Welcome to spoopy month! =U= this one is gonna be fun, it's always a treat to get an extra chapter in after the weekend. This ended up being a Beefy chapter so apologies in advance if it's a bit too long to finish in a single read ovq There was just so much that needed to happen in this one chapter between the Heisenberg subplot, the monthly mommy meeting and I couldn't get myself to skip rose's first Halloween with Chris and Emma. I actually went through and did a revision to try and take stuff out and ended up adding more. so yeah, I decided against a second revision for fear that the same thing would happen again and the chapter would end up even longer. They're having a very busy and stressful year and it's showing in the chapter-length lmao X'D
Song Suggestion: Death bed by powfu Ft. beabadoobee
Disclaimer: I own nothing~ resident Evil belongs to CapCom. Much love and respect. please don't sue ovq/
The First day of October eventually arrived and with it came the beginning of their daily routines on another Friday morning. Emma woke up first, showered, took care of Duke and packed lunch bags while Chris got Rose ready for a day at BSAA Daycare. Luckily for him, the addition of Rose's powers and a need to train her meant she was no longer parked in his office. she had her own scheduled routine of tests and 'classes' of sorts so she, and the BSAA, could understand more about her abilities. So far it seems they were almost magnetic-based? The blast from before was a strong pulse of some kind that they were only really able to replicate when she was extremely upset.
Chris thought over his time spent 'talking' with Ethan's grave. This isn't what he would have wanted... but It's what she's going to need if she's going to be given enough freedom to have a life. Even if it meant constantly being monitored. He tried distracting himself by checking his phone, he had new messages but the distraction didn't work.
Friday, October 1st, 12:31 pm
[3 new messages]
12:30 ish, so they were probably giving her a break at this point for lunch. Maybe he should check on he- Stop. No. Don't be the 'helicopter parent'. She needs to learn how to be able to handle her outbursts. He already knew it didn't help if he showed up and left in the middle. with that, he taps at the screen to check the messages and further pushed for a distraction.
[Bastion] Hey
[Bastion] Hey you with the face
[Bastion] Are we still on for movie night tomorrow?
.
Right, he almost forgot about that. He thinks it over before sending a reply. Maybe if Bastion replied quickly he could ask him for a bit of help. Sure enough, it was as if the nail tech had a 6th sense and replied a few minutes after.
[Chris] Yeah, we should be fine. Rose is usually in bed by 9. so 9:30 if you want to watch anything that isn't made for toddlers.
[Bastion] so 7:30. Still a little offended you didn't tell me you adopted the kid but I'll forgive you in favor of being the cool uncle.
[Chris] We just were a bit nervous because of her genetic condition. It's pretty rare so.
[Bastion] So the kid ages quickly, that just means we need to spend even more time with her and spoil her rotten to make up for the shorter childhood.
.
Chris pauses a bit at that. Bastion kind of had a point but, with her powers requiring a good amount of mental and emotional control. he wasn't sure how much that was going to be possible... she was going to have to be extremely mature for her age to keep that in check. Spoiling kids didn't usually lead to a mature and well-mannered attitude.
[Chris] Fair enough... I was actually hoping to ask you about something...
[Bastion] Fire away
.
It took him longer than he would like to admit to write, read, erase and rewrite the message he wanted to send multiple times. The longer it took the more self-conscious he felt.
[Chris] I need some help getting Emma's ring size
[Bastion] -Squealing Gif-
[Bastion] -Oh my god, it's happening gif-
[Chris] Can you not?
[Bastion] I could but that would be no fun lol. So you talked to her parents right?
[Chris] ...
[Bastion] Christopher I am surprised with you. That's a sacred formality. Even if they end up saying no and you ask anyways.
[Chris] Why? seems a bit pointless if I'm just going to ask anyways.
[Bastion] Trust me, you'll get brownie points with all the people that matter if you do.
[Chris] Fine. I'll see if I can bring up the idea of having them visit sometime next month.
[Bastion] Excellent. Worry not, leave the ring size to me ;)
.
Chris chuckles a bit at this. Yeah, there was a good 50% chance it was going to end up being as subtle as a brick through a window but, it was better than the 100% suspicious it would have been if he asked.
He tried to focus on his work but if he wasn't distracted by worrying about Rose, he was distracted worrying about what to do with his plans. Calling it a plan at this point was a bit generous due to the overall lack of a plan at this point. even then he still made considerably more progress with his daily tasks then he would have with Rose in his office.
by the end of the day he was hard at work leading drills for Hound Wolf Squad when the door to the gym opened up and the tiny tot ran in.
"Kriiiis" Rose calls as she's let into the room and hurried over to cling to her caretaker. The researcher who opened the door for her walks over as well.
"She did well today, we're making good progress on understanding this new ability of hers," they say in a vague update. "We managed to recreate the effect mentioned and we're working on ways to cancel out any built-up energy without the, less desirable effects."
Chris nods. "Right. Thanks."
"See you on Monday Rosemary," the researcher says before turning to leave.
"Bye," she replies while continuing to cling to Chris.
"Ready to go home?" He asks and the child nods.
"ye," She replies while waiting for Chris to start moving before letting go of his leg so she could hold his hand instead.
The two made their way home and the comfort of a routine continued.
"We're home," Chris called while rose hurried to sit down and take her shoes off so she could put them away.
"Welcome home,"
"I gets a sticker!" Rose says excitedly as she hurries to find Emma.
"You do? you did good in class?" Emma asks with happy curiosity before looking around to find Chris.
"Yeah!" She confirms.
the agent walks over as well and gives a quiet nod of agreement. Rose did well today and didn't cause trouble according to the researcher.
"Very good Rosey," Emma cooed before walking over to a draw to get out a sheet of stickers. upon seeing the sheet Rose quickly hurries over to the far wall of the kitchen where a paper chart covered in stickers was hanging up by a pushpin.
"I wanna do it," Rose announces.
