Writing a new leaf

[Stephanie Taylor]

[attr="class","tomhov"]

TAG
Benjamin Taylor
@james

NOTES

Stephanie had been convinced for some reason to come to some holiday festival downtown that the fire department was hosting. Why? That was the question. Why was she here. She hated being out and she hated being around lots and lots of people. She'd made it through most of the day's festivities with only a few minor jumpy episodes but nothing terrible. That was until she heard the loud crack of fireworks. Panic would win, there was only a glimpse of a look in her eyes as she darted off. Though she was running and panicking at the same time and it did little to help. She stopped on her own when she looked around the crowd, she couldn't keep running or she was gonna hurt someone. But there were too many people. So now she felt trapped.

Frozen in place she just looked around trying to assess where to go but every loud boom of fireworks were retriggering her to panic. In her head it was a warzone, all of the images of the gunfight were persisting in her head. Her shouldn't didn't hurt but she rubbed it anyway. Looking around she tried to figure out where to go. The helpless feeling refused to show on her face. The images of her fallen comrades was embedded in her memory. Someone had followed them and found them and now she had to get away.

Too many people... too much noise and those frakking fireworks. In her head was a matter of survival as she took off again. Though it wasn't very far before another crowd stopped her. Now she was just frustrated and wanted to run. Her heart rate was racing and she was a mess. Mentally, Stephanie had checked out of reality.

STEPHANIE HARRIS
HEY NUTCASE! STOP BITING THE COMMAND STAFF

✿

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[Benjamin Taylor]

Anything that the fire department held was something he felt an obligation to attend no matter what it was. It was like a works party except you had more than just one branch or office, it was a chance to talk and chat to others while having some fun away from the regular day to day festivities. They had been there most of the day and he was looking forward to the fireworks, there was just that magic feel to them in the night sky that made a good day great. Ben had only managed to glance at Stephanie when the fireworks started before she darted off.

It took him a moment to catch up to the fact that something was wrong as he took off after her. Ben tried to weave his way among people as he called out to her. “Stephanie... STEPHANIE!” Though as soon as he managed to get within any kind of reach of her she took off again. People seemed to get in his way as they failed to understand why he was trying to get past them, a few standing in his way as he as he was pushed back by a crowd that for some reason seemed intent on him taking as many steps back as he had done forward.

The noise he tried to call for her louder but given the fireworks, voices and general background noise he was hardly sure she had heard him as he set off again trying to find her. Ben tried to head in the same direction as before though now he was hardly sure what way she had gone as he tried looking around the crowd. “Stephanie!” He called again hoping to get her attention and find out what had her running off like that.

[Deleted]

James Reagan

tag@steph,Benjamin Taylor,

words

When you return somewhere after a couple of years it was always a good idea to 'socialise' try and meet new people and stuff, James wanted his kids to socialise and he wanted to check out whats been happening.

So when he heard about this event he got the sitter to come along and help him look after the kids, he didn't bring his dogs however - bad idea.

And spending the day there had been fun, in his head he hoped to bump into Steph but he figured if she was busy then so be it - besides he was busy with his kids. But the crowds were huge, it looked awesome out here and he was enjoying it, so were his kids who kept him running around all day.

It wasn't until the fireworks display started that James had a sinking feeling 'please don't be here' he mumbled before he noticed - someone running and stopping, running and stopping, disappearing in and out of crowds frowning James used his phone camera to zoom in as he was in a different part of the area - he caught a glimpse of Steph's face and he pocketed his camera "Sam, stay with the kids" he said and the girl nodded - the kids had now been safely strapped into push chairs so they were safe.

He'd come wearing loose trousers, a short sleeved shirt and jacket so he was cool but not too restricted.

James dodged the huge crowds, running as he blinked at each firework bang, trying to fight against the urge to start yelling something to disperse the crowds - The screams, bangs, noises - were not helping. 

As he got closer to Steph he became aware of another man chasing her - and shouting - oh boy, that was probably the Ben she mentioned before. 

He kept dodging crowds, he kept loosing her, until finally he saw her standing there like a cornered rabbit stuck in headlights ready to bolt, he managed to shove himself through and launched himself grabbing Steph into a bear hug sideways but cause of the crowds around them they simply bounced off people behind them rather than fall to the ground 

"Steph, Steph. It's James. look at me" James kept his hands around her but thankfully she was facing him.

notes

♡

[Stephanie Taylor]

[attr="class","tomhov"]

TAG
Benjamin Taylor
@james

NOTES

Stephanie was looking for a place to run but the loud yelling just made her run more. That was until there was just no room to run again. When she was looking for an escape she saw the fast moment out of her not so blind spot. Stephanie moved to fight back but who ever had tackled her had her all figured her. Before she realized it she was pressed against her best friend. Then he he was eye level. "Steph, Steph. It's James. look at me."

