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[ She's twenty nine, not twelve! She doesn't need people watching her; it's not like she'd topple off the roof, right? Raleigh is just about to indignantly make a point about that but then contemplates the merits of being in Chuck's office.
Or agreeing and wandering off after, because Raleigh's extremely aware of the fact that he has a job to do and that job is not babysitting her - she just really dislikes ERs. Besides, the quicker he's done, the faster they can go home. ]
...Fine. [ She'll just wander out once he goes back to work. Raleigh pauses, then starts for the elevators to the upper floors. ] It's still at the same old place, right?
Or agreeing and wandering off after, because Raleigh's extremely aware of the fact that he has a job to do and that job is not babysitting her - she just really dislikes ERs. Besides, the quicker he's done, the faster they can go home. ]
...Fine. [ She'll just wander out once he goes back to work. Raleigh pauses, then starts for the elevators to the upper floors. ] It's still at the same old place, right?
[Candy crush is glorified tetris.
Chuck eyes the baby monitor, like he just knows that if he goes for it, Percy is going to start fussing and that will just kill the whole mood and he wonders if he can turn it off without her noticing. Just for like a half hour.]
Your fault. [He murmurs against her lips.] Just had to be so fertile.
Chuck eyes the baby monitor, like he just knows that if he goes for it, Percy is going to start fussing and that will just kill the whole mood and he wonders if he can turn it off without her noticing. Just for like a half hour.]
Your fault. [He murmurs against her lips.] Just had to be so fertile.
Who doesn't have a facebook?
[It doesn't matter what he puts on his wall, it's actually barely used. Unlike his linkedin account but that's different because he uses the latter for his work. But anyway, the point is is that he's not going to go around shouting this development from the rooftops but he doesn't want to change it.]
[It doesn't matter what he puts on his wall, it's actually barely used. Unlike his linkedin account but that's different because he uses the latter for his work. But anyway, the point is is that he's not going to go around shouting this development from the rooftops but he doesn't want to change it.]
[She's really not as strong as he would like to see, he can feel it in her fingers when she squeezes his. Perhaps it's acceptable for someone who's just been asleep for eleven weeks but it's not enough for him. Because Raleigh is anything but weak.]
Why?
[Asked even as he leans in towards her.]
Why?
[Asked even as he leans in towards her.]
[People should build monuments to his ego.]
He didn't really. Came back when he had leave and when I turned eighteen, I left.
[And it's just been like this ever since. Talking once in a blue moon and this is the first trip he's taken back to Australia in years.]
He didn't really. Came back when he had leave and when I turned eighteen, I left.
[And it's just been like this ever since. Talking once in a blue moon and this is the first trip he's taken back to Australia in years.]
[You are an annoying bastard, Raleigh Becket.
Chuck could go around him but why do that when he could just go through him, even if it is a little bit more work, it's a lot more satisfactory to grab Raleigh by the collar of his shirt and push him back, back until he hits the counter.]
I said move.
Chuck could go around him but why do that when he could just go through him, even if it is a little bit more work, it's a lot more satisfactory to grab Raleigh by the collar of his shirt and push him back, back until he hits the counter.]
I said move.
Because Max has better taste than that.
[Nevermind what that says about Chuck, given that he's sleeping with Raleigh but. He will maintain that his dog is better behaved and easier to deal with than Raleigh Becket.]
I want you to shut up and put your mouth to better use.
[Nevermind what that says about Chuck, given that he's sleeping with Raleigh but. He will maintain that his dog is better behaved and easier to deal with than Raleigh Becket.]
I want you to shut up and put your mouth to better use.
[If there's anything worse that Herc could've done, besides hug him without warning and then chew him out for ignoring his training, like he wasn't the best at the Academy that year, Chuck would be hard pressed to name it. His fists clench at his side and he glares right back at his dad.
True, they did talk about velcroing in the Academy but Chuck always kind of dismissed it because he's better than that. He needs his dad to be a Ranger but not for anything else.
Except this. His headache is starting to ebb back, like a wave and he would totally stand there all night and have a pissing match with his dad too.]
I'm not hugging it out with you in the bloody loo.
True, they did talk about velcroing in the Academy but Chuck always kind of dismissed it because he's better than that. He needs his dad to be a Ranger but not for anything else.
Except this. His headache is starting to ebb back, like a wave and he would totally stand there all night and have a pissing match with his dad too.]
I'm not hugging it out with you in the bloody loo.
[ Raleigh manages, through massive effort, to shift just a little more, to delicately press dry, chapped lips against the side of his mouth in a tentative kiss.
She's fine, she'll be fine, you'll see. But right now she has a husband to care for, despite the lingering exhaustion. ] ...Love you.
She's fine, she'll be fine, you'll see. But right now she has a husband to care for, despite the lingering exhaustion. ] ...Love you.
[ But it's awesome shiny glorified tetris.
Raleigh catches his look, though, then decides to do it for him. Fifteen minutes, maximum. Silencing the baby monitor without looking at it (because a gurgling baby will kind of kill the mood, too, that happened twice), she returns his kiss once, twice, tangling her limbs with his. ]
You waiting for me to make a crack about how potent you are? [ She's smiling, before she rolls him onto his back. ]
Raleigh catches his look, though, then decides to do it for him. Fifteen minutes, maximum. Silencing the baby monitor without looking at it (because a gurgling baby will kind of kill the mood, too, that happened twice), she returns his kiss once, twice, tangling her limbs with his. ]
You waiting for me to make a crack about how potent you are? [ She's smiling, before she rolls him onto his back. ]
[ Raleigh's not a big fan of shouting it from the rooftops, either. As far as she's concerned, it's none of anyone's business. She's still processing it, running it through in her head.