"Okay," Emma agrees amused as she walks over to join the child. she takes the chart off the wall and kneels down to offer the chart and page of tiny stickers that looked like animal faces. "Pick a sticker and put it right here."
Rose looks over her choices intently before picking a monkey face and putting it on the empty square that Emma pointed out.
"And that makes seven good days in a row," Emma praises.
"So I get cookies!" Rose cheers.
"Yep, you can pick some cookies when we go to the grocery store tomorrow," Emma confirms.
Rose does a Lil happy dance before hurrying off to go and play while Emma stands up to put the chart back on the wall. It wasn't much but it seemed to be helping with making the likely very stressful change in routine more rewarding. A few cookies from the bakery was a small price to pay.
"So," Emma says before looking to Chris, "What about you, did you behave today?"
"me?" He asks a bit surprised.
"Mhm, no helicopter incidents?" She asks amused.
Chris shakes his head with a slight chuckle. "No, no I learned my lesson after the last time," he admits while gesturing to the one box on Rose's chart that didn't have a sticker.
Emma smiles a bit at that. "guess we're all doing pretty well then."
"Guess so." he replies. "Oh um two things actually."
"Chris," Emma says with a forced frown. He didn't actually cause trouble, did he?
"Nothing bad," he affirms, "Talked to Bastion, he and Travis are still coming over tomorrow, around 7:30."
"Ah, okay I'll make sure to give rose her bath before they get here then so I don't have to wrangle her away from them as much for bedtime," Emma replies, grateful for the heads up.
"Sounds like a plan, Also, I have a mission coming up in two weeks, should be another weeklong formality but, hopefully, this time we'll actually find something useful," Chris says. "if that's the case then I don't know when I'll be back."
"We've had what, 3 or 4 missions now since we had Rose? It's alright I can hold down the fort," She says with a slight smile.
"Alright, if it gets to be too much just talk to Gary and I'll see if I can have someone come help you," Chris says with a nod which causes Emma to chuckle.
"Okay, I usually invite him in anyways. Seems pointless to make the guy sleep in a van outside when I already know he's there," She points out amused.
"It's his job," Chris points out in return.
"Right, no need to make it harder than it has to be," Emma points out in return.
"You're not supposed to be babysitting him, he's supposed to be watching you," Chris replies while pinching the bridge of his nose and trying not to laugh.
"Eh. well." Emma shrugs. "If you're going to insist on the fact that I have to have an assigned stalker while you're gone, then I'm at least making sure I know where they are. It feels creepy just having his watch from a van outside."
He gives a defeated sigh, at least there was someone from the BSAA around to watch Rose.
The conversation was put to rest as dinner was served, games were played and the tiny tot was eventually put to bed. The day eventually came to an end for the two adults of the house as well and the two crawled into bed for the night as well, exhausted by another long week.
"Eeeemmmmaaaaa" called a growling deep warped voice causing her to flinch. come on hurry up!
95% 99% ... Download complete.
Finally!
Emma put the broom handle over her shoulder once more and climbs back through the window earning a few new cuts and scraps before making her way to the front door, she wanted to run but her legs were starting to give out resulting in more of a tired jog between coughing and wheezing. Sunlight eventually came into view as she made her way through the door.
She continued coughing as she clung to the laptop and satchel in her hands. just a few more steps come on. don't give up.
She could see a figure running towards her. "Chris," Emma says happily under her breath as she tries to move faster with absolutely no success, she was past her limits even with adrenaline.
A tight feeling gripped her waist as fear set in before feeling a sharp yank. as she was pulled back into the flaming building she tossed the laptop and bag to the side towards the grass, hoping that would be enough to cushion the impact.
No such kindness was offered to her as she was hurled against a wall and thrown around by the extending arm of the demented creature that had started hunting her.
"He-ungry...f-food. EAT" The demented remains say as it slowly pulls its torso towards her, having lost the rest of its body from the waist down due to being pinned under the weight of the filing cabinets.
Emma tried and failed to scoot back as the fleshy ligament wrapped around her was pulling her closer toward the beastly blood-covered, unblinking figure.
"Emma"
She looked over to find Chris with a group of others, however, she wasn't the only one who noticed.
A second ligament sprung forward from its back, reaching out and grabbing Chris to pull him forward.
Chris yawns as he rolls over in his sleep, it was a bit early for him to be waking up, he didn't even hear Emma's alarm yet. oh well... maybe she's awake too? He moved a leg over to try and nudge one of hers only to find nothing there. A confused expression crossed his tired face before stretching a bit further. Not a single leg where there should be two. He pushed himself to open his eyes. the sun wasn't up yet, so it was still pretty early. It took half a second for his eyes to adjust but he figured out what was going on. Emma was still sleeping next to him, she was just curled up in a ball and shivering.
Maybe she was cold? A twitch of a sympathetic smile crossed his face as he reached out to put an arm around her and pull her closer to him so he could try and keep her warm. His confusion returned as he heard quiet whimpering from the small fragile figure sleeping next to him. Was she having a nightmare?
"Emma," he says quietly to try and wake her up. more whimpers. okay not good, yeah she needed to wake up.
"Emma," he nudges her, this time her eyes open wide as she gasped.
oh gosh, where was she, something got her, what was that? she moved to pull at the arm around her waist only to relax as she realized she was in bed. That was Chris. She was okay. A sigh of relief passed her lips as she moved to hold her face. That was terrifying. She knew that's not what actually happened but it still felt so real.
"...Are you okay?" He asks quietly. This was odd, she hadn't had a reaction like that to a nightmare before. It must have been pretty bad.
Emma paused to think it over. she could just say she had a dream about a spider and be done with it or, talk to him about it and risk making him worry... "It's nothing." she says as she scoots to get a bit closer to him. "had a dream about what happened a few years ago back at the office."
"Hm, It's been a while since you had that nightmare," he replies as he continued to hold her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, It's just getting closer to Halloween and all." That was true, but, if she was being honest with her self it was more likely the combo of getting tossed into a wall again like before with the time of the year. She didn't want him to blame Rose... "It was different this time though." She admits quietly.
