"This is Special Agent Isabel Owens. I'm not available right now so leave a name and number and I'll return the call as soon as possible."



[Leave any IC, or OOC message here depending on if you need the muse, or the mun]

Cameron was having one of those days where everything just felt hard and lethargic. After not sleeping so well, he woke up really early, only to be met with the sound of Pat and Aiden getting it on when he slowly made his way to the bathroom for a pee. They bloody got an early start the mornings they had to work, and it just served to make Cameron cranky that sex wasn't anywhere on his menu. Not that he would deny his brother after all the issues he had recently, but still. Cameron had a pee and went back to bed, putting the pillow over his ears and somehow managing to pass out cold again. The second time he woke up, it was after eleven in the morning, and he realised he must have really gone into a deep sleep. He didn't feel so groggy now, but his knee was hurting. He slept funny and all he wanted was a hot shower to try and get some circulation back in his leg.

( There was a chair in the shower so he could sit, having to take the brace off so it didn't get wet.Collapse )

The day before, Cameron let the hours slip away in Mel's company and he would be lying if he didn't admit that it was nice to just chill out and relax for awhile. The recent moments of panic he kept getting hit with everytime he let himself overthink things were uncomfortable and just really weren't helping him come to terms with everything and find a place in his head he could cope with it all. But then when he spoke to Pat about it the night before, Pat had gently pointed out that avoiding Isabel wasn't helping either. That it was going to be even more awkward and stressful for him to be expected to just show up on the day of the birth and try to deal with it all in a large rush. Pat told him he needed a toolkit of ways to cope with everything, that he could draw on as he needed. One tool might be talking about how he was feeling, another might be sitting and processing what Izzy did so he could move on from it. One of those tools had to starting to breach the gap with Isabel, or, as Pat explained also, once he babies were born, they would tap into the negativity. Bonding with them would be impossible, and he would lose the window of opportunity to just end up becoming a name in a bank account where he paid maintenance and nothing more.

( It wasn't going to be easy, but Cameron decided to make the trip to New York with Pat and Aiden that morning.Collapse )

[Super backdated to a day after THIS. Follows THIS and THIS]


The night before for Ali had been sobering. She and Andrew had gone for a drive to a quiet place just beyond the border, though it was evident, despite their earlier joking, that Andrew was quite subdued. They were rugged up in thick coats and got out to sit on a park bench together. At first, they just sat quietly watching the stars of the chilled night with Ali stroking her fingers affectionately through Andrew's hair. But they started talking, and Andrew admitted that since their wedding, he had been really missing his Dad. It just wasn't helping that it was getting close to teh anniversary of his death, and the whole thing was just making Andrew sad. He told Ali is was like a rollercoaster of emotions. On one hand, he was ecstatic about their wedding, and being married, and the prospect of them about to celebrate Jamie's first birthday. All that was the prominent feelings for him, but sometimes, when he just couldn't stop them, the saddness crept up on him and that's when he started feeling the urge to drink. Just like that night. Ali asked him what it felt like, and then told him of her decision to give up alcohol too. Andrew had been touched by her choice, but also tried to talk her out it. He didn't want her to go without just because of him. But Ali had always been characteristically stubborn. She made her choice, and that was it. If she couldn't at least do this for him, what could she do. Inevitably, though, Andrew eventually got upset thinking about his Dad, and they ended the evening with Ali just sitting and holding her husband while he cried quietly. The drive home was quiet when Andrew, drained from the emotions, fell asleep while Ali navigated her way back into New York. It gave her a lot of time to think, and she decided that even if it did hurt James didn't at least call her to tell her about his son's birth, life was just too fucking short... often shorter than anyone could anticipate.

( It was that which had Ali finally coming to the hospital to visit James, Harri and their new addition.Collapse )



Words: 6383

[Follows anything involving the birth of agentfraser and straight2point's son. Backdated.]

Cameron wouldn't lie. He wasn't happy about being here in New York at Mount Sinai hospital. The difficult part was, Pat's new godson was here and he wanted Cameron to meet him, of course. Cameron did understand that bit, especially with Pat's sensitivity about children of his own. He more than valued when his loved ones were able to have children of their own, even if it did sting a little. Pat was a strong guy, and could see over that to be happy for other people. He loved kids. That was why it was so difficult for Cameron to understand why Pat wouldn't just do anything to get one of his own. It wasn't on the menu anymore, though. Pat had to painfully tell Lachlan that he wasn't going to take their offer of Tara as a surrogate. It was the right thing to do; Lachlan had been so cut up with Tara's illness taking a serious dive, putting both her life and little RJ's at risk. They were just too precious to him, and Pat wouldn't be able to live with himself to put that on line for his own benefit. No one could argue that Tara's health could be precarious, and had especially been when she was pregnant with RJ. Pat wanted Lachlan to have that special experience of RJ's birth unique to him. Pat's heart always broke when someone's close to him was. But that didn't mean that Cameron didn't know how much Pat was still hurting with it, and Aiden too.

