everything to come and help, but Grandpa is. And that’s why he’s semi-retired. And I’m so proud of you for calling him before and especially after and telling him everything, down to the nitty gritty details, because you knew that even the smallest one might be important.” He praised.

“You have a good, level head on your shoulders and you were able to keep your cool through all of that and only gave yourself permission to panic after. Not before, not during, but after. That’s really extraordinary especially for you, especially for a girl your age and especially when this was your first big save. This totally counts as active engagement in my book. Totally brag worthy if you didn’t have to worry about them getting any heat off of it. You told the truth and didn’t try to downplay it or water it down either. You already told your mom and Grandpa everything that you knew and they told me what I needed to know, and honestly, I don’t need to know more than I already do about this. And I won’t be looking into it either. Because you’re obviously just trying to protect them from further harm too. It’s important to me to make sure I don’t threaten that. You want them off the radar? They’re off the radar and I’ll make sure no one, especially myself or even Grandpa or anyone else in the family will look into this or dig. Because you know that they have so much more at risk if we do. And we respect your own protection over them. That’s more than enough. Consider them protected. And if they ever need anything else or anything more, that’ll be your call to make. I trust you to make that call. Mom and I both do, as does Grandpa. This is your engagement. Only you decide where it goes from here or if it was a one and done, wham, bam, thank you mam? Great. If they’ll need help to protect them from ICE or whatever, or if they need resources or connections to make sure nothing like that is a threat to them? We’ll do all we can, once you give the go-ahead, if you think you need to. But a respectful distance, like you’ve asked, is honestly the best that you can do for them and that they can do for you.” He reassured her as he could feel her smile and smiled softly. He had been too harsh on Stella and even more on Vera, he couldn’t make the same mistakes with Adora. Adora deserved so much better than that. And he too was trying to find a way to make amends to help bring his family, as fractured as it had become, back together as much as he could.

“However I only have one question that your mom didn’t think to ask and Grandpa didn’t tell me.” He prompted as Adora simply looked to him to ask.

“Did you bring any of your guns?” He asked as she nodded.

“GSW, always assume that if there’s even one GSW that there’s a potential for more. But the threat was gone before I got there, so I kept my ankle ones on, and my concealed carry at my waist but left the bigger stuff in the trunk. Didn’t fire any of them though.” Adora answered.

“Oh Good Girl! That’s my Girl! My perfect Beautiful Bella Baby Girl!” Lior cheered in relief before he hugged her again and kissed the crown of her head and then all over her face in fatherly affection that made her giggle which made him giggle.

“I did my best to make sure I didn’t leave anything that could ever be traced back to me at the scene, but they still left with the IV bags, the Beefy and the Grape Juice, the latter might be a problem if they didn’t make it in time though and got caught by the cops. But I wore gloves, no fingerprints. And I wore my gloves until I got home and disposed of them here and then made sure to use hydrogen peroxide on everything to neutralize the blood and then wiped the car down and stuff. Just to make sure I didn’t bring any of that home with me. Mom told me not to block the number but I erased the contact and then all the data to make sure it wouldn’t show on my phone at least and Mom took care of the GPS data too, to make it look like I never left home.” Adora insisted.

“Oh, you are so, so, so smart! Covering your tracks destroying any trace that you were there. Even if they did get caught, and even if they talked and named you? Again, we have more than enough to prove assumed innocence. Like mom said, you helped him at school a couple times, and you’re right, that’s one thing and this is something completely different. And if they think they can use you to save themselves? They got another thing coming to them. But again, you didn’t ask, they didn’t tell, and they can use that just as well. They didn’t ask you and you didn’t tell- either. Otherwise, we won’t know until we know. And if he’s not in school tomorrow, or the next few days, it might be safe to assume something happened. But if he’s at school tomorrow, I think it would be safe to assume they made it. Just wait and see. And if I don’t go sniffing around, then no one will assume that there’s something to sniff out either.” Lior reassured her as she nodded.

“And I’m super proud of you for putting down boundaries and sticking to your guns, well, obviously not literally.” Lior praised.

“Thank you for giving me them in the first place.” Adora thanked her Dad.