"Different how?" he asks with compounded concern as he held her.
"I got pulled back into the building, and thrown against a wall," she explains with a frown. "I tried getting away again but it felt like I couldn't move... then you showed up. and it got you too, I couldn't do anything and it was going to eat you" it was about to bite his head off, she was glad she woke up when she did.
"It's okay," he says trying to distract her. "I'm right here, you're safe," he says with a yawn.
It takes a moment but she manages to re-ground herself and relax. "It just felt so real," she replied catching his yawn.
"Probably didn't help that I moved you while you were sleeping," He admits and gives her a peck. "Sorry about that, I just thought you were cold."
a tired chuckle escapes her. "It's not like you could have known," she replied. "Suppose we're awake now though..." she adds while looking over at the dark window. it was maybe 4 in the morning. two and a half hours before her alarm.
"or we could go back to sleep," he points out.
"sleep sounds good," she agrees wholeheartedly and settles in to fall back to a much more peaceful sleep.
The Sleep was certainly well received and needed as Saturday started and Movie Night with Bastion and Travis approached.
Emma kept her promise to Rose and took the toddler with her to the grocery store where she was allowed to pick out 3 fresh cookies from the bakery. Chris actually managed to let the two leave the house without him for once. It was a small amount of progress but he was slowly becoming more accepting of the idea of letting Emma handle supervising Rose. It probably helped that he just needed some time where they two weren't watching so he could look at rings without using Emails as an excuse.
Even then, the agent made his way through the day on pins and needles. While he was trying to do better about allowing Rose out of his sight, the incident early last month was still fresh in his mind. What if something happened when he wasn't there? how was he going to know? What if he hadn't been there when rose had her outburst before?
His worrying eventually stopped when the two made it back home in one piece. Rose happily munched on her cookies while Emma put away groceries and the daily grind of a busy chore-filled Saturday continued. Meals were had and the time to expect guests was quickly approaching.
"Hey Chris," Emma calls from upstairs.
"yeah," he replies.
"Have you heard anything from Bastion yet?" She loudly asks so he can hear her while drying off a giggling wiggling Rose from her Saturday evening bath. "You are being so silly, hold still," Emma says with a laugh.
Chris shakes his head as he hears the laughing child from the living room along with the question. "Nothing yet!" he calls back but checks his phone all the same. He hadn't heard hid or hair from Bastion since yesterday afternoon...
Saturday, October 2nd, 7:33 pm
No new messages. Hm. He should be here soon... Chris gets up to check the window by the door. Nothing. He frowns slightly before heading up the stairs to watch as Rose hurried out in her pajamas with damp hair while still giggling.
"Hey there tiny terror," Chris says and ruffles her wet mop of hair.
"Kris," She says while jumping and motioning to be picked up.
"You're getting too big for that, sorry rose," He says as Emma walks out and leans on the doorway of the bathroom to watch the two with a smile.
Rose pouts and tries again.
"Why don't you go downstairs and pick a movie, they should be here soon," Chris suggests with a bit of a chuckle. She was at least keeping things in check compared to last time. Maybe the lessons would end up helping her...
An excited gasp could be heard and she nods "okay," she agrees and hurries into her room first to grab her doll before heading down the stairs.
"I think she misses the girls," Emma admits with a hint of sadness. she knew it was for their protection while Rose gets a handle on things but it wasn't easy. "She's been calling her doll her friend and she's taking it with her everywhere she goes."
"We'll have to see how she's doing in a few months... it's a bit soon to say she's okay," Chris replies though he could understand, at least in part, where Emma was coming from. "For now we'll have to stick with having her spend time with adults."
"It's better than nothing," Emma agrees with a slight nod.
"... Maybe we could talk to your folks. have them visit sometime next month during the holidays." He offers which notably surprised Emma.
"Are you sure?" She asks while thinking it over. "I don't know. It's not that I don't appreciate the suggestion but, If they find out about what you do and the situation with rose, they might start worrying..."
"Then we'll just tell them what we're telling everyone else. Rose has a rare genetic condition that's causing her to age quickly and it gets aggravated by stressful situations and can make her sick so we have to be careful about introducing new people and things to her. No mold. No monsters or powers," Chris offers. "For now it's just Jack and Chel that have to know since they have to choose for the girls."
"I think I'd like that then... It's been a while since I was able to see them," Emma admits with a gentle smile. "Even if it means dealing with dad during the holidays."
Chris winces at that. "Right, he's a chef. If that's going to be stressful maybe another time?"
Emma chuckles at that and shakes her head. "Nah it will be fine. Best to keep him busy."
shit... Okay he'd figure this out. "Let me know what they say then, The airport is on the way back from the BSAA so I could pick them up on the way home."
"I'm starting to think you're more excited about this than I am," Emma points out jokingly. "Thanks Chris."
He was about to reply when there was a knock at the front door. Oh thank god.
"Friiieeend!" Rose happily calls while hurrying over to the door which causes the two to chuckle as they start making their way down.
Rose starts jumping for the door handle and eventually stops to stand on her tiptoes and reach up.
Click.
Chris and Emma stare confused as the doorknob moved on its own. Oh no... They look at each other thinking the same thing. More powers...
"Aw, Hi there!" Travis says happily as Rose happily laughs while hiding behind her doll.
"Hi," Rose replies shily.
"You are just so cute, did you open the door for us?" Bastion asks curiously and she nods. "Well then where are your mom and dad?"
Rose seemed confused by this and Chris winced as he realized he forgot to tell Bastion they weren't using those terms.
"Idonno," she replies confused. she heard dad before. Mom was a new one. They were something you have and misplace? Did she have those?
Emma hurried over with Chris not far behind. "Bastion Travis, hey, Come in," Emma says before looking to Rose, "Rosey, try not to open the front door okay?"
"Okay..." She replies with a slight pout.
