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Agent Washington (completelysane) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-04-26 16:58:00

Who: Wash, Peeta and Caroline
What: Peeta and Caroline help Wash come up with a plan to deal with his "stalker" problem
When: A few hours after this text
Where: Peeta and Caroline's apartment
Warnings/Ratings: Lowish? Wash is hungover and there's probably language
Status: Complete!



When he had arrived at Peeta and Caroline’s apartment around four am, Wash had still been a bit drunk. A bottle of eighty proof tequila will do that to you. But instead of the carefree mood he’d been in when he and Carolina had left the bar, Wash was just as freaked out as his earlier texts to Peeta had implied.

Paranoid and not able to think straight, Wash had been sent to bed to sleep off the remainder of the tequila with the promise that in the morning, things could be hashed out. Morning was quickly turning into afternoon by the time Wash stumbled out of the guest bedroom looking as though he’d slept in his clothes. Tequila hangovers were a special kind of beast.

“Hey,” he greeted Peeta as he entered the living room. He was one hundred times more calm now than when he had first arrived. “Thanks for letting me crash in your spare room and sorry for the hysterical text last night...uh...this morning.”

Thankfully Peeta had been through people coming over at random hours of the morning, so he had been more than happy to let Wash come over especially since it seemed like the guy truly needed it. Things were certainly going crazy on his end and thankfully Peeta had the day off from the bakery, so he was able to get back into sleep once Wash had agreed to go sleep things off.

He got up a little later than his usual time, but he kept himself busy by making some breakfast and a few muffins so he had something to do. Since Wash was most likely going to sleep for a long time Peeta took up room on his couch, flipping the tv on, and opening his laptop to go through some things for the bakery.

Eventually he heard stirring and he lifted his head to see Wash coming into the room and he definitely looked worse for wear, “Oh hey. Good afternoon. And you’re totally fine - that’s what friends are for. I made some muffins if you want or else I can make something greasy if you need that for your stomach.”

At the mention of food Wash winced. Stressed and hung-over, his stomach was not especially happy with him and the thought of putting something into it was not appealing. “Thanks, but I think I’ll wait to put anything in my stomach for now.”

Wash had a seat in a chair and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees as he rubbed his eyes. He’d been replaying last night’s events over and over in his head, slowly putting together what had gone down after Carolina had dropped the bombshell on him that their squad was MIA or AWOL. Or dead. Everything after that had been a blur. The only thing he really remembered was finding his name on the boxes making up Carolina’s table and that file. There was a part of him that strongly wanted another drink.

He moaned into his hands before lowering them from his face.

“Totally fine,” Peeta waved a hand and dismissed the idea because he knew what kind of hangover Wash was going through right this moment. It was one of the worst kinds and he was actually impressed that his friend was up and moving.

He set down his tablet and his mug of coffee and watched his friend carefully. Yeah, the events were still running in Wash’s mind and Peeta could practically read his face when he got to the part about finding those files. He couldn’t claim to have any kind of knowledge about why a CO would have information like that on a soldier, but he was almost inclined to think that it wasn’t a good thing.

“Alright, do you want to talk about it? I can’t promise any answers, but it’ll be good to discuss it.”

Wash looked at him carefully. A part of him really did want to talk about it, all of it, and get an objective opinion about it all. Another part of him wanted to raid Peeta’s alcohol supply and drink himself into oblivion again so he wouldn’t have to think about it at all.

Considering it would be rude of him to drink Peeta and Caroline dry, Wash decided his only course of action was to talk and get what was on his mind out in the open. He rubbed his forehead wearily and sat back in the chair. “Yeah, I think I should before I legitimately go crazy.” Again. “What did I say to you last night? That Carolina was stalking me, right? That she had a file full of personal documents and boxes with my name on them…”

“Yeah, you mentioned that she had a ton of files on you and that she had been stalking you. Which seems pretty weird for a CO to do. I mean, you guys obviously used to be friends, so you wouldn’t be completely averse to seeing her unless things went bad in the end between you two. As for files - I have no idea why she would be collecting those unless she took them from somewhere,” there was a possibility that she might have gathered things up with the purpose of giving them over to Wash. I mean, why would anyone want to collect files on someone they used to work with.

