"Yes," Magnus Smiled Remembering That Night. They Were Finally Planting Roots. He Had Tired Of Lugging

"Yes," Magnus smiled remembering that night. They were finally planting roots. He had tired of lugging Elizabeth around on his adventures, and wanted her to have somewhere to call him as he had once in Iceland. Having fallen in love with California, he felt like he had chosen the right place that night his neighbor invited him and his daughter made her first friend. One that she could keep in touch with and see every day now. Not corresponding in emails and passing social media posts. And that fact that Magnus in turn also made friends with the beautiful mother was also a nice surprise. " You did, but I must admit they did not make it to the next day. When I stayed up that night responding to emails for a new job I heated them up and ate them hours later." Chuckling, like if it was a secret.

"Of course!" Magnus smiled at her. "You can stay as long as you like. Elizabeth is most likely leaving for Boston in the next couple of days to get settled." He had at this point accepted his daughter's choice, she was as stubborn as he was. "And please, don't rush. If you can't make it, no harm. I wanted to invite you seeing as it would be a nice getaway. I don't remember you taking a trip yourself. Or a vacation as I can recall." Did he pay attention Mickey's comings and goings? No, but he did notice in conversations when they talked that mentions of vacations or getaways had never been brought up.

Nodding, he agreed. "Please, take your time. Let me know when you decide. That way I know if I should wait for you to drive up together or head out." Taking a sip from his wine, he looked around at all the other parents and teenagers. With a sigh, he couldn't help but ask. "Mickey, you have a big family, correct?" Glancing over at where his daughter stood with her friend and other teenagers, he then looked back at Mickey. "Does this ever get easier? Watching them grow and move away. Making their own way?" A small sadness blossoming in the father.

Taking up her own glass of wine, Mikayla takes a lingering sip from it as Magnus does, listening to the memory that he speaks of with a soft sound of laughter bubbling from her lips. "I remember that very well... her and Emma hit it off so well, and so did we for that fact," she muses lightly, "I think I sent you home with the leftovers too," it was a pointless comment, a fact she's well aware of as she lifts her glass to take another sip of her wine.

Though she does sputter a bit when he offers what he does. "Napa?" she questions, worrying at her lower lip for a moment. "Well... I'd have to decide quickly so I can let my families know I won't be doing daycare... I can stay for a week, but I'd have to come home after that long. I can't take more than that off," she could, but she didn't want to inconvenience her families like that.

"Would that be alright?" she asked after a brief pause, looking to Magnus as she did.

Her eyes narrowed in a way that said, yes, prankster you have, without having to say it out loud. But he knew exactly how to get to her. Challenging her. As much as she would like to say that being dared to do anything was a childish thing that she would not partake in, it was an utter lie. It was something that she and Charlie would do all the time. Something that would just casually come up in conversation and turn into a dare, like the time she showed Orion she could in fact run in heels. So hearing his challenge, she smiled. One day she'd be able to get him back, but for now she just wanted to know what he had.

When he showed her what it was, her eyes blew up in surprise. Pulpurindo. She held out the bag of chips for him to take so she could take the candy happily, giddily, but silently. The flavor of tamarind always brought back good memories. The memory of Diwali in India. The memory of sitting near Las Coloradas, watching the sunset in Mexico. Tamarind in candy form just made those childhood memories feel like they were just that, childhood memories, not moments of happiness in a long hard life that she had lived since she was eight.

Gently, as if it might disappear, she took it grateful. A genuine child-like smile on her face she felt a happiness she couldn't explain. "Thank you." Opening up the wrapper, she pulled it apart into two and as she popped one half in her mouth, then she held the other half out to him to share.

"Oh, come on. Have I ever steered you wrong before?" Maybe once or twice but who was counting. "I have it on good authority you're the bravest of the lot so don't tell me you're losing your touch. Where's that sense of adventure I hear so much about."

Maybe now he was just fucking with her. The thing to do to the "newbies" in the family. Even if she wasn't new anymore, it was still fun to make her feel part of their unit. At least she made their Waterloo happy and that's what he cared about. He laughed as he grabbed a chip and popped it into his mouth, his free hand springing what he had found out were one of her favorite candy and dangled it in between them. "This one doesn't come with a string attached." he grinned and continued. "No matter what people might say. I didn't know these were your favorite until your guy mentioned it." It was pretty funny how Wally was observant when it came to people and what they liked. That only amplified with someone he was actually romantically in love with it seemed as he had out of nowhere told him that these were Liz's favorite. Having never seen her around with them that made Janny chuckle that night.

Okay, somewhere to start, an anonymous tip. Someone at least cared enough to call this in. Thank whoever, whatever, was out there looking for him for small miracles. That sounded like something she could ask Mai to look into. That girl knew her way into many systems, tracing the call's origin was something she could find.