"There you guys are," Bastion says amused as the two enter the home and close the door behind them. "Sorry we're late, I got caught up packing my stuff," he says and vaguely holds up the plastic supply box in his hand.
"Pretty sure you spent more time on that than actually getting ready," Travis teased.
"I want to argue but you're right," Bastion admits with a slight sigh. "Anyways, I was thinking I could do our nails while we are riveted by the plot of whatever movie ends up being picked by the tiny overlord." He adds jokingly "but seriously from what I heard you need a bit of pampering time."
"Aw, No you don't have to do that," Emma says with a touched smile. Gosh, she really missed the apartment family. They always took such good care of each other.
"Me too!" Rose says with no understanding of what bastion was saying. She just knew she wanted to be included.
"You too?" Bastion asks amused, and Rose nods. "Oh, well alright. I suppose I can manage that."
"Guess we should get settled in then," Travis points out.
"Right, the living room is this way," Chris says and motions for the two to follow as rose hurries ahead to pick her place on the couch next to Duke and lays against the fluffy giant marshmallow of a dog. the 4 adults follow in behind her and take their seats. Chris sits next to Rose and Travis sits on the other side of Duke while Emma and Bastion sit on the other couch.
"So what are we watching," Bastion asks curiously.
"weap," Rose announces happily.
"Weep?" Bastion asks concerned and looks at Chris with an expression that read 'what did you do to this kid?'
"Leap, She's been watching this one a lot lately," Emma corrects and moves to get up again since she knew where the movie was. She got that started as the movie showed two kids running away from an orphanage to go on an adventure together in Paris. The little boy dreamed of being an inventor and the young girl dreamed of being a ballerina.
With that taken care of Emma returns to her seat while Rose giggled at the daring escape.
"Alright let's get started with your's first Em, I'll do mine last since I won't be able to use my hands when the nail polish is drying." Bastion says and opens the box he had put on the table before. he sets a few small glass containers of various hues before taking out a small plastic strip that looked like a zip tie with numbers on it.
"What is that?" Emma asks a bit confused. she didn't remember seeing that last time bastion did her nails.
"It's a new french technique for making sure you know where the center is for each finger," Bastion says smoothly while he adjusts the tiny plastic tool on each finger of her right hand then moved to the left. Thumb, index, middle, ring. He stopped there and put the tool down. "well looks like your hands are symmetrical no need to continue that." he says as an excuse.
Chris breathes a sigh of relief. Bless you Bastion. This was the sec-thi- fourth time he was helping Chris when it came to Emma? Honestly, he lost count.
Emma relaxes as Bastion worked on painting her nails as they were, he was well aware that she wasn't fond of acrylic or fake nails even if it would have been helpful to have.
"I miss having you guys as neighbors, the new ones are all so stuffy, can't even get them to agree to the key share let alone new years." Bastion admits with a slight pout.
"Yeah they're... interesting. all 3 of them." Travis admits. "and by that I mean they're boring as hel-ck." he corrects mid word. "Can't get much more than a casual Hello and Nice weather isn't it?"
Neighbors... "Oh dang it all," Emma moves to hold her face with her free hand. "I forgot I have to go to that Monthly neighbor meeting tea party thing tomorrow," she admits while leaning her head back to rest it on the back of the couch. Not that it was really a horrible thing, she'd been pretty stressed lately and the last thing she needed was more stress but if she keeps missing it after saying she was going to go that would make her the asshole.
"Well, you sound absolutely thrilled about it," Bastion points out as he accepts the distraction and tosses the plastic measuring device over to Chris which he catches and pockets. Mission achieved.
"It's not that I don't want to go I'm just... Not sure I get along well with the lady that hosts it. Karen. She can be a bit." Emma pauses while trying to think of words she can use in front of rose that won't bite her in the butt later if the kid decides to share what was said.
"Say no more. If they give you trouble, invite me next time I'll be a treat," Bastion says with a smile.
Emma chuckles at that and looks at bastion once more. "You really are the best you know that?"
"Oh trust me I know," he says with a laugh.
Chris nods in agreement. He definitely owes Bastion a favor and a half for the help.
'*'*'*'*'
Another day had passed and as much as Emma had been both looking forward to and dreading it, the time arrived to attend the Monthly Mommy Meeting, at Karen's.
"Lord give me strength," She says under her breath before knocking on the door of Karen's house.
"Just a minute," Called the singsongy voice of Mrs. Blight. The door opened to show the woman smiling as always.
"Oh Emma, so good of you to finally be able to join us, Come in, Come in," She says and ushers for Emma to enter the house.
"Thanks, um where should I put my shoes?" Emma asks as she looked around the rather well cared for home.
"Oh just leave those on," she says and leads the way through the house.
"Oh, Are we meeting outside then? I thought you mentioned we'd be staying indoors because of the weather" Emma asks confused.
Karen laughs, "oh goodness you are a card. Yes, we're staying inside."
The confusion remained but she went with it. how was this woman's house not covered in dirt. She had kids. she let them run around with their shoes on?
"Ladies, we have our newest member joining us," Karen announced as she led the way back to the dining room of the house where 3 other women were sitting.
Newest member? Oh god why did it feel like she just joined a cult. Emma gave a gentle wave in greeting as words failed her.
"Ladies this is Emma she just moved half a year ago," Karen says before taking a seat. "Emma this is Linda, Marlene and Cathy." Karen says while gesturing to each of the women as she said their name.
Emma nods and takes the remaining seat, "It's nice to meet you all," she says still feeling a bit nervous. "Sorry I wasn't able to make it last time it was a bit of a sudden emergency."
"Yeah, what was going on with that?" Linda asks and leans forward slightly. "Saw a few repair trucks outside on my way over here last month."
"That crazy storm from before knocked out a few windows really messed up the place," Emma says while Karen pour's an extra cup of tea and places that in front of Emma.
"I knew it, I told you someone was gonna get hurt in that storm, I could feel it in my bones" Marlene replies while Karen shakes her head.