He almost wanted to pour both of them a drink to try and figure this situation out, but he didn’t want to give Wash more of a reason to have yet another hangover. He ran his hand over his face and then ran his fingers through his hair, “Are you going to talk to her or just avoid her as long as possible? You two are probably going to have a discussion at some point.”

Hungover was a state Wash was slowly getting used to. He had started a slow spiral after Kyu had left and the further down he got, the harder it seemed to climb back up. However, the soldier in him understood he needed to keep a clear head as long as there was a possibility of serious danger.

He shook his head. “One file,” he corrected quietly. “Just the one. It has all kinds of documents in it. She still has ties to the Marines, I mean, I think she would. She retired, so...I don’t know, she could have easily gotten my records and reports.” He rubbed his face tiredly. “I honestly have no idea what’s going on, Peeta. I think…” Wash wasn’t even sure what he thought anymore. Did Carolina really want to kill him for revenge? He honestly didn’t know that either. If she did want to kill him, why did she wait so long? Why didn’t she tell him about York and the others before now?

Wash sighed, “I have no idea if I want to talk to her or not,” Wash said. “I should, but, I have no idea what I’d say and I’m not sure I really want to know the reason why she has that file or my stuff..”

Caroline arrived at her apartment excited to see her new pet. However as she made her way down the hall she could hear voices in her apartment. Wash was still there and he sounded, confused. As she got closer she heard a bit more of the conversation, someone had a file on him? She paused at the door unsure if she should enter or not. He was in the middle of confiding in Peeta after all. But, this was her home too. So she slowly opened the door alerting them she was there. Just in case Wash wanted to stop talking or something.

“Hey,” Caroline greeted the both of them small smile on her face. “How are you feeling?” she asked Wash setting her backpack down. She hadn’t talked to him much the night before. Let Peeta handle things, but she knew enough to know he was wasted and upset about something. Now she had a better idea about what he was upset about but she wasn’t going to intrude.

Ties to the Marines and being retired certainly went hand in hand. He still couldn’t quite pin down why in the world Carolina would have that information unless she was truly worried about Wash. He had never met the woman, but he didn’t sense former COs being capable of extracting revenge for things that had gone down. Most people out of the military weren’t that insane. Peeta’s lips pursed in thought as he went to the kitchen and grabbed a couple mugs of coffee before bringing it out to his friend.

“I would say talking will be the only way to solve this problem,” Peeta didn’t like that, but it was going to be the best way. His head turned when he heard the door open and smiled when he caught sight of Caroline coming in. He set his mug down by his chair and walked over to her to greet her with a kiss on the cheek, “Hey, welcome home.”

If Wash hadn't been dreaming the things he was Dreaming - of being used as a guinea pig in a glorified science experiment, or an unwitting pawn to commit acts of corporate terrorism, or been shot in the back by a teammate he had saved and used as a bargaining chip for her life, or being tortured psychologically until literally tearing himself in apart, or of going insane himself - then he would have agreed with Peeta. It didn’t make sense for a former CO being capable enough to come back after two years for revenge. The sad truth of it was that the Dreams did nothing to help Wash’s untreated paranoia. And knowing what he did now about his squad, there as a part of him that wanted Carolina to take revenge.

Peeta, unfortunately, was right. The only way that this was going to have any conclusion was to face Carolina.

He sighed deeply and accepted the cup of coffee handed to him. “Maybe,” he said quietly, “I need to get my head on better before that happens.”

He glanced up as Caroline entered the apartment and gave her a vague wave. He looked as hungover as he felt, but he wasn’t ranting and raving the way he had been the night before. He had a vague memory of Caroline being present when he’d showed up earlier that morning, but she had stayed back to let Peeta handle the situation and calm Wash down enough so that sleep could happen.

“Hi, Caroline,” he said. “I’m sorry about last night. I’m doing better now, thank you.”

Caroline’s smile widened at Peeta’s greeting. Sure living together was still new but she didn’t think she’d ever get tired of coming home to him.

Her attention fell back to Wash who really did look horrible. Not that Caroline would say that, she wasn’t rude. “Don’t worry about it,” she assured him. “That’s what friends are for.” She wouldn’t prevent Peeta from being there for his friends no matter the hour. “If someone has a file on you,” she paused giving a sheepish smile. “Sorry I overheard a little,” she explained before continuing. “Maybe you should have someone there for backup before you talk to her?”