“Oh Sweetie, of course, let’s go eat dinner.” Lior encouraged as he hugged Adora into his side and walked into the dining room with her as her mom was setting the food on the table.

The next morning, Manny met her at her car.

“Did Chez call you?” Manny asked.

“Chez? Don’t you mean Chaz?” Adora asked, perfectly playing the confused ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about, are you crazy?’ role, like she usually did, to utter and complete perfection.

“No, Chez, as in Cesario Vitale.” Manny clarified.

“As in like that…that Cesario who just pulled into the parking lot and has been driving his new BMW as a birthday present? How could he ever call me? I’ve never given him my number and he’s never asked for it or anything else like that either and vice versa. He’s never even talked to me outside of class. I wouldn’t be a blip on that snob’s radar if I didn’t grade his math homework in class. I piss him off for getting on him about not showing his work. Like, that makes absolutely zero sense. Why would he call me? And for what? I wouldn’t even know how he would ever get my number either from anyone else either. Unless it’s one of those prank date things. In which case, I’d beat his ass, his daddy would probably sue, but it’d be worth it.” Adora asked as she got out of her car and put her backpack on.

“Ha, well, you see…he, he called me yesterday, he got hurt and needed to get patched up like you’ve patched me up. So I gave him your number.” Manny excused.

“Oh, well he may have called but I don’t answer numbers I don’t know and I never got a voicemail. What time would he have called me?” Adora asked.

“Sometime after school?” Manny offered as Adora showed him her phone screen and the call logs and Manny blew out a breath of relief when he didn’t see Cesario’s number on her phone. He must have fudged the numbers and Manny had already blocked Cesario’s number on his phone.

“Yeah, he never called you, don’t worry about it. Obviously he’s fine, cry baby.” Manny rolled his eyes as Adora snorted and nodded and put her phone away.

“Well he doesn’t look bruised and beat to hell, at least from here. I’ll see if he limps though or if he’s in that long sleeved turtle neck for any reason other than he’s cold.” Adora shrugged.

“Nah, it’s nothing, no need to worry about it, you don’t owe him shit and neither do I. He didn’t call, he didn’t ask so you didn’t answer or give. Besides, he's probably one of those ‘I look so dark and mysterious but I’ll use and abuse you’ types.” Manny offered.

“Eh, I don’t care. It’s not my problem. Like you said, he didn’t call, he didn’t ask, so I never got the chance to say yay or nay to whatever it could have been, still don’t owe that preppy snob jack shit. Plus, isn’t his family like, super loaded? Why would he call me to patch him up? Why wouldn’t he just go to a hospital or whatever? If his parents bought him that BMW, they can obviously afford health insurance. Who knows? Maybe they own a health insurance company or a hospital or something. Plus, I don’t need to get sued for malpractice just trying to do that whole good samaritan thing. I know you have genuine need, there’s no way he does.” Adora waived off.

“You’re right. He may have just called me to say that, but it was probably just trying to hook up with you or something.” Manny shrugged before Adora gagged sarcastically which made Manny laugh.

“Oh God bless you Adora, you’re the best. I’ll catch you later.” Manny offered before he jogged after his friends before Adora simply paused and looked over her shoulder to see Cesario slowly get out of his car and gingerly get his own backpack on. Fuck. She hadn’t known he was hurt too before she turned and went up to him.

“I should have asked if you were hurt too.” Adora murmured.

“It’s nothing compared to…” Cesario tried to shrug off.

“Did he make it?” Adora asked as Cesario could still see worry even as conflicted as she still was.

“Thanks to you.” He nodded.

“Good.” Adora nodded as she blew out a breath of relief.

“Did you guys make it out in time?” Adora asked next.

“Yeah, by the skin of our teeth. Did you?” Cesario asked.

“Yeah, I was already in traffic when I passed them.” Adora nodded.

“Oh good.” Cesario blew out a breath of relief which made Adora give a small grin. Aww, he cared.

“Did your parents or whoever come down on you?” Cesario asked next.

