grady barrett (ashadowgrows) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2019-08-31 20:23:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | #december 2017, grady, grady x jen, jen |
Who: Grady & Jen
Where: Mercy Hospital
When: Friday morning 12/29
Status: Complete
Leaving the safety of the house in Overlook had been hard and Jen still felt like the calamity wasn't really over. The hospital was chaotic and she felt so out of place, clinging to Phee while they were there because the other girl was the only thing keeping her from feeling like she wasn't welcome. At least she knew now that her dad was alive and hadn't been eaten by that thing they'd seen so she should feel calmer but he still wasn't there so she couldn't keep from thinking the monster was still out there, lying in wait, ready to attack his car and peel it apart to get to what was inside. It was a persistent thought, one that kept popping into her head, all too real and visual. She didn't think she'd ever been so scared in her life and she hated how small she felt, not to mention how tired and almost like crying had given her a hangover.
Grady had already spent a ridiculous amount of hours at the station since the fog rolled in, and he knew he would be working through most of the weekend as well, but his first priority once he was able to actually drive through town without worrying about crashing his car or hitting someone, was Jen. She was at the hospital now with the McCarthy's and Grady was torn between getting her home where it was quiet and safe, and leaving her with Ophelia. But Ophelia's mom had been hurt, and they had enough on their plate than to look after Jen. Grady thought about taking her to the station with him, but that would be just as chaotic and he wouldn't be able to devote as much time to her as he would like.
He pulled up in front of the hospital and let his lights on before heading inside. Grady was trying not to run but he moved quickly until he found the proper waiting room where his daughter was with her friends. He already knew she was okay, but seeing her in the flesh for himself was a relief. Grady headed for her, ignoring the static from his radio. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Jen was on her feet as soon as her dad rounded the corner and despite how tired she felt, she was already moving, all but slamming into him. She wasn't hurt but she hadn't been okay for a while now though actually hugging her dad was making her feel closer to it than she had since this nightmare had begun. He was alive and he wasn't hurt, that was all she needed to know. "I'm okay," she said, the words muffled against his thick winter coat. "I'm okay." He was going to have to go out there again, she knew that, she wasn't naive, but she'd needed to see him in person to really believe he hadn't been eaten by something horrible with giant teeth and the strength to rip apart a metal drone with them.
Grady hugged her back immediately, the relief undeniable in the grip he had her in. A part of him wanted to put her in the car and drive her back to Portland right then and there. "You're okay," Grady said, running a hand over her hair before he kissed the top of her head. "Is Mrs. McCarthy all right? Do her kids want a ride or do you think they'll stay here?" Jen might want to stay with her friends, but Grady wasn't thrilled at the idea of leaving her there in the hospital, especially if Brianna McCarthy had been hurt and would be there for a while.
"They have a car," Jen mumbled, not really wanting to think about anything right now. "I think she's gonna be okay." She was reluctant to let go of her dad right now, needing that solid reminder that he was alive, safe and present. She doubted Phee would want to go home alone and they wouldn't want to leave Brianna by herself so nobody was going anywhere but her. "Do you have to keep working?" she asked then, pulling back to look up at Grady. She already knew the answer was probably yes, even if he looked tired, even if she wanted him to come home.
He knew she would ask him that question and he hated disappointing her, which Grady knew he would be doing with his answer. But they were already short-staffed and Ty was hurt and the town needed help. "I do," he said with a small nod. "But I have time to get you home, check on the house, and make sure you're safe." He thought he might even take a quick shower and put on a clean uniform. Grady had a feeling he probably stunk. He needed a shave, but that could come later. "I won't work all night," he promised her. "We've got a couple reserves willing to come for the night patrol."
She wasn't exactly surprised but she was still disappointed and she did her best to hide it because her dad looked sad enough about it all. "That's okay," she told him bravely because if she wasn't brave he'd insist she go back to Portland. "I need to go home and feed the pets, I hope they're okay, they need fresh water every day." She'd slowly pulled away from him as she spoke but she still found herself holding onto his coat, like a tether. "You look like you need sleep though. You can't be a good sheriff if you go crazy from lack of sleep."
"I'm going to come home tonight and get plenty of sleep," he promised. "We've got a new deputy starting Sunday, and that will help us. If you're ready to go, I'll take you home." Grady knew he would feel much better with Jen home, assuming the house had gone undamaged. If he could stay home, he would, but given the state of things, they would need him for the next several hours. Grady thought it might be best to bring up Jen potentially going to Portland, at least until school started again, but he decided to wait until they were in the car to bring it up.