"You'll have to excuse Marlene she thinks she's psychic," Karen says with an unamused expression.
"Well, I wasn't wrong now was I?" Marlene counters indignantly before siping at her own cup of tea.
"Is it true you got the mister of the house to kick out the wife and took her kid?" Linda asks as she cuts to the chase and goes for the gossip.
I'm sorry what. why do they keep calling Chris 'the mister'. He has a name just use it. "Ah no. No that." Oh gosh, this is what she was afraid of. "Okay. Clarification time. Mia was living with us because her husband died. She's also a habitual liar. She was deemed unfit to care for her child. Because Her husband was a good friend of Chris's, We agreed to adopt Rose so she'd have a safe place to grow up." Emma explained. 3 of the 4 seemed rather disappointed with that.
"Well, that's rather boring," Karen replies with a slight sigh.
"I thought you said she was like us?" Linda says quietly, apparently hoping that Emma wouldn't hear.
Excuse you? Emma thought now very concerned. What was that supposed to mean.
"So you adopted Rose? That's very sweet of you," Cathy says with a slight smile before getting talked over.
"Yes the poor thing," Marlene says with a sympathetic sigh. "Which name did she take anyways the mister's or yours?" She adds as she tries to glean a bit more about the situation of their new tea time friend.
"Neither, she's keeping her own name out of respect for the dead," Emma says as this was already uncomfortable and was pushing into overly nosey territory.
"That must be so confusing for the poor girl," Karen chimes in once more. "Three names in the same house."
"She's been doing well enough," Emma replies as she was well into regretting her decision to show up. "She's rather smart for her age, so something as simple as a name isn't a concern."
"She is a far bit older than I remember from last time I saw her," Linda admits. "How old is she now? 3?"
"She's one," Emma confirms and the women seem flabbergasted.
"One?" Linda asks concerned.
"She has a rare genetic condition, that's causing her to develop rapidly, so she's at the benchmark of a 3-year-old she'll be passing the benchmarks for a 4-year-old by December," Emma explains, she was glad she and Chris finally worked over a story, it made it much easier to have a poker face in this kind of situation.
"How awful, what condition is it? I can say I've heard of anything like that," Marlene asks as she seemed to genuinely believe the story. To be fair it wasn't that far from the truth.
Oh no. "I uh. you know that is a good question. that I should be able to answer," Emma admits while internally cursing. "You know I'll have to look that up and let you know." they had to make a fake disease name now? oy vey...
"You have to look it up? You mean you don't know?" Karen asks with a very clearly judgemental tone.
"Guys, Not to interrupt but, um I think we're making her uncomfortable," Cathy quietly points out.
"Oh goodness sorry deary, it's just natural to be curious about the newest person at the table," Linda quickly apologizes.
"It's fine, maybe we can talk about something else?" Emma suggests as she's glad the questioning might end.
"I have to say it's a bit odd that a large black vehicle keeps showing up in the culdesac," Marlene says with a laughing smile.
Oh no. They noticed...
"Yes it's quite odd, can't seem to figure out what's going on with that," Linda agrees. "Emma what about you?"
"I believe she knows considering I've seen her talk to the driver a few times and even invite him into the house." Karen points out before sipping at her tea once more.
"Get one mister then on another so quickly, gracious how do you manage," Marlene asks amazed.
"That's not it," Emma says annoyed at this point. why were they so insistent on that idea? "They're just... the Wifi guy." Emma says hoping that might work "I went out and asked what was going on when I noticed the car, and apparently they're doing routine checks now."
The group very clearly didn't seem to believe that in the slightest. "... you're inviting the wifi guy into your house when they need to be here each month with a truck full of specialized equipment." Linda points out very confused.
Why did she have to be so bad at lying... "Yep." Emma replied and just doubled down on that one. "Figured it would help save the environment by reducing CO2 emissions from the truck." Oh gosh, no one was going to believe that.
And clearly, they didn't as the more of them began to crack up. "Oh sweetie you don't have to lie, it's okay. We all see others besides our misters here." Marlene says in an attempt to comfort Emma.
"Yes it's true, why do you think my mister and the kids are out? I send them off once a month for 'bonding time' so we ladies can have some time to relax and talk about our latest escapades." Karen says while still chuckling.
Oh no, "What?" Emma asks as it was the only word that could escape her from how stunned she was.
"Office Romance for me," Linda says raising a hand.
"Gym trainer," Marlene admits without shame.
"you could say I'm a little extra blessed," Karen admits in her own way with a chuckle.
"That." the stunned moment passed and was replaced with Embarrassment, concern and ultimately anger. "That's horrible! you're all awful." Emma says and moves to get up. she didn't want to be here anymore. "That's why you don't care about names, you just don't care at all. They're not people to you. You're not listening to me when I'm saying I'm not like you because you just want to justify your own terrible behavior and project it on others." It was frightening to burn a bridge so outright when she had initially hoped that she was going to be wrong and she would make friends, but at the same time not too difficult to chew them out as she was mad enough to tap back into her long-dormant rebel phase like she had back with the dumb CIA recruiters that wouldn't go away.
"Why I never," Linda says while putting a hand over her heart.
"I'm saying this one last time so you all better listen. I'm not like you. I'm not sneaking around behind the back of someone that trusts me. Playing with people's emotions like that is selfish and stupid. Use whatever justification you like but if you're not communicating with someone that promised you loyalty, then you're the problem." Emma says with a sneer before looking directly at Karen. "That explains why you're so anal about rules and laws, so you can focus on how others are screw-ups rather than acknowledge how screwed up you are," Emma says as she was pretty utterly done with the lot of them, Karen in particular.
She didn't want to be associated with any of them or what they seemed to stand for. Open relationships were one thing but this was not it if they were hiding it from their partner. "I am done with your bull shit, stay the fuck out of my life, stay away from my child, and mind your own god damn business," Emma says before storming off to head home. Hopefully, that was clear enough for them to get the message.