If Peeta had insight into Wash’s dreams then he could completely understand why Wash was acting so paranoid. The Dreams made things so much more complicated, twisted, and darker, but this was the real world. Carolina didn’t have those crazy dream reasons here in this world. He really did need to speak to her and find out what the true reasons would be behind all of this. He just hoped that it was easy to solve. He didn’t say much more on the subject because Caroline distracted him.

That smile on her face was lovely and he was thankful that they were living together. She was a bit of a calming force as she spoke to Wash. He wondered briefly how she had heard and then remembered the supersonic vampire hearing, “Oh yeah, backup would be a good idea. I can always come with you if you need me to. She wouldn’t try anything with someone else there and if she did at least you have someone else to take her down if need be.”

Wash wasn’t all that certain Carolina wouldn’t try anything with more than one person present. He had seen her take down more than one person in combat before. He knew also knew Peeta was more than capable of handling himself in a fight, that didn’t concern him. He glanced up at Caroline, then at Peeta and back again. No, what concerned Wash was what kind of state Peeta would be in if Carolina attempted anything. He’d already gotten Peeta involved in two violent episodes in the short time the two of them had gotten to know each other. He was loathed to potentially get him involved with another, especially now that he and Caroline had worked out their relationship and seemed to be headed towards something good. Caroline didn’t need her boyfriend coming home all bloody and beaten up a third time.

He sighed and shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, man,” he said, “but I’m not sure it’d be a good idea. Not...not as things stand now. Stefan Salvatore’s already out there doing god knows what and that isn’t sitting all that well with me.” It wasn’t sitting well with him at all. He hoped Salvatore was alright and was keeping a low profile, whatever the fuck he was doing.

“If-” he shook his head again. “When I see Carolina again, it’ll be somewhere public and crowded. She’s less likely to do anything with an audience of innocent civilians. The mall probably. I have to do a lot of thinking first, though. And...well...sober up a little bit more.”

When Caroline suggested backup she hadn’t meant her boyfriend. Yes she knew he would always be there to help his friends but she didn’t want him getting hurt. She had already been through that enough to last a lifetime, thanks. But she wouldn’t stop him either. That wouldn’t be fair, she would do the same for any of her friends. Granted she was almost indestructible but still. “I didn’t mean you,” Caroline said softly but then Wash cut in seeming to feel the same as her.

“Stefan?” she asked at the mention of her former roommate. “Are you worried he will get hurt? Or something else? Because he can handle himself.” Both Wash and Peeta knew he was a vampire too so there really wasn’t much to worry about there, unless Wash was worried for some other reason.

“Public is good,” she agreed. “But if you want Peeta and I to go just in case, we can like pretend to be on a date or something. I can keep an ear out.” That sounded safer than him just confronting by her himself. “Or Stefan would probably help.”

Peeta was almost tempted to let out a sigh of relief at not having to be involved because he was kind of enjoying not coming home with bruises on his body. But he would put that aside to help a friend in need no matter what especially if that friend was a fellow military member. They had a bond that no one could break. The idea of seeing Carolina somewhere public was a good one and he even liked the idea that Caroline came up with.

“Caroline’s got a point. She can help with listening and I can totally take her down if needed. I think having a handful of people that Carolina hasn’t met in the background would be useful. Stefan is good to have around as well. I mean, we could pull some strings and try to find someone on the network that has some more surveillance type experience,” Peeta was more than happy to help come up with a good plan to help Wash.

It wasn’t so much that Wash was afraid that Stefan would get hurt. He was more afraid of the Ripper meeting the Biggest Bad Ass Wash had ever known in his life. He knew Stefan. He knew his brother-in-arms would do everything in his power to keep the Ripper at bay. But Wash also knew Carolina. If she at all felt threatened, or was really out for blood, then she would do what she had to. It was the collateral damage alone was what made Wash nervous.