Jen thought they needed at least ten new deputies and a spare sheriff for that matter. One was better than none though and she nodded, looking a little too long at her hand clutching his coat before she willed herself to let go. "I'm gonna let Phee know I'm going," she mumbled, looking at Grady's face and trying to read his expression before turning to dart back into the waiting room to hug Phee goodbye. It all felt so dreamlike and she decided they could talk about it better later, when they were hopefully a little less shell-shocked. Returning to Grady she pulled on her coat. "Ready when you are."
Grady had the thought to find Brianna McCarthy and thank her for watching Jen while all the bullshit was going on, but they were in the hospital because Brianna got hurt, and she was being tended to in that moment. He would drop by later, or give her a call when all of this settled down. Grady slipped an arm around Jen and turned to lead her to the exit. He would need to call Alison next and just check in on Hunter. He knew Portland wasn't like Point Pleasant, but Grady didn't think he would relax until he knew his son was okay too. Just in case. "There's a lot of debris on the roads," he explained. "You might have seen some of the damage on the ride over here. As far as I can tell, whatever was in the fog is gone now. Did you see anything while you were at the McCarthy's?"
Jen nodded a bit numbly because yes, they'd seen more than they wanted to see and that blurry footage on Sebastian's drone controller would probably haunt her for the rest of her life. "There was something out there with giant teeth," she mumbled and leaned in against him as that persistent thought came back that he could have been mauled by those giant teeth. It wasn't fair, they were safe now and her dad was right there, the mental image needed to go the fuck away already. "Did you see it?" she asked quietly, glancing up at him. She really had no idea how his time had been spent. He could have been in peril this whole time and he would probably never tell her.
Grady glanced down at her before he reached over to open the passenger side of the patrol car for her. Technically they weren't supposed to have civilians in the front seat, but he could give a shit about rules in that moment. Grady didn't answer her question until she was safely inside and he had slipped in behind the wheel and buckling his seat belt. "I saw... parts of it," he admitted finally, keeping his gaze on the road ahead as he pulled away from the hospital. "Nothing completely solid. The fog was too thick. But I saw the damage it did. I couldn't tell you what it was, or where it even went, but it seems to be gone now. I think people were safe as long as they stayed inside."
"It stayed away from the house," Jen agreed. "It never came close but it could have easily broken through some of those big windows." It was probably the magical wards keeping it at bay. Judging by some of the damage she'd seen on her way to the hospital the creature had scraped some walls pretty badly so it made no sense it hadn't come closer. Especially if it already had the blood-scent of what was inside. It always felt nice to be in her dad's patrol car. He'd let her ride up front a couple of times before and it always made her feel weirdly important as well as giving her a glimpse into his life. Because this really was his life with how much time he spent at work. "Are all your cops okay?" she asked because she knew he'd probably blame himself or something if one of them got hurt.
"Mostly," Grady said, glancing at Jen. "One of my deputies got hurt pretty badly, but I think he'll be okay." He couldn't even begin to explain what had happened, and he knew people would want answers. He was growing tired of never having any to give them. The truth was complicated. Gripping the steering wheel, Grady made his way towards home, but the question was still gnawing in his gut. "Jen... do you want to move back to Portland? I would understand if you do. This place is... it's not safe. And I think your mom would love to have you back with her and Hunter."
She'd known it was coming and she definitely felt some internal bristling at the mention though he was a lot nicer about it than she'd feared. She'd expected him to insist and maybe he still would. "No," she said gently but decisively. "I want to stay here." She didn't want to go into all the details of why but she had her reasons ready to lay out if he protested. "I want to stay with you." She looked at him, trying to read his expression, to ready herself for whatever he might say next.
Grady had already known she would say no. Teenagers could be stubborn, even with logic staring them in the face. She would be safer in Portland, with her mom and brother. And weren't twins supposed to be... attached in some sense? Grady was hoping she would miss Hunter enough to want to move back. It wasn't that Grady wanted her to go, but he felt neglectful, like he wasn't doing enough for her here. Grady didn't say anything for a few moments, his eyes on the road to avoid any debris still on the street. "I'm afraid if you stay," he began slowly, "you'll never leave. This place is... not right, Jen. This stuff will keep happening, and I won't always be there to make sure you're okay. I hate that feeling. If something happens to you, I don't know what I would do."
If he was right about that, then Point Pleasant had gotten its claws in Jen years ago. She loved it here, always eager to come back even before she'd made friends. She just didn't know how to reassure him she'd be okay because that wasn't something she could promise. "And what if you send me home and I get hit by a bus or something," she said. "Nowhere's safe, dad. At least here I have you and I have friends. My friends are-" No, she couldn't tell him her friends were powerful, he wasn't supposed to know they were witches. "I really don't want to leave and that's not your fault."