“No. My dad was…on duty. He didn’t notice. My mom did though, but she’s cool, proud of me actually. Told her that it was an underground fight club and that your brother won the match and who he beat didn’t take kindly to losing to him and stabbed him and shot him in retaliation, or at least, that’s what the “context clues” told me because, again, I didn’t ask, no one told. Plus, gun shots make people scatter and also call the police. I also may have told her that the reason you called me was because your parents and or grandparents were undocumented and didn’t have health insurance and that you were speaking a dialect of Spanish or something that I don’t know and that the only word I caught was ‘deported’ and that I noticed a few weeks ago and then a few days ago where you came to school beat to hell and I used the first aid kit in my car because the school nurse doesn’t do shit and that ‘beat up’ was self explanatory, I just had no idea about the fight club until yesterday. And, again, all that I had to go on was context clues and that I didn’t ask and no one told me besides what injuries he had and that I never even got your brother’s name or the names of anyone else, who I could only assume were also in the same circumstances. Also, plausible deniability and HIPAA and patient confidentiality are things she absolutely believes in. Bought it hook line and sinker and then proceeded to sell it to my dad for me, and he never got on my case for any of it- once he did come home. His only question to me was if I brought my gun and if I fired it so he’d have to go and destroy evidence and erase my presence, even in any evidence, which again, he’s done that a few times before then too for..way too many people. And all it takes is a single phone call and things disappear, but usually that phone call means that the people who caused those things to be in existence in the first place disappear too. And I’m just relieved he’s never had to do that with me, yet. And I’d like it to stay that way too. Which is why the deported story needed to land and stick. And with that excuse, it meant they won’t go sniffing and if they don’t go sniffing, it means that there was nothing to sniff out in the first place. Which is much more important to me, besides saving your brother’s life.” She explained as Cesario nodded and breathed a big breath of relief.

“Plus, considering the circumstances, I take it you needed someone who- 1- knew what the fuck they were doing. 2- wouldn’t ask questions they don’t need answers to and 3. Was trustworthy enough to know that patient confidentiality means that anything that I saw and heard was between me and you and no one else has any right to know or put their nose where it doesn’t belong. And 4- Don’t ask, don’t tell, saves lives. And your brother’s life needed saving and that’s exactly what needed to happen and the only thing I cared about, which was why I did it in the first place. But I hope you can understand why I can’t ever do that again. I got them off your trail this time, I most likely won’t be able to next time, if there ever is a next time.” Adora prompted as Cesario nodded in confirmation.

“Yeah, I figured as much. Plus my mom had plenty of supplies at home to restock when I got home. And my dad never does the inventory, she does. So she’s covering me on that front too.” Adora informed him as Cesario grinned and nodded. Oh she was so much smarter than she let on and if she didn’t have something he still couldn’t grasp was a bigger threat than anything else he knew of, she’d be perfect girlfriend material, wife material, whatever he could manage to get.

“Perfect cover story and you’re right, those things were factors into why I called, small factors but factors nonetheless. I’m glad you could restock her bag though. Because I was gonna try to see if I could get you- your own medic bag like hers, not as a favor, but, just as thanks. Bare minimum replace those supplies that you used.” Cesario praised which made Adora grin. That tracked.

“Unless you have military connections, you’re not gonna get half of it and the other half you’d have to go to a hospital known for treating patients who don’t do blood transfusions for religious and or medical reasons. They’re the reason that a whole bunch of substitutions and synthetics got created and came into existence in the first place and new tools and machines and techniques for surgery got to be created and exist now too. And now, it’s not just them that need it or want it, whenever it’s offered, it’s usually taken, no matter if you’re religious or not. Necessity is the mother of invention. We call it Grape Juice or just Grape. And because of all of that, it all makes regular and traditional transfusions the riskier option. And then the military found out that they’re much more stable and are worth the investment and they’re shelf stable at that and last much longer too, it’s saved a lot of soldiers on the field. The key isn’t the concentration of blood, it’s the volume. That’s why I gave him what I did. I was trying to slow down his heart to keep his heart from pumping it out faster than I could plug it in while making sure nothing collapsed, but I couldn’t give him any tranquilizers cause that would slow down his heart and kill him faster than his hemorrhaging was trying to.” Adora explained.