Finally, she mutters. ]
...Get the chocolate sauce. We're eating some pancakes.
Finally, she mutters. ]
...Get the chocolate sauce. We're eating some pancakes.
[That. That right there is why he married her.
Chuck settles on to his back, helping to pull her on top of him. He can work with fifteen minutes. It's been that long. The way he leans up from the pillow to kiss her should be proof enough of that.]
Just saying-- you weren't supposed to be able to have kids.
Chuck settles on to his back, helping to pull her on top of him. He can work with fifteen minutes. It's been that long. The way he leans up from the pillow to kiss her should be proof enough of that.]
Just saying-- you weren't supposed to be able to have kids.
[Raleigh you-- do not need to lay there and take care of him right now. You've got to be absolutely shitting him. Or completely drugged up right now. A tear might squeeze out of the corner of his eye but he won't own up to it.]
Rals. [Chuck leans in further to touch his forehead to hers.]
You should rest.
Rals. [Chuck leans in further to touch his forehead to hers.]
You should rest.
[ Since Chuck has pretty much been on the top of every American politician’s shit list since two days into the press tour – already spouting obnoxious opinions about the Wall and integrity and other stuff Raleigh’s always secretly agreed with Chuck on – it isn’t surprising the level of animosity they’re met with when Chuck goes to apply for a green card. Several frustrating weeks of fruitless effort had made Chuck and Raleigh alike pretty irritable, because it’d been obvious given how some of the PPDC personnel had obtained their passes without so much effort that the office had it out for Chuck specifically, but Raleigh wasn’t too worried at the time. There were plenty of other countries to go to, and the government had to have run out of decent reasons to withhold Chuck’s green card, right?
Except they’ve been living in Canada for a couple of months now, and Chuck still hasn’t seen progress. Raleigh and Chuck have been planning on moving to the States for a while, setting up permanent residency in (a new) home in Alaska, but nothing’s certain so long as Chuck’s not able to legally change addresses. It’d been funny at first, and Raleigh’d definitely given Chuck more than his fair share of shit for it in the beginning, but Chuck’s frustration is palpable now, having grown like a thundercloud over time.
The look on Chuck’s face when he stomps into the kitchen after another hour on the phone, thunderous like he’s probably already destroyed the living room in his frustration, should clue Raleigh in on Chuck’s mood, but it’s what Chuck says next that really has him reeling.
Raleigh stares, feeling more than hearing the egg he’s balanced on the spatula splat back onto the pan in a hiss of noise. ]
You’re joking.
Except they’ve been living in Canada for a couple of months now, and Chuck still hasn’t seen progress. Raleigh and Chuck have been planning on moving to the States for a while, setting up permanent residency in (a new) home in Alaska, but nothing’s certain so long as Chuck’s not able to legally change addresses. It’d been funny at first, and Raleigh’d definitely given Chuck more than his fair share of shit for it in the beginning, but Chuck’s frustration is palpable now, having grown like a thundercloud over time.
The look on Chuck’s face when he stomps into the kitchen after another hour on the phone, thunderous like he’s probably already destroyed the living room in his frustration, should clue Raleigh in on Chuck’s mood, but it’s what Chuck says next that really has him reeling.
Raleigh stares, feeling more than hearing the egg he’s balanced on the spatula splat back onto the pan in a hiss of noise. ]
You’re joking.
[ Yeah, but it does the job. Herc's still blind when it comes to his son, so he doesn't know what being a Ranger means to Chuck, that Chuck doesn't know how to be anything else, but Chuck, Herc understands, also doesn't know what it means to be a Ranger on terms that aren't his own.
Chuck is a Ranger, but he doesn't acknowledge his limits like a good Ranger should. No one is above the rules, not even the best -- understanding that is what had made Stacker so efficient a pilot, and the lack of understanding that is what will, in short years to come, bring the Becket brothers down too.
The kid can't get it through his head. Never needed to, with talent like his. ]
Good call. [ Herc looks around the room in a glance, like he's only just really realized where they are. The reality of it seems to hit him all at once -- the fight, the celebration, the context of the situation beyond Chuck -- and he relaxes a fraction even if the line of his shoulders are still tensed and wary. There's a measure of acquiescence in Chuck's reply, so Herc just gestures to the door with a tilt of his head.
After you. ]
Chuck is a Ranger, but he doesn't acknowledge his limits like a good Ranger should. No one is above the rules, not even the best -- understanding that is what had made Stacker so efficient a pilot, and the lack of understanding that is what will, in short years to come, bring the Becket brothers down too.
The kid can't get it through his head. Never needed to, with talent like his. ]
Good call. [ Herc looks around the room in a glance, like he's only just really realized where they are. The reality of it seems to hit him all at once -- the fight, the celebration, the context of the situation beyond Chuck -- and he relaxes a fraction even if the line of his shoulders are still tensed and wary. There's a measure of acquiescence in Chuck's reply, so Herc just gestures to the door with a tilt of his head.
After you. ]
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