Rob Laird

[With doesntwaltz, a68whiskey, nevergonnamiss]

Rob was awed. And shocked, and ecstatic, and just plain dumbfounded. It was really difficult to navigate all of those emotions at once, and because of this, he was just walking around with this goofy smile on his face, eyes planted on the ultrasound photo as much as it could be. In fact, even now, as they walked up the hall of the Austin home, Rob had the photo held up to his face, same smile locked in place and proceeding to bang - hand - right into a cabinet filled with china, only just managing not to break anything when Leila, with her impressive reflexes, reached out and caught a teacup before it hit the polished wooden floor.

"It has a nose," Rob said in amazement when he paused and turned to look at her, the smile turning into yet another grin. They had opted on not finding out the sex. They had debated it, and even though the sonographer told them she could see what it was, they didn't want to know. It wasn't like they had long to wait to find out, was it? "Look." He held the photo up for her to see, as if she hadn't already seen it as much as he had. They had been wrestling it off each other since they left the clinic, and even ended up in a minor argument about who would drive, neither wanting to so they could hold the photo on the way home.

It was one of those days Rob just really didn't want to get out of bed. Not so much a bad day, but just a day he didn't really want to face anyone but his wife. He had them occasionally, where he was content to stick out the daylight hours in an oblivious coocoon just with Leila. They were still stopped at Mike's family home, and probably would be until he got back on his feet a little easier. Now that he was taking the prescribed medication, he seemed to be coping a bit better. But the post-deployment funk had set in a little, and it did have Rob wondering how Leila would feel if he suggested Mike, and maybe even Charlie too, tag along on their road trip. They could get a car and just convoy their way through the rest of the trip. It could be a lot of fun, and maybe what the doctors ordered.

Rob, however, had other things to think about that morning. He was maybe in just a small sulk that Leila still wasn't pregnant yet. No symptoms at all and he was starting to wonder if he was maybe not aiming right or something. Did you have to aim to hit the jackpot. He was still in bed under the mound of covers, the top of his head, one eye, and his nose the only thing visible from under them where he lay on his stomach. He watched Leila by the dresser digging around for something in her bag, perving on her bare butt but actually feeling just a tiny bit too tired for a fuck after going four rounds the night before. "Is it possible to out-fuck yourself?" he asked, the question muffled against the pillow. "I don't even have morning wood. I think something's wrong."

( Leila turned to smirk at him over her shoulder, wearing her glasses despite the fact she was still naked... )


Word Count | 2,802

[Follows THIS]

It was true that Rob had been a little distracted since Mike had fleetingly revealed that he had been shot in the leg. He wasn't brooding on it or anything, especially not since they had reached Texas and saw with their own eyes that Mike was as okay as someone who nearly had their foot blown off could be. It just seemed to tug them back down to reality a little again, and it was a reminder of how dangerous their job was. Mike, an army medic who didn't even fight on the frontline, had come home with a war injury. It didn't seem right. Their choice to bypass their current road trip route and go to Texas was a no-brainer. As soon as they knew Mike was heading home to see his folks to recuperate, they changed course immediately. It wasn't like they had anything specifically planned anyway. They were just rolling with it, taking each day, seeing where the road took them. They camped a lot, balancing it out with some nights in hotels or guest houses so they could get a long shower and a proper bed to sleep in. They had been gone a few weeks now and as far as Rob was concerned, they were just scratching the surface.

( But there was now another unexpected turn, and as they sat in the car park of the bus station that night, Rob drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, his blue eyes trawling back and forth over the scene beyond the car window... )


Word Count | 6,832

5.1. "Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo."
H. G. Wells

Co-written with doesntwaltz & notskywalker

It was a weeknight, so The Bondi wasn't very busy except for a steady trickle of musicians coming into jam with others, and a few people having some casual drinks after work. Luke was up in New York for a few days to get the paperwork done, so while he wasn't technically working, he was there behind the bar because he couldn't help himself. Leila technically was on shift, but she didn't actually need to be there because there was plenty of staff to cover the patrons. She had come, though, and brought Rob along with her, mostly so she could catch up with Luke for a little while. After chatting on and off about their Part Three's issues with not getting any newlywed sex, Luke paused in his polishing of a tray of glasses and pointed with one to Rob who had struck up a conversation with a small bunch of sailors at one of the booths across the bar.

"Should I be worried about the quality of my booze? I've offered him freebies all night and he keeps sticking to orange juice. Saving his mojo to pound you into the mattress later?" he asked in amusement, shaking his small towel out and putting the clean glass into the tray. "You know what they say, a guy's cock stops working properly when he's pissed."

"Is that what say?" Leila asked as she smirked at him. "I could have sworn it was more like a guy's cock doesn't get a chance to start working once he's passed out. You experienced some issues with the wife?" She leaned on the bar, and watched Rob. Her expression shifted as her eyebrows drew together. "He went out on the piss with Mike. Needed to get hammered after his appointment with some blokes on the base. The ones that decide if he's fit enough to go back to duty, or not."