“But, too bad I was a nervous wreck when my mom came home though. Still working on the poker face- especially when I don’t have one, kind of a problem. Part of being an EMT is not to freak out and tell the patient who is clearly dying, that they’re dying, as they’re dying. Got the dark humor down, though.” Adora offered with a huff like hum as Cesario simply looked at her and now that he was looking closer and taking the time to really keep her as his sole focus, just being this much closer to his crush, he had never realized just how much more beautiful Adora was this close or now that he was looking at her, he was pretty sure nothing outside of her existed. He was so foolish for never realizing what a total badass she was, or clearly something so wonderful and precious that had a heart of gold that was more concerned about him and his family and recognized the situation and the risks and did it anyway because his brother’s life was on the line. And chose to do it anyway. His respect for her was so high it was practically butting its way into heaven at this point;

“But hey, he lived, that’s all that matters and I don’t regret doing it. I just wish…” Adora paused as she searched for the right words.

“That it wasn’t a family business. Even though we’ve been doing our best to get out of it for years now, yesterday was our attempt to get out of the worst of it, obviously we failed.” Cesario supplied regretfully as she looked back up at him as it was like they had an entire conversation with just their eye contact and meaningful looks and suddenly saw each other as each of them truly was, and it was like no one had ever looked and seen them like this before. His expression was begrudging acceptance, as hers was sympathy, because it was clear that he was just as trapped as she was, just as conflicted, just as complicated, but on opposite sides of the same coin. It wasn’t fair that they were both so young but had to deal with forces outside of their control that heavily impacted their lives and were things that they would always have to deal with, well, unless she turned 18 and got out from under all of that. And he could always try to get out too. For her? He’d try, if she would ever like him back and want to try either.

“Yeah. That’s why I don’t want you or your brother or anyone else in your family to think that it’s a favor I ever need or want to be paid back for. I didn’t mind helping yesterday. I’m glad I did actually. But I can’t be a Florence Nightingale either or always or ever be on the hook for that kind of thing either going forward. I understand your need for anonymity, and secrecy. That’s how that kind of family business survives. Hell, it’s how my family survives, in sadly, a very parallel way. Nothing is black and white, everything is a shade of grey and honestly, if anyone in my family were to even try to judge, they’d be hypocrites. That’s why I don’t judge you or your brother or your family or whoever. At least your family gets to be known as a deterrent, mine is only known as a lethal consequence. But then get to be phantoms before and then phantoms after. That’s why because of who I’m connected to, it’s way too dangerous for you and yours. We got lucky. I got lucky especially, but I’m never lucky twice.” Adora offered before her eyes got glassy.

“What happened?” Cesario asked so softly and Adora somehow sensed that of all the people she could tell, he was probably one of the few who could keep that kind of confidence.

“Suicide… my cousin’s, he was older than me but he watched me like he was one of my older brothers too. I only saw the one wrist that I was trying to wrap a towel around. I didn’t see his other wrist until after. The water looked like red paint and his other wrist was in his lap so I couldn’t see through the water, too opaque. My aunt was out of town and his dad was on mission with mine, my mom was in the helicopter, delivering another patient. I was the only one there. I wasn’t even supposed to be there. I wanted to have him come over and help me make cookies or something. and I slipped into his house across the street, cause I saw his car and assumed he was at home because my older siblings had their after school stuff and I didn’t, that’s why he would watch me. But he was the youngest in his family too so I was the little sister he got to have. I used his cell phone to call everyone I could think of. I called Grandpa first, but he didn’t answer, but my mom did, because she knew he wouldn’t call unless it was something serious. Between my sobs she told me to wrap the towel around his arm as hard and as tight as I could and to keep talking to him to keep him awake until she could get there. She barely touched down and all but kicked the patient off the copter and flew straight there, landed in the front yard. He was already gone before my mom ever got back into the air to come. It’s why we we’ve moved the greater “family” in a sense so much. And it feels like when something happens to any of us… “kids” we move again. And it’s why we’re here now. And I didn’t want yesterday to be why we all have to move again.” Adora tried to explain.