He didn’t want to make Caroline worry, though. He felt as if he had caused her, and Peeta, enough trouble as it was. He waved his hand dismissively. “Nah, Stefan’ll be fine. He’s got the training for reconnaissance and stealth out the ass. He’ll be fine” And Wash would spam the hell out of his phone to make sure of that.

He looked up at Peeta and Caroline wearily. As he had while sitting in the abandoned coffee shop after being pecked half to death by the flock of jabberjays, Wash was struck with just how much like North Peeta actually was. He was so willing and ready to help, to jump to someone’s aid without question or consequence to himself. He was a good friend. Both of them were. There was comfort to be in that. It had been a long, long time since Wash’d had people he could count on the same way he could have counted on his squad. This debacle had one good outcome. Wash had realized just how many people he could rely on. Not just Gale and Leliana, but Peeta and Caroline and Katou and Stefan. All of them. He was actually pretty damn lucky to have gone from being alone, abandoned and discarded to having such a group of loyal friends in less than a year. He didn’t want anything to happen to them, not so long as he had the ability to protect them in return.

“She’ll want to meet me alone,” he said tiredly. “She’ll be expecting people to come with me and will be looking for them. And if she makes you, it’ll be over before it starts. I can’t stop you guys from going to a public place on a ‘date’ or anything, but I think this may be something I have to do on my own.”

If Wash had mentioned the Ripper issue Caroline could have assured him that it was very unlikely unless Stefan got a taste of human blood. At least that was what she knew from her dream experiences and when Stefan had briefly gone Ripper right after he turned. “And vampire healing,” she reminded Wash. If anything did happen he would be fine. And Wash would know just what to expect from this Carolina person.

She frowned slightly at him doing it by himself. Of course she understood. There were just some things you had to handle on your own. But still she didn’t want anything to happen to Wash. “If you’re sure,” she finally said. “I can easily stay far away and still listen in,” Carolina probably wouldn’t even notice. “But at least call Peeta after? Let him know how it went? That you’re okay?” And if he needed to stop by for some of her healing blood he was more than welcome to it. However she did give Peeta a look of concern, unsure if this was the right move or not. Peeta would know better than her. He knew Wash a whole lot better than she did.

It was turning into a more dangerous sounding experience than Peeta had expected it to be. It almost felt like being back in the barracks or in the training center of Panem and plotting for what mission they were about to go into. To discuss enemy weaknesses and make sure everyone knew what their job was going to be. Wash was going to go it alone and Peeta wished he could prevent that. He was only slightly disappointed to not be considered equipped enough to help with this plan, but he knew where his strengths and weaknesses were. Another notch for how annoying his disability was.

Caroline spoke and he listened carefully to his girlfriend and gently wrapped an arm around her waist, giving her a small squeeze on her hip, “Please let us know. I know we’re not going to get you to change your mind about anything and you’ve got to do this alone. Maybe we should move onto something else because it’s only going to stress you out even more. You need to rest up and get this hangover gone before you can even attempt to go after her.” Clear eyes and a clear head would be needed and that wasn’t going to happen if Wash kept his hangover going.

Wash looked up at the pair, his eyes darting between them for a moment as he tried to think. Maybe he shouldn’t do this alone...maybe if the two of them stayed out of sight. Maybe if they hung out at a nearby store, out of sight and Caroline could listen. Maybe...maybe that would work.

“Maybe...having some kind of back-up would be a good idea,” he said slowly. “As long as you both stay out of sight. I really don’t think Carolina would try anything in a public place, but I would feel better knowing someone was around.” He rubbed his eyes. “If and when a meeting is agreed on I’ll let you both know and if you want to come, alright.”

He lowered his hands from his face. He didn’t want to appear rude, especially after all the help Peeta and Caroline had given him and were offering him, but he just wanted to sleep the rest of this headache off. Maybe a shower would help? “Do you mind if I use your shower?” He asked. “I think that would help clear my head.”

Caroline leaned into Peeta’s touch. A received smile crossing her face at Wash’s words. “She won’t see us, promise,” perks of vampire hearing and well all of her heightened senses. “Just stay safe,” which would be a lot easier with them around. If something did happen Caroline would hear it easily and could be there in seconds with her speed. But hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.

“Of course,” she replied before turning her attention to Peeta as Wash walked off to shower. “Come on, let’s go play with Sonic.”