As soon as she looked towards him she heard someone else calling for her. Ben's familiar vocals, "Stephanie!" Rule 10 never chase Stephanie when she runs unless you can keep up. Even then you had to know how to handle chasing her down. There was rapid breathing and she tried to figure out fact from fiction and past from reality. The booming wasn't stopping and it didn't help that she wanted to run again.

Another boom and she tried but ran straight into James again. "Let me go!" she demanded as she tried to go free. Though she figured it wouldn't get her very far, trying to James to do what she wanted was always pointless. What Stephanie needed and what she wanted did not always coincide with each other. This was one of those instances.

STEPHANIE HARRIS
HEY NUTCASE! STOP BITING THE COMMAND STAFF

✿

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[Benjamin Taylor]

Ben was trying to catch her but between her running, the crowd and the lack of a direction or reason for it Ben was lacking behind in what was going on. He had managed to break through the crowd in time to see some random guy tackle Stephanie. He was unsure which he was more annoyed at the stranger for tackling her or the words that came out of the guys mouth the screamed to him that she was familiar to him. In an instant his head was leaping to all the conclusions he could pull.

She ran because she had enough? She ran because she realised what they were doing finally? She ran into another guys arms which was in his mind exactly what it looked like as he shoved his way past a few more people to join Stephanie and the unknown guy that was now. Yes hugging or hanging on to or really was there a word for what the guy was doing? Ben was trying to catch his breath after taking a few elbows to the ribs by some people in the crowd as he pushed past.

“Stephanie.” He said when he finally joined the two of them as he eyed the guy up slightly. “She asked you to let her go.” Ben said as he tried to reach out for Stephanie having no idea was what was going on. He had never seen her do that before, the nightmares he was used to the in and out of reality he could deal with when it happened at times but this was far worse than what he had ever seen to dealt with before. “Are you really that guy that goes around tackling random women?” Ben accused as he glared at James not understanding what was going on.

[Deleted]

James Reagan

tag: Stephanie Taylor, Benjamin Taylor,

words

James was about to try and say something to try calm her down, he knew he had to get her moving away from the noise and chaos, but he had to get her to focus first. That was until he spotted the man he figured was Ben appear from the crowds.

“Stephanie.” 

James stared at him as he fought to keep his hold on Steph.

“Are you really that guy that goes around tackling random women?”

James knew anything could go wrong, but he also knew if Ben went for him, Steph would defend him and if he let go Stephanie WOULD bolt “Don’t let her run” he warned “Don’t let her run” he carefully guided Steph towards Ben. Really he hoped she'd recognise Ben and not bolt, but he knew she wasn't with them - at all.

Just then one of those screaming fireworks went off - the type that would really hurt anyone’s brain.

notes

♡

[Stephanie Taylor]

[attr="class","tomhov"]

TAG
Benjamin Taylor
@james

NOTES

Stephanie heard the screaming firework and bolted again but she bounced off of Ben and then tripped over James’ shoe landing on her butt and then when the squealing crashed she curled in a ball on the ground and shook. Everytime she tried to come back around to the present another firework bombarded and she started hissing in Bulgarian.

Tucking her arms around her as the large group of fireworks started and she just ducked and the look on her face was so distant from reality. Closing her eyes she didn’t seem to come back to what was going on quite so easily. Then the panicking breathing started. Heavy as she made a fist around a rock in her hand that she’d picked up.

To onlookers it might look like a child having a hissy fit, but to those who knew the truth, she was past the point of breaking down. She’d gone into the fetal position. Stephanie was scared out of her mind; but she’d deny it later. Mostly, because she wasn’t going to remember much of it. Though even if she was out of touch with reality… she was prone to lash out at people she knew. Right now Stephanie was dangerous, if not handled with care.

STEPHANIE HARRIS
HEY NUTCASE! STOP BITING THE COMMAND STAFF

✿

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[Benjamin Taylor]

Don’t let her run; well it was hardly as if he was enjoying barrelling through a crowd trying to find his fiancé who had taken off at a moment’s notice. Who was this guy and who the hell did he think he was telling him not to let her go. If this was a joke of some kind it was getting old fast. Ben was far from fast enough to catch her or stop her from falling with the noise of the fireworks, the crowd and now a random stranger who was ‘helping’ or ‘touching up’ his fiancé depending on the view point as he was leaning toward the second of the two.

Ben stared at the look on Stephanie’s face; it seemed distant as if she was somewhere else entirely. He had never seen that look on her before as he knelt down next to her to figure out what was going on. Ben reached an arm out to her for a moment, “Stephanie, its Ben what’s wrong?” He asked her remembering what she had been like in the park that time but that was child’s play compared that evening.

