100 Missions.
Well now, monkey beans and fish sticks, here is Wheatley's (aka Smorgesborg) chapter. Hope you like it, bud!
Next chapter will have the next installment of Baby.
48th Objective: Thirty Years.
There was a fine breeze the day of the reunion. The former Demoman waited patiently at the door of his mansion, searching the horizon for an oncoming taxi. It had been a long, LONG time since he'd run around with a grenade launcher and these days, he'd swapped the launcher for gardening tools; his garden was a thing of beauty and he was rightfully proud of the water feature that was the centrepiece amongst the rainbow of flowers and sprigs of leaves. Another thing he felt proud of was the phone calls he made out of loneliness to his former team mates. Now they could have a get together that would be enjoyable and nostalgic, with his curiosity being satisfied by his former friends telling him what they'd been up to in the last thirty years. For a moment, he could almost hear his mother nagging at him to stand up straighter, despite her being blind.
The oncoming noise of a taxi drew him out of his thoughts and he lit up at the sight of Engineer and Soldier (Dell and…actually he still didn't know his name) sitting together in the back.
"Haha! Welcome to Degroot Manor!" he cheered and the two men nodded as they stepped out of the car.
"Ah haven't seen you for a long time, Tavish! Lookin' good!" Dell called out politely, Soldier helping him take his cane out from the seat. Lugging around heavy machinery had taken a toll on his back.
"It's been far too long, laddie!" Tavish agreed and Soldier gave a faint smile, punching Tavish's arm affectionately like he used to when they were working.
"It's good to see you again, old friend." He rasped. Years of shouting had done a number on his vocal chords and it was a relief in a way to know that he wouldn't be yelling at everyone during the get together today.
As they were standing and chatting outside, another taxi pulled up, bringing with it Scout and his young wife, Diana. Spy seemed to have come along for the ride too because he looked squashed in the corner, thanks to Diana's pregnancy.
"Aw man, it's been so long, eh fellas?" Scout crowed as he jumped out of the taxi, extending an arm to help Diana. Spy stretched as he clambered out too, still wearing the same balaclava from all those years ago.
Spies sure took their jobs seriously.
"Gentlemen," he greeted casually. "I trust you 'ave been keeping well?"
"Well as we can be, I suppose." Answered Tavish, a gleam of distrust in his one good eye present even after all the time apart.
Not that Spy would have it any other way.
It took some time for the other four to show up. Pyro and Sniper arrived together, Mundy explaining gruffly that he'd spotted Pyro near an abandoned bus stop and picked him up. It was startling to see Pyro without his mask and even more so to see that he wasn't horribly disfigured like they'd imagined when the team first met; instead his face was lightly littered with a few pale red scars that didn't make much difference to his overall appearance. Heavy and Medic were the last to show, bringing with them a cake and some wine as extended gratitude for the invite. The former Demoman shepherded them into the massive kitchen and made sure they were all seated before taking the wine and pouring substantial amounts for each person, excluding Diana, who asked politely for a glass of water instead.
"This house is huge, Tav!" Scout chirped from his place by Diana, an arm slung around her shoulders. "I didn't really expect it, to be honest."
DeGroot laughed as he downed his own glass.
"We all got paid so much that we didnae know what to do with it! I might as well have spent SOME of it."
A rumble of laughter echoed around the table and Engineer took that as a cue to tilt his drink towards Scout.
"So, what have y'all been doing with your life? You have a lovely missus with you, by the way."
Diana blushed with pleasure and placed a hand comfortably on her rounded stomach.
It turned out that Scout and Diana met in a bar on the south side of Boston, much to the non-surprise of about everybody in the room.
"And we originally weren't going to meet up again after that night…but we just couldn't get each other out of our heads. So yeah, here we are now, married and havin' a baby and stuff." Scout summarised, stirring his drink with a cocktail stick.
"I never thought I'd see the day where you settled down." Spy replied, tilting his head to peer at the younger man.
"Ta be honest, neither did I. Anyway, I teach kids gym in a local school now."
A few more conversations passed back and forth between the group. Pyro worked at an amusement park, giving guided tours around the animal petting zoo, Soldier and Engie were retired and generally satisfied, with Engineer looking forward to his first grandchild and Medic was due to retire from the hospital he worked at in another year.