“I talk about my Grandpa, and he isn’t, by blood my grandpa, neither was Steven technically my cousin either my adopted Grandpa was actually Steven’s literal, by blood grandson and because Steven saw me as his little sister that meant Grandpa saw me as his granddaughter, before and especially since. But “our family” is a large, extended family no matter what. Especially in the sense that the blood of the oath is always thicker than the water of the womb, that’s for sure. But because of Steven treating me like I was his little sister and doing what I did, that’s why I’m Grandpa’s favorite and in his mind and heart, only granddaughter at that. And it’s why he’s in my phone as The Greatest Grandpa Ever.” Adora revealed as Cesario simply nodded. Another nail in the proverbial coffin.

“We moved here to both keep us close and also to get away from…everything else. All of our “parents” did that to make sure none of them are ever more than 20 minutes from our collective home and it's why they all watch the rest of us like hawks. But instead of cages, it’s tethers, it’s collars and leashes. And it’s why all of my older siblings left as soon as they turned 18, and why all of my cousins do the same. Because they can’t handle that kind of overbearing or the intrusions into their privacy, or the leash or the fucking choke collar. Doesn’t stop any of the parents or especially Grandpa from tracking them all via satellite and drones though. Just “checking in”. And my younger siblings and younger cousins think that it’s normal because they don’t remember when it wasn’t like it is now. But that’s what makes me near nuclear, at least for you and yours. Cause you can’t afford the kind of fall out and exposure that comes with me.” Adora explained, knowing she should keep her distance but couldn’t fight the magnetism that got stronger the closer she got to him either as she tried to dismiss it as traumabonding or something. It was a- ‘one and done and walk away like it never happened’, kind of thing and she didn’t understand why she was telling him so much. Or telling him the most important parts of who, where, when and why, and especially the how.

“I know about the nuclear thing. My older brothers looked into you, found out about your dad and your whole extended family then ordered me to stay away from you and never talk to you again.” Cesario offered, biting his tongue to keep himself from mentioning ‘Stella’, because he couldn’t risk her having a bad reaction to that.

“And yet we’re talking?” Adora smiled and tried not to laugh.

“Hey, you came up to me, practically cornered me.” Cesario put his hands up in surrender that made them both laugh.

“Oh I know, practically holding you at knife point here.” Adora teased.

“Uranium.” Cesario teased back because her smile was so beautiful and her laugh was quickly becoming one of his favorite sounds and he had no idea her eyes could ever be so green in the morning sun as a fantasy of waking up next to her seemed to bloom in his head. Oh he should have gotten over his own introverted nature and asked her out long before yesterday, should have asked her out the moment he saw her and instantly had a crush on her.

“Uranium, right. If you haven’t deleted my number yet, you should save me under the name Uranium. Totally fits.” Adora encouraged sarcastically.

“There.” Cesario offered after he pulled out his phone and did just that before he showed her his phone screen. Adora giggled and did the same, having memorized his phone number the previous day anyway.

“There, now we’re both nuclear.” Adora beamed and Cesario couldn’t resist anymore.

“If I were to ever call you, obviously for not, what I did yesterday, and not for any…family thing, just, just me, would you answer?” He asked, damning his own nervous stammer.

“I would, I’d like that, especially if I could do the same, no…nothing to do with family. Besides, I otherwise only know you from school, and I’ve never seen anything to make me think you’re not like everyone else, like I’m supposed to try and pretend to be too. it would be nice to have someone neither of us would have to mask in front of.” Adora nodded.

“I agree, that would be…so nice. And perfect and the biggest relief honestly.” Cesario offered as they both seemed to nod in unison.

“Likewise. You’re just Cesario, I’m just Adora, that’s all that matters and all we really need to know about each other, or care to ever remember. And anything beyond that is total and complete coincidence. Like names especially. How many Smith’s are there that have never been or never would be related? Plus, we could always speak in generalizations, nothing specific. And if we never ask or answer direct, uncomfortable personal questions, neither of us would really know for sure, and it’s unwise to assume anything you don’t know.” Adora suggested.

“Perfect.” Cesario smiled happily. Oh he was so gone, he was so hers. He was over the moon, passed the stars falling as hard as the nukes they both seemed to be for each other. He didn’t care, blaze of glory, elope, happily ever after, wouldn’t matter, them together for however long they could manage was always going to be worth it.