( Luke watched the military posse for a few moments and then shot Leila a wry look... )


Word Count | 3,530

[Backdated to 7th November 2009]

The hospital discharged Rob home on three conditions. One, the home nurse visit every three days to assess his progress. Two, he rest as much as possible and only be ambulant on the crutches if it was absolutely vital. Three, he not be left alone. It all sounded pretty straightforward, but logistically, it could get awkward. Rob was glad to be allowed out of hospital, but he suddenly became painfully aware of how much obligation this was all laying on his new wife's shoulders and he started to get cold feet. Cold feet about going home, cold feet about coming back to America, cold feet about marrying her. It was just a post-traumatic anxiety and, of course, he didn't voice his opinions. He just tried to subtlely ask if he had to get discharged at that point, only to be told Leila had requested discharge as soon as he was able.

She wanted to take care of him.

( Rob didn't know how he felt about that. The biggest portion of him was relieved, and happy. Happy they could be together, happy they could maybe start finding some sort of normalcy. But the other part of him felt guilty about being a burden... )


Word Count | 3,899

Left on Leila's voicemail...

"Hey, darlin'. It's me. I guess you're out or busy, and that's okay. Means you're keeping occupied. I just wanted to let you know that I'm feeling real better, well back on my feet, and I'm just about to head back out to where they plucked me from. I ain't sure when I'm going to be back, darlin'. I ain't forgotten what Friday is either... I can't believe I'm going to miss your birthday. I'll be thinking about you, I never stop. So, um, Happy Birthday for Friday and I promise I'll give you your present when I see you in person. I miss you, darlin'. I love you. Hopefully I'll speak to you real soon. Bye, now."

[Sent to Leila from one of Rob's mates in his unit]


TO: Leila Jackson
FROM: Undisclosed recipient [address encrypted]

__________________________


Hey Layla, Lila, Layla Leila (I think that's how he said to spell it),

This is Pete and I work alongside Robbo here in the sand pit.

He asked me to drop you an email to let you know that he's okay. Alright, so he ain't technically okay, but he's alive. We got him choppered back to the infirmary and he's stuck there for the moment with a strange fever spreading through our unit. They got him on some IV fluids and while he ain't feeling the best, he's just worried you were thinking the worst.

Sorry I ain't able to offer more details. He said he was going to try and get in touch as soon as he can. He misses you, but I ain't doing the kissing thing he said. Lucky bastard. A couple of us copped a peek of those photos you sent him.

Don't worry too much. He's a tough fucker, I promise.

Cheers,

Pete

Ps. Nice ass

Rob and Leila finally touch base [LINK]

24.1.4. "Sometimes, when one person is missing, the whole world seems depopulated." - Lamartine

Co-written with doesntwaltz
[Follows THIS]

It had been a very early morning for both of them, and despite planning on getting a good night's sleep, it just hadn't been able to come. Instead, they spent just about the whole night making love and trying to hope the clock would slow down to just give them that little bit longer together. It hadn't worked, and the alarm was going off before they knew it. The afternoon before, Rob met with the lawyer that her cousin knew, and after calling him and explaining the situation, the guy had happily come to Rob's place to tie up the loose legal ends that had been playing on Rob's mind. He assured him things would be fine, with 30% of his assets going to his family, and the rest to Leila. Also with strict orders that if his ex-wife tried to dispute anything in the event of his death, she was to get nothing. It sucked he had to waste time dealing with it, but it did lift some of the weight from his shoulders knowing Leila would be recognised as his wife legally. He also faxed his amdended details away to the Army so he would be be listed as married and Leila as his wife. That, solely, was the biggest issue for him.

( Despite telling her the previous day that he didn't want her to come to the brig for the goodbye, he had renegged somewhere during the night... )

All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe


Word Count | 1,452

2.3. "I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to."
Jimi Hendrix

Co-written with doesntwaltz | Tuesday 08/09/2009
[Follows THIS]

It was five in the morning, and Rob was going to hell. Directly to hell. The sun was barely just starting to rise, and he was about to ring the buzzer of an apartment housing more than one person, and probably wake them all up. Maybe even with a baby still visiting, which he really hoped wasn't the case because he would go to even deeper hell if he woke a baby up on top of everything else. But time was the whole crux of the matter, because there wasn't very much of it. By now, he didn't even know if he was doing the right thing or not, he was just operating on sheer adrenaline and very little sleep. The strange headache beginning between his eyes told him this. What was he doing? He didn't particularly know, but he knew he just had to try. It wasn't like he could do any of it alone, and if she didn't want it, he wouldn't push her. At the very least, at least she would know he would. That was better than nothing, right?

"You're a goddamn jerk, Laird," he muttered to himself as he hovered in front of the apartment block. Couldn't he have at least waited until the sun was up? He could, but the flight was for just after 9am. He hoped even if she wavered on what he was about to ask her, she might still take the trip to Vegas with him and they could have the night and day together there before he had to leave on Thursday. He was just so nervous that his stomach felt like it was lodged up in his chest and he let out a rush of breath as he pushed the heel of his palm against the apartment buzzer just long enough to alert his presence, but not long enough to be obnoxious.

( Leila was pulled roughly out of her sleep by the sound of the buzzer closely followed by Luke and Tab cursing... )

All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe


Word Count | 3,575