#h4thaway

[gobagx]

"i told myself i wouldn’t cry and now look at me—i'm soggy."

his  hand  extends  with  a  tissue.  ❬  actually,  in  actuality,  it's  a  baskin  robbins  napkin,  but  its  all  he's  got  in  his  pocket  after  a  shift  for  the  record  books,  and  anyway,  it  counts  the  same  in  the  eyes  of  the  good  deed  gods,  right?  ❭  jack  gently  wipes  away  carol's  tears,  sitting  on  the  floor  of  the  out  of  service  elevator  with  the  charge  nurse.  it's  a  great  hiding  place,  when  you  need  to  cry  it  out,  but  this  night,  the  night  the  generators  went  down  at  county  and  all  they  could  do  was  manually  bag  life  support  patients,  is  coincidentally  the  night  jack's  asked  carol  to  marry  him  on  that  elevator  floor.  sparkles  off  the  ring  just  barely  dance  in  the  illumination  from  the  flood  lights,  as  he  holds  it  out  to  the  woman  beside  him,  knee  against  knee.  ❝  soggy  looks  good  on  you.  my  name  would  look  even  better  on  ya,  though.  whatddya  say,  carol?  say  yes.  ❞

[robinav1tch-arch]

@h4thaway | contd from (x)

carol can always be counted upon for her precision– whether in her actions or her observations. robby can't help but laugh when he's caught. "can't it be a little bit of both?" and it is, really. it may be true that he's taking advantage of the miraculously manageable pace today, but it's also important to him to work alongside his nurses when he can. god knows it's a particularly thankless job, and he's found that jumping in on the less glamorous tasks can go a long way. it's perhaps what he admired most about how adamson taught– an emphasis on respect. he thumbs a key out from his pocket and sets to work ripping through the packing tape. it's quiet for a moment, save for the rustle of packaging. "so," he starts, "how've you been doing?"

[gobagx]

“Mind if I walk with you?”

there's  but  a  hum  from  her  husband  in  reply.  but  carol  linking  arms  and  declaring  she's  his  walk  buddy  now  isn't  unwelcome.  ❝  you  come  in  with  one  little  bullet  graze,  ❞  jack  will  maintain  that  it's  a  graze  and  not  a  wound  and  she's  got  no  reason  to  overreact.  ❝  suddenly  your  wife  wants  to  stick  by  your  side.  babysit  ya.  ❞  in  carol's  defense,  jack'd  come  in  covered  in  blood  and  sweat,  helmet  hair  of  curls.  and  she'd  had  to  patch  up  that  graze.  ❝  i'm  walkin'  just  fine,  care.  see?  ❞  he  sticks  out  a  leg,  the  bionic  one,  and  declares  that  it  hardly  even  hurts.  jack  peeks  at  the  tablet  in  her  hands.  he'll  stick  with  her  to  see  her  next  patient,  though!  he  definitely  doesn't  need  a  moment  to  sit  and  rest!  nope,  not  jack. 

[gobagx]

❝ It’s nothing, I just . . . I’m glad you’re here. ❞

❝  carol.  i'll  always  come  when  you  call,  ❞  even  if  the  call  is  blubbery  and  soggy.  jack  sits  beside  carol  on  her  little  loveseat,  folds  her  into  his  arms,  nuzzles  down  into  her  hair.  he's  quiet  for  a  while,  which  is  a  rarity.  there's  a  faint  glow  of  the  tv  set  across  the  room  and  the  noise  is  low.  jack  is  purposeful  with  steadying  breaths.  like  a  human  weighted  blanket.  fingers  find  her  wrist,  measure  the  hammers  of  her  heart  internally,  and,  when  he's  done,  kiss  the  pale  skin  found  there.  the  redheaded  man  only,  at  first,  wants  to  wipe  carol's  tears  and  get  her  calmed  down.  at  the  first  sign  that's  happened,  though,  curiosity  takes  hold.  ❝  you  ready  to  tell  me  what's  wrong?  whatever  it  is,  i'm  here.  ❞

[gobagx]

'WAS THIS A MISTAKE ??'