She makes it home and closes the door behind her with a bit more force than she meant to, before focusing on taking her shoes off.
"Welcome home?" Chris says from the living room a bit confused as tradition was broken. Okay, something was wrong.
Emma trudged over to the living room still in some level of shock. "The Monthly Mommy Meeting is a cheaters club," Emma says still trying to process what happened and her own outburst.
"What?" he asks confused.
"The Monthly Mommy Meeting is a cheaters club," She repeats in a similar stunned monotone voice. "I am never going back there. It's not worth it." Emma says as she moves to sit on the couch with a tired plop before shifting to hid her face in her hands "What do I do now? I mean I know so... Do I tell their husbands or."
"Nope, No. We are not getting involved in this." Oh gosh, no wonder the house was for sale. He wasn't sure if he should laugh. He kinda wanted to.
"I thought I was going to scream if they called you 'the mister' one more time," Emma admits quietly.
"So I take it you're going to be calling bastion," Chris says with a slight smile.
"No. Nope not happening. I might have maybe cursed them out," Emma replied, ultimately rejecting the idea.
"You shouldn't have done that," Chris says while shaking his head to try and hide his amused chuckling. Good job Em. "Alright well. It's not like they can start anything without outing themselves?" he offers while trying to process that as well. Emma was usually pretty docile. For her to snap like that, they must have really got under her skin.
A quiet knocking could be heard at the front door. "Oh no," Emma groaned.
"Do you want me to get it?" Chris offers though part of him was morbidly curious about seeing Emma that upset if it was someone other than him.
"No, if it's one of the slut squad members they might try something," Emma says annoyed as she moves to get up. "I can tell them off."
Emma trudged over to the door and opened it to find Cathy on the other side of the door.
"Hi! Um. Oh gosh. So. Look... I get it if you think less of me after today but um," Cathy nervously starts which was enough to get Emma's attention. despite everything, Cathy was actually an odd one out for the group. Very quiet and attentive to how others were feeling. "I just wanted to say that, I think it's pretty cool what you did back there, It was terrifying to watch but also still kinda cool and" the nervous woman admits before continuing to speak at a mile a minute. "I just, kinda fell into that group when they started making assumptions about me too and I figured it was easier to just go with it and have them think that I'm like them and have people to talk to and stuff cause, It can get pretty lonely during the day and I can get a bit awkward when I'm nervous which. I mean I'm probably being awkward now but I wanted to try and be brave too and"
"Hey Cathy," Emma eventually steps in to cut off the nervous spiral.
"Hm?" Cathy replies still clearly expected to be shouted at.
Emma takes a breath to release her earlier Ire. "Do you want to come in and chat?" Cathy seemed genuine and she left too. She might be lying but, still deserved a chance.
"... Yeah, I'd like that," Cathy admits with a hesitant smile.
'*'*'*'*'
Time continued to pass quicker than either would care to admit. weeks passed and Before long it was time for another monthly mission. With it, Chris left Rose with Emma to make his way to the BSAA HQ airfield with Hound Wolf Squad.
"Oh boy another week of standing around as a performance gesture," Canine says shaking his head.
"I heard they finally got access to some new data," Night howl offered with a hint of hope in his voice.
"Haven't had that since late July. What took them so long?" Chris wondered aloud while frowning and getting on to the helicopter.
"Ask them," Tundra replies with a shrug. "Maybe we can do some digging of our own once we're down there and we know where to pick back up. no use doing the same thing twice."
"Decent point," Umber eye says with a sigh as he moves to take his seat. "With any luck, we'll get something that isn't another dead end. seems like they're just chasing their tails.
"It's what happens when they don't just stick the best on it and keep um there," Lobo says with a laugh as he gets into the pilot's seat and gets strapped in and waits for the others to do the same while getting the controls ready. "Alright, testing, 1,2,3, testing," Lobo says before smiling to himself and clearing his throat. "This is your captain speaking, we'll be taking a roughly 4-hour flight. we're expecting, balmy weather with little to no turbulence. The flight attendant should be stopping by once we reach cruising altitude to drop off your complimentary in-flight snack." Lobo says in his best imitation of a commercial pilot.
"Looking for a new job Lobo?" Chris asks through the headset while the others chuckle to themselves.
"Nah you know they couldn't handle me," Lobo replies with a short laugh. "Alright if everyone is strapped in I'll send in the request for take-off."
It took a bit of time but they eventually were given clearance to take off and made their way to the usual airfield in Louisanna where a few BSAA SUVs were waiting for them to use. another hour of driving and the squad managed to make it to the now well established BSAA camp a good 10 miles out from the infection site.
It seemed like it was going to be yet another formality to be debriefed and follow up on leads as needed but by Wednesday a new batch of data was delivered.
"Alright team, we finally got that security footage in from the new york mall," One of the research workers said as they walk in carrying a decent size box. "believe it or not, they don't have an up to date security system."
"oh gosh a suburban mall with lackluster security, who would have thought," says another shaking their head. "what's with the box?"
"VHS Tapes," The worker says as they plop the box onto the table.
"you're shitting me," Night howl says as he is not sure if he's amused or horrified by the relics of past technology.
"Nope," the first worker says as they look down at the box. "Technically got these in 3 weeks ago but we didn't have a way to watch them. Had to go to eBay to get a VHS player and an old enough TV that would have the right ports for the cables."
"That explains that..." Lobo says annoyed. "So how much do we have to work through.
"These cover all the cameras they have for the week of the potential visit. they're set up to take a single frame picture every 20 seconds to conserve space. so 24 hours of footage only takes about an hour and a half to watch but each one has about 3 hours of recording on it."
"And how maybe VCRs did we get?" Chris asks as his shoulders dropped. that had to be at least 30 different tapes.
"... One." the worker answers hesitantly.
"Please tell me they're labeled," Umber eye says concerned.
"Oh yeah no They are... I think," The worker says before checking the box "yeah they're labeled."