Glaring at James Ben looked at him accusingly, “What the hell did you do to her? This is your fault.” He snapped deciding that this random stranger must have started something and now Stephanie was curled up on the floor looking as far from reality as he had seen her. Ben knew she put up walls and the PTSD was still there though from what he had seen this was the worst he had seen in her ever. It made the idea of even going out for the day something he was guilty of as he wished he had just kept her away from it.

His fault for taking here there when he should have known and now there was the random guy who seemed to think it was okay to man handle people. Did he really think that was okay to do? People in this day and age had no idea and now it was Stephanie who was paying the price for his choice and the crazy guy who in his head had grabbed her.

[Deleted]

James Reagan

tag

words

“Stephanie, its Ben what’s wrong?”

"Whats wrong is that she’s so far into her head she can’t hear you" James replied stepping back to give some space, it was noisey as heck right now, the fireworks had stopped for a moment but he wasn’t convinced they’d stopped entirely.

“What the hell did you do to her? This is your fault.” 

James shook his head “She’s freaking out, You need to get her inside, really need to quickly before the fireworks start again” 

James knew Ben just didn’t trust him, well he did see James tackle his fiancee so he couldn’t blame the guy for being angry but what could he do, Steph couldn’t keep running it was too dangerous, when she was running it was like she was in a different place and James couldn’t risk it.

notes

♡

[Stephanie Taylor]

[attr="class","tomhov"]

TAG
Benjamin Taylor
@james

NOTES

Stephanie felt Ben’s touch and she shook but somewhat settled. It was familiar, it was safe. Though James was right, if Stephanie was bombarded by fireworks again… there was no telling. Steph took deep breathes leaning on Ben. Then Ben’s screaming at James she was mostly coherent enough to understand.

“Benjamin, it’s okay. I know him. Whatever happened it’s not his fault.” She yelled back from his shoulder. “We served together. He’s just trying to help. Calm down Gopher, please?” her voice calmed down some, but she really hated it when he yelled. Though she sounded confused at why he was trying to help in the first place. That part didn’t register. Though the piercing glare in her eyes told Ben to back down.

Arms wrapped around Ben as she trembled. Her breathing was far back from normal. She laid on his chest to even her breathing but he was upset and she could tell. It didn’t help to even her breathing as she could tell something wasn’t right. She felt scared, yelling never helped anything, so she continued to tremble.

Her glance landed on James. She was trying to figure out words to say but everything was jumbled in her head. What was he trying to help with? What had happened? She looked around, and realized she was safe in Chicago. She wasn't back there in Bulgaria. What was going on?

STEPHANIE HARRIS
HEY NUTCASE! STOP BITING THE COMMAND STAFF

✿

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[Benjamin Taylor]

Ben just gave James a look that said he needed to start speaking in a tongue that he actually could understand. In her own head, yeah he knew she was somewhere else but was this her PTSD or something else because he had never seen this before and he was hardly entirely convinced that this was not James’s fault. The man had grabbed her and he knew all too well how that had gone for others before him, he was lucky to still have legs to be walking on which had him worrying because this was not the Stephanie he knew.

Ben looked at Stephanie as James said to get her inside quickly, so the fireworks were to blame now not that fact that some complete stranger had tackled her. When Stephanie yelled Ben looked at her, “You know this nut job?” He said surprised that Stephanie would though maybe she was just confused until he listened to her again and he just glared at James. Well that would have been a great place for the guy to start, they served together. Ben knew better to not take heed of what the piercing glare meant as he stopped from calling the guy all the names under the sun he could think of.

With his arms wrapped around her Ben went to pick Stephanie up, he could feel her trembling which was never a good sign. Ben was still a little lost with what was going on as he looked toward James. “So you gonna find a place where she will be okay or just stand there?” He snapped trying not to act like a complete crazy person but then he cared too much about Stephanie not to do that. “Stephanie it will all be okay.” He said softly trying to help her calm down though this was an entirely new side to her he was seeing.

[Deleted]

James Reagan

tag: Stephanie Taylor Benjamin Taylor

words

“Benjamin, it’s okay. I know him. Whatever happened it’s not his fault.” “You know this nut job?” As she yelled James’ eyes snapped to her, ignoring Ben's comment about ‘nut job’ “We served together. He’s just trying to help. Calm down Gopher, please?” "Yes we served together" James seconded, Gopher? He’d enjoy it later, at least she sounded calmer, though that could change any moment, he watched her for a moment trying to get as much as he could - what could he do? Stop and explain to Ben who he was whilst Steph was running herself into danger? No, Ben would have to figure out that one for himself, when it came down to Steph running there was no time for chit chat. “So you gonna find a place where she will be okay or just stand there?” James rolled his eyes and shook his head “Stephanie it will all be okay.” “Just stay calm” James replied before standing and looking around, he spotted what looked like a building up ahead “Look, up there, we need to get her there before they go off” He knew Ben was hating on him right now but Ben would have to get over it eventually, cause this was Steph and between them they had to calm her down fully - cause he knew full well Steph was not out of the woods just yet. The cheers started and James urged Ben on as he started walking with them.

notes

♡

[Stephanie Taylor]

[attr="class","tomhov"]

TAG
Benjamin Taylor
@james

NOTES

Ben was right in that very few people could touch Stephanie and not lose a limb. The circle was small. James was part of that circle. She looked between the two. She could see that Ben was getting protective and this wasn't going to go well. Not at all. Trying to explain things more than beyond they served together was not going to work with her brain cells at the moment.