“Where did you get my number from anyway?” Adora asked. Seeing if he’d fess up too.

“From Manny.” He answered as he nodded over to the guy who was just now, walking into school, with his other friends since he had actively ignored beyond talking to Adora about Cesario.

“Ah, the one who actually does fit the description I gave to my mom. Nice. I know I shouldn’t ask about the favor thing. I just hope whatever he asked for wasn’t that expensive or hard.” Adora offered.

“Nope, it was more of a threat.” Cesario admitted under his breath as he pretended to cough which made Adora snort a laugh but also shake her head and roll her eyes too.

“Yeah, then he gets at least a freebie or two from me then to make it fair to him.” Adora aloofly informed him which made Cesario frown which only made her giggle again.

“Hey, Manny is a good guy, he didn’t deserve you threatening him over anything I already mentioned. He would have told you if you just asked and explained that you were in a pinch and needed my help, no threats needed.” Adora argued.

“Actually I did, because I tried that first and he tossed back that I’m rich and practically own a hospital, and didn’t need to and I quote- “encroach on his favorite medical outlet”.” Cesario revealed as Adora seemed blindsided by that before her eyes narrowed just a little as Cesario seemed to see the same thing move from behind her eyes. Obviously not towards him, but for him. Something he had never seen anyone but his own family do for him. She cared. She didn’t need to or should, but she did. And it warmed his heart and it gave him hope.

“Wait, what? His favorite medical outlet? Not his friend to turn to in times of need, his favorite outlet? Like I’m a shopping mall, outlet? And his favorite, as in he has several? Am I hearing this right? Is that the word he really used?” Adora repeated, her face now showing her offence at that.

“Yeah, outlet, that he needed to guard and keep for himself and only himself, like you were a precious resource he was very jealously guarding. He tried to give me the names of his other ones and what their prices were, but wouldn’t give me yours until I made him choose himself over you.” Cesario explained.

“Oh fuck him. He makes himself the most poor, pathetic, needy…” Adora growled as she turned and stared daggers at Manny’s back but turned around to face Cesario once a chill ran down his spine as Adora tried to take a cleansing breath as she tried to rein in that predator back behind her eyes who now seemed eager to go out on the hunt.

“You know what? It doesn’t matter. It’s none of my business, that’s between you and him. But that being said, I kinda want to know who the others he listed off were, because here I thought he was so needy he had no way of paying me for any of it, other than the goodness of my own heart. No wonder he… I don’t care how much that list would be, I would really like to buy it solely for the purpose so that the next time he asks, I can throw those in his face after I tell him to fuck off. Leo almost died. Him getting a busted lip is nothing he can’t fix himself. Especially if he has so many other “outlets” for medical care.” Adora admitted.

“There. Don’t you dare think you owe me or anyone else, anything for it.” Cesario offered as he texted her that information.

“Thank you. Same thing for Leo. Neither you, nor him or anyone else owes me for anything, other than not asking me to do it again for them. For you though? For you, yes.” Adora thanked him as Cesario was about to ask why she made an exception for him.

“Do you know where he fights?” Adora asked.

“Yes I do, that's what I threatened him with, getting raided at his next fight on Friday night.” Cesario nodded.

“I wouldn’t say no to getting that either. Because if my dad or anyone else ever gets curious, or if I would ever have any cause or reason, I wouldn’t mind giving him or anyone else in my extended family who would go hunting- a target. Especially one who sees me as an outlet and not a person who needed to be targeted for usury." Adora offered.

“Oh twist my arm.” Cesario teased as he texted her that too.

“Well since you’re being so generous, here.” Adora grinned mischievously before she pressed send.

“Who’s this?” Cesario asked.

“My favorite fixer, who can sell all kinds of things for the right price. Info, ammo, things that use that ammo, whatever. He’s one hell of a fixer. However, you need to buy in just to have an account, and then after that, you buy whatever you want or need. But- you do not haggle or negotiate with him. The price he gives is the price you pay, period. Otherwise, you run the risk of him turning you and burning you. And it's this much, but once you meet him, you tell him that ‘Vera Very Violent’ sent you to him, because if you give him my name, he absolutely- will alert all the wrong people.” Adora answered as she texted him the price.