Grady glanced at Jen briefly, trying not to outwardly grimace at the thought of her getting hit by a bus - or anything. She just sounded so matter of fact about it. She sounded so adult. More than he wanted her to. It would have been easier for her to be scared and agree to go back to Portland with her mother and Hunter. Maybe it would have been easier for Grady too, though that thought made him feel a little guilty. He missed his kids when they were away, and while he'd had his doubts, he had been happy when they came to live with him. But now Hunter had gone, and Grady had sort of expected Jen to get bored here and want to leave too. But now she had friends, and she wanted to stay. "I just... wish I could be more present," he mumbled. "I don't like that I can't be there to help if something like this happens. And I can't promise it won't get worse."
"Of course you can't," Jen said and it was a little sad that he probably felt like he should be able to promise her that - and keep that promise. Even outside of Point Pleasant the planet was fucked, fascism was on the rise, their government was insane. "But I know you'll try to be there and I like it here better than Portland so you're stuck with me whether you like it or not." She shot him a little smile, not wanting him to think for a second that she felt unwelcome here. She knew that wasn't a problem, her dad might work too much but he never made her feel unwanted.
Grady chuckled, he couldn't help it. "Well, I do like it. I want you here... in spite of all the other stuff." He occasionally thought about moving back to Portland, himself. He would be closer to Hunter, and he and Alison could co-parent easier. He didn't doubt he could find a spot at one of the precincts. But deep down he knew he couldn't leave Point Pleasant, even if he wanted to. He would be the town's sheriff as long as people would have him. He would die here, Grady knew that much. He just didn't want that to be true for his kids. "Do you think you'll be okay at home for a while? I don't know how long I'll be tonight."
Jen wasn't dying to be alone, not after everything that had happened, but she was also determined not to show weakness when her dad was constantly on the verge of sending her back to Portland. "I have so much to do," she said. "Time will fly, I'm sure of it. I need to clean the cages and make sure my pets are okay." She hesitated, glancing over at Grady. "Can you... text? Like every hour or two? Just so I know you're okay?" If she couldn't stand to stay at home after she was done with the snails and beetles, she could probably rope him into driving her back to the McCarthys. Maybe Ophelia wouldn't mind having her around some more.
"Yeah, I can do that," Grady promised. He had no idea what awaited him once he got back out there, but he would make sure to let Jen know he was okay, and when he was coming home. "You can text me too, let me know how things are going, or if you need anything. Maybe you can Skype Hunter... let him keep you company for a while, see how he's doing." At least then Jen might feel less alone. Hell, maybe after all of this calms down and returns to normal - whatever that may be - Grady could take his kids somewhere nice for a long weekend. Just to escape everything else.
The thought of talking to Hunter was a little daunting. Jen didn't want to tell him a damn thing because he'd been so timid and depressed since his own run-in with the supernatural. She might even have asked Grady to keep it a secret from him but Mak might tell Hunter all about it so that didn't really feel like an option. Jen was for sure not telling him about the monster and the drone or Sebastian's mom. If he found out, it would be from someone else and not her. "I might," she said, though she wasn't fully committed to it yet. Maybe she'd be busy enough with the pets that she wouldn't feel like she needed to talk to anyone else, that really was what she was hoping for. "Do you think whatever it was is really gone?" she asked quietly as she surveyed the damage around them. It didn't seem too bad around their neighborhood and that was weirdly reassuring, like maybe it didn't care about their street - their house.
Grady glanced at Jen again and wondered if maybe she and Hunter had had a fight or something. He was about to ask, but then she asked if he thought those things were gone - yes, things, he knew there had been more than one - and Grady sighed, taking the turn down the street to their house. "I think so, yeah. They seemed to be gone with the fog, and the power came back on when the fog started to lift, so I think maybe it was all connected somehow. I can't be one hundred percent sure, which is why I want you to stay inside until I get home later. But right now, I think it's gone."
"I'm not going anywhere unless you drive me there," Jen promised and at this point she didn't even think she'd want to borrow a car and drive anywhere herself. It was all just too scary and the thought of getting trapped in the car if the fog rolled in again was guaranteed to keep her indoors. "Will you come inside for a bit?" she asked as they got closer to their house. Maybe he couldn't stay long but she didn't want to go inside by herself. Maybe it was dumb, but she wanted him to check every room like it was a proper police procedure and only then did she think she could relax in there.