❝  if  it  was,  ❞  he  begins  with  an  eagerness  to  his  step,  his  voice,  ❝  i  don't  wanna  make  right  choices.  ❞  he  is  rushing  about  carol's  bedroom,  the  morning  after  their  very  first  hookup.  back  then,  jack  had  red  hair,  a  jaunt  in  his  two  !!!!!  feet,  and  a  big  fat  crush  he  managed  to  cash  in.  carol's  mother  is  downstairs  and  jack  can  hear  the  clanging  of  pots  and  pans.  helen's  probably  making  breakfast.  jack  looks  between  carol  and  the  window  that  lords  over  her  snowy  front  walk,  back  and  forth,  several  times.  ❝  oh  you  owe  me  huge.  ❞  he  leans  in,  snickering,  pushing  black  curls  from  her  face.  ❝  so  huge.  you  gotta  kiss  me  with  morning  breath  if  i'm  going  out  this  window,  ❞  second  year  resident  doctor  abbot  tells  nurse  hathaway,  with  a  bundle  of  his  clothes  from  the  night  prior  hugged  to  his  chest  and  the  cold  january  air  blowing  in  from  the  ajar  window. 

[gobagx]

“Was that your doing back there?”

❝  i  dunno  what  you're  talking  about,  ❞  he  shrugs  and  feigns  innocence,  which…  jack  is  most  certainly  not.  innocent.  he  is  100%  absolutely  to  blame  for  what's  back  there,  which  is  yet  another  betting  pool,  pinned  up  on  the  bulletin  board  in  the  staff  lounge.  ❝  i'm  just  doing  my  job.  promoting  healthy  camaraderie  is  a  part  of  that  job,  carol.  ❞  jack  snakes  his  arm  around  the  waist  of  his  wife,  charge  nurse  in  charge  of  all  the  world  ❬  or,  at  least,  the  pitt  on  overnights.  which,  to  jack,  is  the  whole  world  ❭  and  just  flashes  carol  a  totally  genial  grin,  dimple  and  all.  ❝  you  can't  be  mad  at  me.  look  how  cute  i  am.  ━and  you  know  you  want  in.  i'm  giving  you  a  discounted  buy  in  because  you're  my  favorite  person.  ❞

[storybookodysseyhasmoved]

dana’s underutilised muse roulette starter call!! (open) @h4thaway - carol & rebecca

she's familiar with new york. she knows los angeles. now chicago's a new mystery for becky to unfold. it's the type of event she expects that her mother-in-law would attend in new york. charity. ballgowns. cheque books. from what she recalls luke telling her (she'd been more focused on selecting the right dress for the event) it's a carter foundation soiree. she just loves the word soiree. it's not used enough. the next time she holds a party, she's going to call it a soiree.

luke's slipped away to speak to someone. becky can just see him out of the corner of her eye. she thinks they're the carters he told her about. they're younger than she expected, but the female carter's dress... is that vintage? becky's attention is pulled from luke and the carters by someone else passing her. she'd seen her earlier and becky's stepping forward before she can stop herself. she simply must ask. "hi. i have to say that i love your dress. can i ask where you found it?"

[prettytragcdies]

why  didn't  you  tell  me? ( @ kate! )

@h4thaway

"I don't know," Kate shrugged, feigning ignorance for a split second while resisting the urge to roll her eyes at Carol's question. "Admitting to a crush isn't exactly the kind of conversation a girl wants to have with her own mother of all people. Besides, it was just a silly, schoolgirl thing anyway. It's not like I actually thought we were gonna go somewhere or anything."

Yeah, she definitely wasn't looking to become Kate Taggart one day, and the very last thing anyone needed was for Carol and Sam to actually entertain the idea that their daughter and son respectively made a cute couple or anything like that. In the long run, it was probably for the best that he was about five to six years her senior.