( So, with the arrival of Lachlan's parents from Scotland to help out in Princeton, Cameron and Pat were able to disappear for a little while to make the trek to New York to meet the new arrival.Collapse )


Words: 3345

Isabel lay on her side, watching James sleep. He had spent another night at her place. It was happening so often, that Iz just assumed he'd moved in. She didn't mention it, or bring it up, but now she was starting to wonder. She was also still considering the talk she'd had with Pat. Were her feelings for James just because they had such a deep connection? She didn't necessarily have to be in love with him to feel it. He was her best friend, and their bond was almost as strong as that of twins.

That thought made her scrunch her nose up. James was very not a blood relation thank god. That would have meant what they were doing was a whole new level of wrong. She rubbed her hand against her stomach, the bump starting to become bigger. Ali had lost her baby, and Iz was still heart broken. She thought she'd be able to be pregnant at the same time as her best friend, have their kids grow up simultaneously. Now Ali, who had really wanted a baby with Andrew, wasn't pregnant.

( And Iz, who didn't deserve to be pregnant, still was.Collapse )

Words: 5778

1.29. Being good isnt always easy
No matter how hard I try
When he started sweet-talkin' to me
He'd come and tell me everything is all right
He'd kiss and tell me everything is all right
Can I get away again tonight?
'Son of a Preacher Man' - Dusty Springfield

Co-written with [Bad username: cameronpreston"] | Follows THIS & THIS


Isabel hovered in the doorway to Pat's room. She remembered being here before, hovering just like she was now. Only there had been a very different feeling in her stomach. She still hated watching Cameron suffer while Pat was here. She pressed her lips together, and glanced at Aiden in the corner with Harri. Iz stepped back as she felt a surge of nausea, not sure if it was because of the pregnancy, or guilt. She'd just been fucking James while Harri was here taking care of her best friend.

She looked at Cameron again, and sucked in a breath as she walked into Pat's room. She placed her hand his shoulder, and gave it a gentle squeeze. She couldn't do this with Harri here. Not right there so she would hear every word. It was up to James to talk to his girlfriend. Aiden seemed to want to stretch his legs though, and Izzy watched him and Harri leave before taking the empty chair next to Cameron. Pat was asleep, and Izzy watched him. How was she even supposed to have this conversation with Cameron's sick twin right there. It just didn't seem likely that Cameron would leave him.

Iz wet her lips and turned her attention to Cameron. "Have you eaten anything yet?"

( Cameron couldn't look at her at first.Collapse )


Words: 1754 | All muses referred to with permission and come from the princeton2nyc verse

1.16. "You will always be a child of two worlds, and fully capable of deciding your own destiny. The question you face is: which path will you choose?"
Star Trek (2009)

Co-written with agentfraser | Follows THIS


James lost track of how long he stood in the shower of Pat and Aiden’s guest bathroom, letting the hot, sharp spray beat down on his back. He tried to sort through everything in his mind, to let the water wash away the confusion, but it wasn’t helping. He had slept with Izzy, and everything beyond that was paling in comparison.

Closure? He doubted it.

( He shut the shower off roughly and stepped out of the cubicle.Collapse )


Words: 2271 | All muses referred to with permission and come from the princeton2nyc verse

Co-written with agentfraser
[Follows THIS, THIS and THIS]


There was only so much Izzy could do for Cameron right now. Her heart was breaking to watch him so distressed at his brother's condition. Isabel sat next to him for a little while, her hand resting loosely on the top of his. His eyes never left his brother when he came back from the MRI, and Izzy wasn't even sure if he realised she was there. She was starting to go stir crazy, and she couldn't even imagine how Cameron was coping with being stuck in hospital again. Even if he wasn't the patient.

Aiden looked terrible as well, Harri coming back to take the strain of him. Or at least try. Harri seemed to have a better way of managing Aiden, than Izzy did managing Cameron. Part of her was wondering if she would ever get knack. Lachlan and Riley just seemed to float between everyone and make sure they had what they needed, with Tara and RJ nearby. Isabel felt out of place, and she couldn't shake the feeling no matter how long she sat in the room.

( Maybe she just wasn't letting herself be a part of it, and she knew it had to do with a part of her mind staying on James.Collapse )


[Words: | All muses referred to with permission and come from the princeton2nyc verse