This was tough for both of them, but Elizabeth had more practice in stuffing what she felt deep down to be ignored. Diana, she could tell was feeling everything, as she should, this was a brother of hers. Someone she cared about, someone she had known her whole life. She didn't understand that, but she knew how she herself felt about this, about him, so she reached over and placed a hand on the other's shoulder. "Tell me anything you want to. I'll listen." The words were not patronizing or jokingly, they were sincere, knowing that Diana was going through something troubling and wanted to support her in any way she could. Diana had saved her life, the least she could do was listen to her.

Six hours ago, shit, why out of all the nights for such a fuck up to happen it had to be this one. Her side burned but she had been used to worse, she'd fight through this. Hearing everything that Wally had been going through just made her want to know who was responsible even more. Hurt them back. Nodding her head, she agreed and spoke. "I'll head to my place, and get changed. Fill Mai in on some things at the office and I'll meet you in about an hour. Yeah? And don't worry about me, doc." She smiled. "You patched me up good. We got other things to worry about."

"Fair enough." Diana knew Wally would have just accepted that and thought of another way to repay her. "I need you to find the woman or man whatever that called in the anonymous tip. What I was told," more like what she annoyingly fought the reception desk for. "There was an anonymous tip called in to the Kauai division. One he doesn't work for often but does takes jobs when extra hands are needed."

"He hasn't transferred to Hawaii headquarters yet. Which means his boss is still the same one. I'm sure he's told you this. I don't know why I'm repeating it but still." She let out a sigh and ran her hands through her hair. Andy did tell her she shouldn't stress but that was easier said than done.

She sighed and shook her head. "Last update came six hours ago. He was out of surgery but he has been placed on a medically induced coma. What they wrote in the report made it seem less grave. Silas came in and has been tending to him or trying to without having to explain himself. He sustained a major head injury which is why they deemed it necessary to keep him under. It should only last another day or so. GSW to the shoulder but didn't pierce his heart. Would have if he had moved an inch. A punctured lung. He lost a good amount of blood. The base hospital had enough to give him. Should be called later to see him at the base near Pearl Harbor. Can take you with me so I can get more supplies for you."

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) dir. Howard Hawks

Elizabeth knew that Anna sometimes had a hard time remembering some things so she had tried to keep it as simple as she could. If she hadn't remembered Wally, she would fill in the blanks she had. The last thing she wanted was for her friend to feel bad for not remembering someone she had only met once before.

A part of her was waiting for Anna to tell her that it was a bad idea to get attached to someone so far away from them. That perhaps she should just move back like initially intended when she had left to start the new office. Maybe it was just her mind categorizing things as a disaster waiting to happen. The proverbial other shoe to drop. Whatever it was that she expected, it wasn't the words that Anna spoke.

Anna's words helped settle further fears that she might be wrong by finally letting her heart open. To dare to love and be loved back. It wasn't a mistake. It was an adventure. The warmth of the others hand on hers only made her feel more sure of this new chapter in her life. Then a laugh at the mention of her best friend. "Noted."

Taking her seatbelt off, she leaned over to hug Anna. "I love you Anna. I'm sorry I never told you that enough before." After a moment, she pulled back and smiled at her. Making her way out of the car, she walked over to the other side of the car and held the door open for her, while holding out a hand. Elizabeth was baring walking the halls of the place she hated the most, a hospital, for Anna. To be there for her, to support her. Because that was what love was, she was coming to learn. Doing things for those you loved, that you normally wouldn't do. "Now, my darling friend. We have a question we need answered. Lets get that answer."

Had Anna known the real reason Liz had left she would have perhaps reached out more, had done more, had done anything to reassure Elizabeth that she wasn't a third or even fourth wheel. Liz was important to all of them, and she wasn't entirely certain how else she could express the fact more than what they already showed her. Perhaps they had grown too complacent, perhaps something had happened that none of them knew about that had caused Liz to be unhappy with the way things were now...

Or perhaps it was someone that had caught her eye.

"Wally?" She frowns as she thinks back to the birthday party. Shuffling through the list of people that had been there, she finally puts the name to the person, "Oh! Right right, I remember him now..." pausing, Anna lets Liz talk some more, listening to what she had to say, and certainly reading between the lines that Liz liked this man more than she was letting on. It made her cup her own face with her hands as she smiled like a loon, barely refraining from squealing like a child out of sheer joy.

Liz had finally done it.

"You are most certainly not making a mistake," she insists the moment Liz speaks about that. "And you're not being stupid either, so lets just get that out of the way," she waves her hand through the air as if she were clearing smoke away. "Here's the secret to every relationship... you're going to inevitably hurt one another in some way shape or form. Its just a part of life... its unavoidable. I've hurt Charlie before, and Charlie has hurt me... you know this. What it comes down to, is the effort you take to make it work. And who knows, maybe your relationship will be perfect and you won't hurt one another?" She teases, smiling as she reaches over and takes hold of Liz's hand.

"Seriously though. If you can make a relationship with Charlie work, then you can make anything work... just put the same effort, time and trust that you've put into Charlie, into Wally." She stays in the car despite them being at the hospital now, wanting to finish this conversation before they go inside.

From "Jack's Fable Unfalsified" in Fierce Fairytales by Nikita Gill