Stephanie was picked up and carried princess style. It was the firefighter in him maybe? She wrapped around Ben's neck but was still trying to calm down and then Ben was snapping again. It did nothing to settle her down. Though the words were lost in the roar of the crowd as she was trying to find something calm to focus on. If only he was as calm as his voice suggested. No she could tell by his breathing patterns and racing heart rate.

Stephanie didn't like the fact Ben was yelling at James. "Taylor Knock it off!" she warned in a harsh tone. Stephanie was easily angered when she was set off. Though she was doing her usual arguing while being held routine. That was just her thing. She could royally angry with you and still hugging you if she cared enough. Most just got slapped for being in her space.

Right James was going to enjoy how that nickname had come about. She was just glad that Ben hadn't retaliated to the whole nickname thing. She'd have gone about 500 shades of red and not been able to look either of them in the face. Yeah no. Though it was only a matter of time right? Then again he was busy arguing at James. What was it with men?

STEPHANIE HARRIS
HEY NUTCASE! STOP BITING THE COMMAND STAFF

✿

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[Benjamin Taylor]

Of course they served together, he would randomly go up to a fellow fire-fighters partner grab her and go ‘Hey honey, remember me yeah we served together’ he thought though he bit his lip hearing James second what Stephanie said. The entire thing was now making sense, people just dropped to the floor and cowered because someone grabbed them for no reason, it was all just a perfect pile of something and he was hardly a fan of the smell of it. He had no understanding of what was wrong and nothing was helping in him figuring it all out.

When it came to lifting Stephanie it was easy, he had been trained to do it but throwing her over his shoulder in a fireman style seemed entirely inappropriate for the setting. Not unless he wanted to be arrested for kidnapping, he was simply trying to help her and that was initially not going as well as he thought it might. First off he had taken her to the event and now, it was just a lot to understand in a short space of time with some random ‘served together’ guy who he had no knowledge of at all.

Ben was far from calm, he was holding onto Stephanie who had taken off and only now was he catching up to the reasons why. He had to yell at someone and it was hardly going to be Stephanie, not in her state and not in any state. When Stephanie warned him in a harsh tone he was used to that, he knew that Stephanie arguing while being held that much he understood entirely. It was a thing she did but he was in no mood to argue back with her. Knock it off; yes the only think he wanted to knock off was James’ head from his shoulders.

He started to move faster with Stephanie as he nodded to James about the building. “You going to get the door or just look at it?” He asked or borderline snapped but still it was hardly as if he had a spare hand or two to open and shut a door. No, he had Stephanie and he was keeping his hold on her just in case anything happened. Ben thought about saying her nickname but in front of another man that was now, whatever the guy was Ben felt it better not to annoy Stephanie anymore. “It’ll be alright.” He said softly to her doing his best to reassure her that everything was alright.

[Deleted]

James Reagan

tag Stephanie Taylor,Benjamin Taylor,

words

If there was one thing James was good at it was remaining calm, even in the most volatile of situations, sometimes he did loose his head but it depended, right now Steph was priority, there was no chance of getting angry or stressed, it never helped her.

He remembered helping to carry her out back in Bulgaria - that was kinda what he saw as he watched Ben carry Steph - blinking he gritted his teeth and caught up just as he heard Ben snap at him “You going to get the door or just look at it?” James tried not to bite back knowing it was no good for Steph, pulling the door open he could hear the familiar crackle of fireworks just beginning and he shot a look at Ben as they all entered and he closed the door - enveloping them in silence.

The space looked like it was a storeroom, some sort of stock room or store room - either way there were things that James knew would be helpful. Quickly he headed over to something that looked like foam mats, he hauled two out creating a thick padding "Here, this should be ok" he said softly, his voice now much quieter, this was due to the fact they were now no longer outside and no longer in a loud setting, that and the room they were in had that echo-y feel that probably would do no favours if anyone started shouting. Maybe that was a good thing, James edged back slightly, giving room - he knew he probably wasn't going to get close to Steph if Ben had his way, but maybe Ben would know how to calm her down - he hoped. He had no regrets though, about tackling Steph, he'd done it before enough times and he'd do it again - it was the only way to stop her running - may not have got him into good books with anyone but how did anyone stop someone running when they couldn't hear you and couldn't stop.

notes

♡