"What about you, big guy?" Soldier nudged the large man's arm and Heavy grinned at the group.
"I work in little office. It has good money and I make many friends there."
The thought of the giant sitting at a small desk had them hiding smirks, but they were genuinely pleased for him. In fact, they were pretty happy with each other in general, for a concern of theirs when they'd officially left Mann Co was that they wouldn't be able to intermingle back into normal society.
Apparently, Spy worked for MI5 and this didn't seem to shock anyone either. What else was a former Spy supposed to do?
Sniper was silent throughout this exchange, showing little in the way of emotion.
"So, er, what have you been doing?" Pyro spoke up after a moment's silence, turning to the Australian.
It looked like he wasn't going to answer for a second, then he tilted his hat down a tad.
"Still shootin'. Mostly fer independent clients nowadays. Used to work in a shop, but when me parents passed on, Oi packed up and went back to what Oi do best."
Prying done with, the group turned to reminiscing, recounting battles with vigour and detail that made Diana squirm a bit and by the time midnight struck, they were laughing uproariously, pleasantly tipsy and getting along pretty well. Tavish mused whilst pouring his eight glass of wine that being apart could make the heart grow fonder.
Scout perked up from his slouch, glancing around.
"Hey, any of ya seen Diana?"
"She told me she was just popping to the loo, lad." Demoman adjusted his eye patch, downing the glass and smacking his lips in appreciation at the fruity flavour.
The wordless cry from upstairs had them all on high alert instantly.
"Diana?" Scout moved to the bottom of the stairs and yelled up to her, concern etched into his features. "You okay?"
The blonde appeared at the top, one hand under her bump and pain in her eyes.
"The baby wants out, Dan."
Scout's face went from pale to grey and back to white again in a matter of a minute.
"Are you sure?!"
"Sure as any woman in labour can be!" Diana groused back, immediately hissing between her teeth at the sudden movement.
Medic went into doctor mode immediately and rushed up with Scout to help her down the stairs.
"Stay calm, fraulein, and continue to breathe. You are doing very well. Scout, get ze car."
Scout fumbled for his keys, snatching up Diana's bag as he went.
"The baby wasn't supposed to be due for another week, dammit!"
Diana hobbled out to the car under the calm guidance of the Medic and the other mercenaries crowded by the front door, watching Medic and Scout strap Diana in safely while she huffed in new agony.
"Need any help?" Spy inquired, half-leaning on the doorframe.
Soldier made a quick decision and gathered everyone together.
"Right men, we're escorting them to the hospital! Soldiers stick together, even when not at war!"
Scout couldn't help but grin when the others made tracks towards their own transport. Even through all their ups and downs, he had missed them in one way or another.
The hospital clock kept ticking and Scout kept pacing, agitated that the doctors hadn't allowed him to be in there with her.
"They were right, Herr Scout. She needs all ze concentration right now." Medic called smoothly, his face composed like the medical professional he was.
Pyro caught Scout's arm on his next lap and pulled him into the chair next to him.
"She needs you alert, not tired out." He joked feebly and Scout smiled almost gratefully at him in return.
In an hour that felt like eternity, the doctor came out with blood stained gloves, a broad beam on his face.
"Congratulations sir, you have a healthy wife and baby girl."
The others cheered while Scout went weak kneed with relief.
"A…baby girl? A baby girl! I'm a daddy!"
With that, he thanked the doctor quickly and all but charged into the room with glee, stopping short when he saw Diana lying exhausted in the bed with a pink bundle cradled in her arms. After hesitating and gathering his wits, the younger man stepped over silently to her side, careful about not waking the little baby. The other men remained a respectful distance while Scout became acquainted with his new daughter.
"Well, would ya look at that? Life is beginning and will do so after we've left after all." Dell mused and murmurs of agreement spread through the team.
No matter what happened, their blood would live on and they would always be a team.
Alright, I'm back! Sorry for the absence but I've had exams and this story request for Wheatley a.k.a Smorgesborg was pretty difficult for me to get into and finish, for some reason.
I hope he likes it anyway, as I've done my best. I don't think it's my best one, but I'll try and make that up in the next chapter.
Love Lily. X