"Okay so we just need to find which one was facing the store they were at," Chris says while digging through the records while the second worker got started setting up the VCR.
"Tundra anything on your end?" Chris asks with mild curiosity.
"mmm might not be related but just fond an article," Tundra says while poking around at her computer.
"Run it by me anyways," Chris says while sorting through papers. where was that credit card record?
"Phantom of the Broadway, two bodies found in an alleyway," Tundra says while skimming the article, "No likely suspect. First victim had a knife crammed in their skull the second was full of holes from an unknown projectile weapon. The wound pattern apparently has the police baffled since it shows multiple entry angles. I can try and reach out for a copy of the police report but seems like they're pushing it as gang violence since the alleyway was pretty neatly tucked away from any sort of security cameras and the two victims had criminal records."
Dear lord if that was them... they were starting to hunt. "Get me a copy of the report," Chris says with clear concern in his voice.
"On it," Tundra replies and starts clicking away at her keyboard to try reaching out to the police department.
During this Night howl had been digging through the tapes and comparing the labels to a map of the area that had been included in the box that showed where the cameras were stationed. "I think I got it Alpha."
"Let's see what we can find," Chris says and directs his attention to the old school Television it took some effort but they got the VCR to start playing. 5 minutes. 10 minutes, 20 minutes.
"There!" Canine says while pointing at the screen. "pause it pause it," he says quickly and Night howl does so. it took a few tries of rewinding and pausing but they eventually stopped on the right frame.
Sure enough, there was Heisenberg, walking with the woman from before the two were clearly talking to each other and smiling.
"Looks like we got our lead," Chris says with a smile. "Can we get a print of that frame? send in a request for a warrant and put in a travel request to new york, I want to be on the ground by the end of the week." Chris instructs and the team nods.
"Yes sir," they say and each gets to work on what they can do to make that happen. It took a bit of time to get everything in order since they had to find her personal residence first to get the warrant filled out properly but by Thursday night they were in new york. the team set up for a stakeout to watch the area for a few days to confirm they were in fact in the area and that the frame wasn't just a coincidence where they happened to be in the same place at the same time.
after a full 24 hour watch, they had what they needed. a photo of Charlotte in her car which was the same make and model as the car that Heisenberg was seen been loaded into and photos of Heisenberg on the property, along with some photos of the two of them talking. They had a clear motive and additional proof that it very well could have been her, even if they didn't have direct evidence that she was there.
Saturday morning arrived and it was a brisk, chilly October sunrise.
"I've got them in my sight captain. waiting on your order," Umber eye says a low voice into their radio as they remained perched in a tree, staring down a scope into the home through the large glass wall.
He was a know bioweapon and a threat... but, "... Stand down, I'll head in with the others to take them in... if they resist. take the shot." Chris replies quietly. If there was a way to bring back Heisenberg maybe the same could be done for Ethan. They needed him alive if they were going to figure out what happened. "Tundra stay with Umber eye as back-up. Lobo, Canine, Night howl, you're with me."
"on it boss," "yes sir," "got your six cap'n"
Chris and the others slowly made their way around the house making sure to stay out of sight to avoid spooking them. it was better if they didn't run. once they were at the front door Chris motions for the 3 to be ready before pounding his fist on the door.
"BSAA OPEN UP!" He announces. He waits a good 20 seconds. no response. "Looks like we're doing this the hard way," he says under his breath before kicking in the door so they could quickly enter the home.
"Gracious you could have given me 5 seconds to open the door you know," Charlotte says rolling her eyes as she remained seated at the table with Heisenberg. Both seemed to still be in their pajamas and each was holding a mug. "You're a bit overdressed for a cup of morning coffee. What can I help you with gentlemen."
"You're coming with us," Chris says as he steps forward and the other 3 keep their weapons aimed.
"bold assumption," She replies while staying seated but holds out her hand. "Warrant?"
The agent more than happily slaps the papers down.
"Hm. Says here we're to go with you for questioning, very well." Charlotte says and holds out her hands. "Cuff me up."
"Don't push her around too much, she's into it," Heisenberg jokes as he moves to get up which causes the others to quickly switch to target him.
"Well damn don't give him all my secrets, let him ask first, they have questions remember," Charlotte says with a laugh.
"This isn't a joke," he says annoyed as he walks over and does cuff Charlotte's hands behind her back.
"Isn't it?" Charlotte asks in return with a laughing smirk before shrugging. "Very well I'll play your game and pretend to be serious. Though I'm not sure how serious you can expect me to be when you're barking up the wrong tree."
"Laugh all you want, I have more than enough to lock you up," Chris says with a frown as he picks up the warrant once more and walks over to his team again.
"Oh, well I'll look forward to seeing it when you have your questions," She says still calm as ever. "So do I get to stand up or do I have to wait for your permission big guy."
"Should I be jealous?" Heisenberg asks with mock offense.
"Oh only a little," She replies while rolling her eyes.
These two had some god damn audacity to be joking around at a time like this, "Shut UP," Chris says annoyed with their antics. Did they not get that they were going to get locked away for a long time if he had anything to say about it?
"Yes sir," she replies in disobedient compliance with a smirk.
Chris resisted the urge to hold his face to nurse the headache that was starting to form. just get them back to HQ so the process can get started. Chris presses a button on his communicator to activate it. "Fall in, we're heading out," Chris says before the 2 suspects were lead out of the house and over to a large black SUV for transportation and taken to the nearest airfield. Chris watched the two with a suspicious eye. Charlotte and Heisenberg complied with being loaded onto a helicopter. not a word from either of them... they were being too peaceful. what were they up to... it took a few hours before the helicopter landed again and they were escorted into a large building where they were put into separate rooms.
It took Chris a minute but he was eventually able to find out which rooms they were taken to and made his way there to find the director outside with a clipboard.
"Director," Chris says in greeting.
