![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thecat620It might not be exactly what they were looking for but I did my best. And I wanted to bring more of the friendship Doug and Lindsay I believed they would have. ^_^
~*~*~*~*~
“You all packed up and everything?” Critic asked.
Chick shut the back of her moving van before turning back to her former boss with tired eyes. “Pretty much,” she replied before wiping the sweat off her forehead. “Thanks for packing my shit up with me. I’ve collected way too much crap over the years,” she joked.
Critic nodded before looking her in the eyes. “You know, I really do appreciate everything you’ve done over the years,” he told her. “You were one of the first friends I made when I did started whole reviewing thing and…I’m glad we worked together for as long as we did.”
The brunette blinked before giving him a wry smile. “Getting sappy on me, huh? Didn’t think you were the type,” she laughed lightly, though she honestly appreciated his sentimental nature. “Look, I’m just going to be across town so if you ever need me, call me, alright?” she told him.
“I will,” he promised before pulling something out of his pocket. “Just something to remember the old days by…” he told her before handing her a small box.
Chick blinked before opening the package, her eyes widening in surprise. “My old bowtie?” she whispered, pulling out the thin piece of clothing.
“Yeah. I know it’s not your gimmick anymore but I figured you’d wanna keep it. Sentimental reasons, y’know?” Critic explained lamely.
She blinked slowly before pocketing the item, box and all. “Thanks Critic…that means a lot…” she told him before looking at her watch. “Shit. I’ve gotta meet the movers at my new place.”
“Right. Sorry for keeping you,” Critic mumbled before holding his hand out. “Take care, okay?” he told her.
Chick took his hand firmly before pulling him into a hug. “I’m gonna miss you, ya big lug,” she replied as she held him close, trying not to let her emotions get the better of her.
She did a better job than her former boss who was shaking as he could feel the tears stinging his eyes. “I’ll miss you too,” he choked out, trying to wipe his eyes before letting her go. “See you around,” Critic told her.
Chick nodded as she gave him one more smile before getting in the truck. She managed to see him in her side mirror for a while before he disappeared over the horizon. “See you around Critic…” she whispered, one stray tear falling down her cheek.
[One year later]
Chick wasn’t too much of a morning person and being interrupted while she was trying to get some sleep wasn’t something she liked. She had stayed up late trying to write the next script for Loose Canon before giving up and conking out around 2 in the morning. “This better be fucking important…” she grumbled as she picked up her phone. Of course she would have forgotten to have changed it to something less annoying.
Though her annoyance changed to concern when she saw the message on her phone.
Get to CA studio A.S.A.P.
Something bad happened.
T.
After typing out a quick reply, the young woman quickly got dressed into some jeans and a t-shirt with a hoodie before she ran out the door. If something had happened that caused one of Critic’s new colleagues to contact her and not her former boss, something really bad must’ve happened.
“Please be okay…” she whispered, speeding off in her car.
~*~*~*~
It was still early in the morning as Malcolm and Tamara stood outside the studio. They were looking at each other in concern before Tamara saw Lindsay’s car speeding into the parking lot. “I’m glad you could come,” Tamara started as Lindsay stepped out her car.
“Of course I would. You said something bad happened,” Lindsay lightly snarked before her face turned serious. “What happened here? Is Critic alright?” she asked.
Malcolm put his hand on the doorknob before sighing. “It’s better if you see it for yourself,” he told her as he opened the door.
Chick gasped as she saw what the interior of the building looked like the last time she was there. The inner door was broken off its hinges, revealing a much messed up room. Chairs were knocked over and the wall was scratched up, almost like there was a struggle. Stepping inside, Chick saw some broken glass on the floor and furniture that had broken off pieces.
“Good god…what happened here?” she whispered as she tried not to trip over one of the fallen tables on the ground.
“Break-in, Miss.”
The young adults blinked as they saw a police officer come from the other room, writing some notes down on his notepad. “According to the security tapes of the building from 10:30 at night to 4:00 this morning, someone had come into try and steal whatever they would find valuable in this place,” he explained.
“Did they take anything?” Malcolm asked.
“No. The crooks that your boss had managed to chase off,” he told him before sighing. “But I’m afraid he’s a bit shaken up from the experience.”
“Can we see him?” Tamara wondered.