"Of course." Grady certainly wasn't going to send Jen into the house without him checking it out first. For all he knew there would be damage to the structure. If it was unsafe... well, he would just take Jen to the station with him. He wouldn't leave her alone. Grady pulled into the driveway, looking through the windshield up toward the house. The tree out front had lost some branches, but the house itself looked all right. He would still go inside and Grady turned off the engine before glancing at Jen. "You want to stay here while I check it out?"
"Nope," Jen said almost sharply like it was funny, already unfastening her seatbelt. She would panic if she stayed in the car alone, she just knew it, and waiting in the hallway would be a lot less scary. She wasn't going to do anything stupid like help him secure the place but being inside with him and knowing he was okay was better. She noticed the tree too when she got out, frowning softly. "Well that's just super unnecessary and mean," she muttered, more to herself than to her dad. "Poor tree."
"I'll get it cleaned up," Grady said. At least none of the branches had fallen onto the roof. Pulling out his keys, Grady unlocked the front door and opened it cautiously, one hand moving to the butt of his gun, just in case. He didn't think anyone, or anything, was there, but he would make sure, especially if he was going to leave Jen there alone for several hours. The house was chilly, but Grady could hear the heat had kicked back on, so it would warm up eventually. "Stay here," he instructed, once they were both inside and he had shut the door behind her. The house was quiet but for the hum of heat. Grady checked the rooms, only finding the tension in his shoulders had ebbed once he finished. Everything seemed in place. No damage to the back windows or walls. He returned to Jen, clipping his gun back into place in his belt. "Are you sure you'll be okay here on your own? It's not terribly fun, but you can come sit in my office at the station for a bit if you want."
"Maybe I can come to the station later?" Jen suggested. She was honestly tempted to go now but her sense of responsibility for her pets won over that urge. She kind of wished he could stay home for a couple of hours while she cleaned the cages and made sure the snails and beetles were safe but she doubted he could. "Do you have to go right away?" she asked anyway. She could work fast, maybe. She should feel safe now but the fog had come so fast, who was to say it wouldn't return just as quickly and then she'd be alone.
Grady looked pained for a moment before he nodded. "The town is a mess. Deputy Solomon is hurt, so we're short a man. I've got to get back out there and help where I can." He would rather stay with his daughter, but he had a duty and obligation and he couldn't turn his back on that. People expected to see him out there. They would call for him. "You've got your phone? Make sure it's charged and text me when you're ready to come and I'll drop by and pick you up." Maybe she would end up falling asleep for awhile. She looked as exhausted as Grady felt. "Is that okay?"
There was a part of Jen that wanted to be a petulant child and demand he stay home but she was well versed in shutting that part of her up so she nodded instead and then moved forward to give him a hug. "Be safe, okay? And text me all the time so I know that you are." If nothing went wrong then maybe being alone would be good. She could cry without having to hide it from anyone because her pets really didn't give a shit if she did.
"Of course, I will." Grady hugged her tightly. He really did hate leaving her alone, and he wished one of her friends could be there with her. If things started going south outside again, he would likely turn his car back home immediately, but hopefully all of this was over and she would be all right until he could finish up for the night. There was just a lot of damage to check, and... bodies to deal with. "Love you," he told her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Lock the doors. And if you need anything, or something goes... wrong, call me immediately."
All of this made Jen wish she was a witch - or something - even more so than usual. It didn't matter that her friend who was a witch had felt just as helpless as she did, she was just new at it. Being able to throw fireballs or manipulate any element if something attacked her? She wanted that, she wanted all of it. She held onto her dad tightly for a moment before letting go and nodding sharply. "I'm okay here," she promised. "I just need you to be okay out there too. Do that and we're good."
"I'll be okay," he told her, and he meant that. Grady had survived...well, he wasn't sure what had been worse than this, but some things had come close. He gave her a smile, just to try and ease her mind, and then started for the door. "I'll send you a text when I get to where I'm going. And then again, and so on." He chuckled and opened the door to head outside. "I'll be home soon."
She wasn't really counting on that, him being there soon, but she'd tally those text messages and treasure every one. If she got restless when she was done with the cages she might try to get a ride back to Overlook but at this point she - like her father - was really hoping she could just sleep. "See you tonight," she said and once he was out the door she locked it behind him, feeling that anxiety she'd been keeping at bay slowly creep closer. It annoyed her more than anything because she wasn't That Person, she was strong and she left the panicking to her brother. Somehow that stubborn annoyance helped, like she could just snap her fingers and tell her anxiety to sit, roll over, play dead. She had other things to deal with right now, she didn't have time for a breakdown.