“Otherwise, that reminds me I need to make an order from him. I’m low on Grape Juice, Jello, oh what was that third thing…fuel…no, not jet fuel…not blue fuel, red fuel, fool fuel…” Adora tried to jog her memory as she started snapping her fingers as she made a rolling motion.

“Game fuel?” Cesario suggested.

“Oh, ooh, I need that too, but I needed the other kind of fuel.” Adora quickly added that to her list.

“Food as fuel?” Cesario was at a loss.

“Oh! Now I remember, dream fuel and nightmare fuel, cause I’m all out.” Adora noted as she sent him a quick text.

“Count me terrified for what that nightmare fuel could possibly be. I’m just gonna pretend I didn’t just hear the epic badass that you are- utter something that makes me want to shit a brick and piss myself.” Cesario seemed to take breath and look up and away as if he had gotten sucker punched which caused Adora to snicker a laugh.

“There’s no need for you to worry. I would never use it on you. Dream fuel? Yes. Nightmare fuel? Never. That stuff is inhumane. It’s a last resort, last recourse, scorched earth, poison the wells levels of..fucked up.3 The particular kind that I just asked for is just a little something that I may have used on someone who was being a thorn in everyone’s side, mine the most because he was a bully and because he had a high ranking dad and felt he was untouchable, and that tyranny needed to stop, that may have been just a little too strong, because it sent him into a psychiatric facility. Where he's still there to this day. Obviously, you didn’t hear that from me.” Adora offered which got Cesario to giggle.

“Girl, if you don’t stop being the most perfect secret weapon, I may just keep you come what may.” Cesario playfully threatened.

“Oh don’t tempt me beyond what I can bear. And don’t threaten me with a good time either.” Adora insisted before Cesario just went for it and reached out, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her as Adora made something of a whimper, hum, keen, moan, something that made Cesario grin into the kiss before Adora opened her mouth and deepened the kiss. And before they knew it, their backpacks were on the ground in the parking lot and Cesario had pressed her up against the side of his car because this kiss felt magnetic, electric, addictive, like he hadn’t been living or breathing before kissing her.

And Adora had no idea how she had jumped up into his arms, or wrapped her legs around his waist while hand kept her there as he pressed her up against his car, or that his hand that was now holding the back of her head, keeping her mouth on his, threading his fingers into her hair could hold such reverence and desire at the same time. Or that being in his arms, for as dangerous as it was, could feel safer than she had ever felt before.

“Wait, aren’t you hurt?” She asked as she recalled.

“I’ll live.” Cesario tried to say as he seemed to struggle before she gingerly got out of his hold and had him put her down.

“Come on, I’ll patch you up.” She offered as she picked up her backpack and his and walked to her car and popped the trunk where a rather large medical kit was in the trunk before she had him sit on a special stool she pulled out from her trunk before she patched him up the way she should have yesterday as she took three bottles of water and put in three different packets of powder and shook the bottles up, one turning blue, the other turning red, the last turning purple.

“What is that?” He asked.

“Project Recovery.” She answered.

“Take these with this and chug.” She urged him as she had been putting together a little cup full of meds.

“The blue tries to taste like blue raspberry, but it tastes like blue balls.” Adora commented as Cesario tried not to choke on it or snort it through his nose and actually did end up having to hold his nose to get it down.

“Now take these, this tries to taste like Red Punch and it tastes closer to a bloody mary.” She offered next as Cesario did the same, and drank it down and started sweating when it felt like he was almost drinking hot sauce.

“And last but not least, Grape, this one actually tastes like concord grape juice and it’s the nicest of the three.” She offered next as he just swallowed the pills and this one, he chugged enthusiastically.

“There, you’ll be ok.” Adora offered before he pulled her into his lap as she readily got back into it before he kissed her again as she melted into him and kissed him back just as enthusiastically.

“I should have done that the first day I met you.” He admitted.

“No time like the present. Besides, I have a feeling we’re just getting started.” She smiled back.

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