“Of course,” he nodded before handing Malcolm a card. “We’ll look into finding the crook but if he remembers anything, please give us a call.”
With a solemn nod, the officer left and the trio went to Critic’s office in the studio. Their hearts sunk as they saw their friend looking worse for wear. Even if he had managed to fight off the creep, they still managed to get a few hits in. Critic was nursing a bloody nose he had gotten and his eye was swollen from a nasty hit. But even more than the physical damage, there was more internal damage that was hurting him.
“Critic? You okay man?” Malcolm whispered, not wanting to scare his boss.
Critic glanced up shakily at the familiar voices and saw his friends looking at him in concern. “G-Guys?” he whispered, his voice shaking a bit.
“Critic it’s okay. We’re here,” Tamara assured him.
“I-I-I’m sorry…t-the place is wrecked up,” Critic stammered, trying to stand up. “I-I should clean it up now…” He tried to move to the door but was surprised when Chick stopped him. “W-What are you doing?” he asked.
“Dude, you are in no shape to be cleaning right now,” Chick told him as she gently sat him back down in his chair. “Sit down and we’ll get you back to the TGWTG Headquarters soon, okay?” she assured him.
Critic meekly nodded, not wanting to make anyone mad right now.
“We’ll get the front room cleaned up. Then we’ll help walk Critic back home. That sound okay to you?” Tamara asked.
“Sure,” Chick nodded before looking Tamara in the eye. “And thanks again for texting me. That was pretty smart.”
“Well sure. You’re one of his oldest friends so I knew you’d want to make sure he’d be okay,” Tamara reasoned, giving her a light smile before leaving the room, Malcom following behind her.
Chick mused over that before putting a hand on Critic’s shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay Critic…” she whispered as she sat by him.
~*~*~*~*~
Even if it wasn’t perfect, the front room was looking better than it had been before as they left the building. There was almost a sense of relief on Critic’s face as he got further from the studio. This wasn’t surprising as being in a place where something bad had happened would freak anyone out.
The sun was just starting to rise as they arrived back at the makeshift home for reviewers. Only a few of them were early birds but they would probably be eating breakfast in the dining hall so Critic could at least get back to his room in peace.
“Is the elevator still busted?” Chick asked.
“Doctor Insano said he would try to get to it eventually but he’s been distracted with his pink…squishy son,” Malcolm told her, still surprised at how weird that was.
“He’s been promising that for years,” Chick noted.
They soon managed to get to Critic’s room on the top floor and get him inside fairly easily. It didn’t take much for him to collapse onto his bed before passing out. Hopefully now he would be able to get some form of rest. For the time being, he was left to sleep while the others returned downstairs.
“That certainly wasn’t what I expected to wake up to,” Chick yawned.
“Yeah sorry about that,” Malcolm replied, “You were the first person we thought to call. Rob would’ve gone ballistic and Guy…”
“It’s alright. I get it,” Chick assured them before moving towards the kitchen. “I’m gonna make some coffee. You guys want any?” she offered.
“Sure but…aren’t you worried about any of the residents seeing you?” Tamara asked as the young actors followed the older woman.
“Former producers come and go all the time. It won’t be much different for me,” Chick explained as she turned the coffeepot on. “Besides, it’s probably best if they heard what happened from me too along with Rob.”
Tamara and Malcolm looked at each other awkwardly at the mention of the older Walker brother. “Yeah about that…Rob’s out of town,” Tamara told her.
“Dammit…” she cursed, “Any idea of when he’ll be back?”
“End of the week,” Malcolm said.
Chick put a spare mug under the machine before mulling this over. “He’ll need to know what happened,” she decided before looking at them, “One of you leave a message for him about what went on last night. Let me know if he calls back so I can talk to him.”
“You got it,” Tamara nodded as she whipped out her phone.
Soon enough, the coffee was done and the pigtailed woman began preparing their cups. “How do you like it? Cream? Sugar?” she asked.
Before she could respond, a few of the residents came into the kitchen to get some breakfast. “Who’s making coffee? Thanks…” Nella yawned before she saw who was at the coffee maker. “Oh my god…Lindsay?!” she gasped.
“Hey Nella,” Chick waved before she was tackled into a hug.