"Redfield," The director replied with at best mild interest in his presence. "I'll admit, I was skeptical about that second BOLO of yours but, seems you got a good start here. it's all circumstantial though. Not sure how well this will hold up in front of a judge." He says while looking through the papers. "We're going to need one of them to slip up, give us a thread to pull on if we're gonna get a conviction from a jury for anything more than trespassing on the guy's part."
"Let me take a crack at it," Chris requests which caught the director's attention.
It takes a moment but he concedes. "alright, it's your lead, your case. Go for it, but if you screw it up it's on you," He says washing his hands of the situation.
Chris walked into the room and sat across from Charlotte. It didn't work last time he tried to get her to cave but that was on her own turf. She was locked up now and in cuffs, surely she had to see how bad of a spot she was in.
"What were you doing in Louisianna," Chris asks once more while staring her down. Come on. break.
"I'd like a lawyer," Charlotte replies with a simple smile while staring right back at him.
"It's a simple question," he says with a frown. give me something, anything, get upset again anything I can use to get you to keep talking.
"I'd like a lawyer," Charlotte repeats as she moves to rest her elbows on the table so she could prop up her chin.
"We know it was you, your car matches the one on the scene," Chris says as he puts down a picture of Security footage from the dock and a picture of her car in her home garage. Maybe evidence would get her rattled.
A bored sigh crossed her lips. "I'd like. A. lawyer," she says once more while annunciating a bit more.
Well, that didn't work... okay, she's a bit of a prick. maybe if he gave some slightly incorrect information she'd slip up by trying to correct him. "What did you do to bring back the lords?" He continued asking. If she slipped on this one maybe he'd have a lead for how to get Ethan back.
"I'd. Like. A. Lawyer," she annunciates once more.
"Is that all you're going to say?" he asks as he glares at her.
A smirking smile pulls at the corner of her lips "Yes," she replies in a self-contradicting statement.
Fine bad cop it is. "What the hell sorta game are you trying to pull here?" he asks as he puts his hands on the desk and stands up to lean forward.
For a second he thought it worked as Charlotte leans back feigning a fearful expression but that thought quickly left as she started cracking up shortly after.
Frustrated with this Chris storms out of the room.
"That went well," The director says having waited outside.
"She wants a lawyer," Chris says annoyed. He'd dealt with some real nut jobs before but it was usually the worst of them that would laugh in his face like that when they knew they were in trouble.
"Smart kid, Hope she has a good one," The director replies and walks off.
'*'*'*'*'
Each day passed by slowly. It was absolutely infuriating that no one was able to get a single answer out of either of them. the addition of Lawyers didn't make the matter any easier but an official court date was in the works. Likely sometime in November at this rate since a full week had passed.
Sunday approached as the final day of the month arrived. October 31st.
"Rose, are you ready?" Emma asks as she calls into the living room.
"YES!" The girl happily cheered. She wasn't sure what was going on but she was dressed up like a pretty ballerina like the ones in her favorite movie and she had a bucket-shaped like a pumpkin with a smile on it and she was told there would be candy. CANDY!
Rose hurried over to her two caregivers who were also Dressed up, Emma was wearing a similar tutu outfit and Chris reused the supplies from his old Vampire costume.
While Rose had wanted the guy to dress up as a ballerina too, that was quickly rejected. He had some crazy confidence levels when it came to his legs. They're nice legs. He's worn pleather pants with no shirt, and He'd walk around in short shorts with shaved legs for the sake of a Halloween costume. That being said, he drew the line at spandex pants and a leotard. So a repeat costume of Dracula was good enough.
"Are you sure you're okay with staying here?" Chris asks Emma with an attempt at a neutral expression. It didn't seem fair that she had to stay home.
"Yeah it's fine, Someone has to be here to hand out candy right?" Emma points out before giving him a peck on the cheek, "you two have fun and get lots of candy."
"Candy!" Rose happily cheers before heading over to take Chris's hand and pull on it. "Come ooon,"
Chris shakes his head, "Okay okay, I'm going," he confirms and follows Rose out of the house. outside the houses showed various levels of decoration for the holiday. fake gravestones littered lawns, and cotton webs were stuck in trees while falling leaves made the air smell like fresh earth.
It was like walking into a weird wonderland because the sun had set. Rose happily giggled before making her way down the street. Chris followed behind and would point out houses that had their lights on. Each time rose would hurry up to the door and knock on it only to become shy and hide behind Chris once the door was opened. Each time he'd have to coach her through what to say and to her amazement when she said the magic words of 'trick or treat' candy was added to her bucket.
even more amazing to her were the flocks of kids of varying ages that were also outside, all dressed up as different characters and people. When a rare burst of social energy would appear she would occasionally walk over to one and say hello before hurrying back to safety by Chris's side.
Hours passed, her bucket grew heavy and her walking slowed as she yawned. It was well past her bedtime now.
"We're almost home," Chris says and she sleepily nods while bumping into him for the 4th time.
He tried not to smile at this before caving. The agent stopped. "Alright, you're too big to carry but just this once, I'll carry you on my back," he offers and kneels down.
Rose was more than happy to accept the offer and clung to him like a tiny Koala and held on to her bucket tight. there was no way she was letting it out of her sight.
With that, the two of them went home.
The hunt for Heisenberg is underway~ I'll do my best to make sure the next chapter isn't just a courtroom chapter and include some cuteness too =U= Emma's parents have time to visit, there's a proposal Brewin, Emma finally made a friend and told off Karen. It felt so weird having Emma curse X'D sassy Emma was unleased though so hopefully that's the last of Karen.
Response review:
Guest1995 - Oh dear, honestly I'm not great at math either. it should be a very low number. hopefully that helps OTL Your question wasn't annoying or anything. sorry if I came off as annoyed QAQ I would love to get to chat with you about baby Piers ideas and stuff but I was worried it would be taken poorly if I suggested that you message me on twitter or make an account so we could PM each other and chat. you're fine my friend ^_^ I'm always happy to chat with you.
starrat - aw thank you qvq makes my heart happy. thanks for always being so supportive.