“It’s so good to see you!” Nella smiled before looking her friend over. “I haven’t seen you in forever. What’re you doing back?” she wondered.
“I’ll let you know when everyone else is up,” Chick promised as the others soon started coming into the kitchen with various reactions of surprise. “Hi guys,” she waved.
“When’d you get here?” Linkara blinked as he yawned.
“Haven’t seen you in ages,” Angry Joe commented.
“It is WONDERFUL to see you,” Maven flourished.
Chick smiled lightly at the sight of her old friends coming to see her. She had missed them after moving out. She knew she needed to get out to try something new but she always enjoyed the times she spent with them. Even the newer members of the site that had only been around for a few years were pleasantly surprised to see her.
Though the pleasantness had to end at some point. They all needed to know what happened to their boss and friend and until Rob came back, she was probably the best person to let them know what was going on.
“I know you guys are happy to see me and I’m glad to see you all but…this isn’t just a social call,” she told them. At their confused expressions, she continued. “Last night, while Critic was working late at the studio, someone broke into there and tried to rob the joint.”
“What?!” Linkara shouted, standing up in anger.
“Did they take anything?” Paw asked.
Chick shook her head. “Not according to the police reports but…Critic got hurt chasing them off,” she finished. “He’s in bed resting right now but…I think he’s gonna be pretty freaked out for a while…”
The others looked at each other in concern; if their boss was this freaked out after everything that happened in his life, this wasn’t a good sign.
“Critic was filming and editing some episodes to go out on Vessel weeks in advance so I think he should take a break to recover,” Tamara added.
Soon enough, after everyone had finished breakfast, the residents went their separate ways to try and figure out what to do. Nella was one of the few to stay behind to talk to Chick. “Do you wanna stay here for a while? Just until Critic’s doing better?” she wondered.
“We’ll see. I’ll ask if it’s alright when he wakes up,” Chick told her. She moved to leave the kitchen when she bumped into Guy. “Guy? What’re you still doing here?” she asked.
“I just woke up when I heard what happened…” Guy muttered, a scowl on his face. “Anyone that hurts my brother will pay…” he growled.
“Wow. I didn’t think in that twisted heart you really cared,” Chick mused lightly.
“Well of course I care. He’s my twin brother,” he scoffed. “And if anyone is going to torment him, it’s going to be me!” With a light huff, Guy stormed off.
“Well…he cares in his own way at least…” Chick sighed.
~*~*~*~*~
It was early in the afternoon when Critic woke up in his bedroom. He had needed the rest but he still didn’t feel quite right. The events of last night were still fresh in his mind. “Dammit…pull yourself together, man,” Critic muttered as he moved into his bathroom. He needed to freshen up anyway so a shower might help. He was about to turn the shower on when he heard a soft knock on the door.
“Mr. Critic? Are you okay?” Film Brain called.
“Uh…yeah,” Critic replied, moving towards the door. “D-Do you need something?” he wondered, not really up to seeing guests and keeping the door closed but listening through it.
“I-I brought you something to eat. I figured you’d be hungry missing breakfast and all,” Film Brain told him.
Critic blinked as he heard his stomach growl. It probably would be a bad idea to take a hot shower when his blood sugar was low. He carefully opened the door and saw Film Brain standing there with a tray of food and a tall glass of water. “T-Thanks…” he muttered as he saw the young Brit bringing the tray inside.
“No problem Mr. Critic,” Film Brain replied as he set the tray down on the bed before looking at his boss in concern. “How are you feeling Mr. Critic?”
“Honestly? Not so hot,” Critic admitted.
“Can I get you anything? Maybe an icepack?” Film Brain offered, flinching a bit at Critic’s swollen eye and the dried blood on his upper lip.
“Maybe after I take a shower,” Critic sighed as he started to eat some of the food his young friend brought him. “Thanks for the food, man…”
“Any time. And if you need anything…I’m here for you,” Film Brain told him, slowly getting up. He didn’t want to bother Critic anymore so he began to leave when Critic grabbed his wrist. “Yes?” he blinked, turning back to him.
“Um…when I’m done with breakfast and my shower…can we hang out?” Critic asked lamely.
Film Brain’s eyes widened in surprise but he nodded at the request. “Sure. Whatever you want,” the young man replied, surprised at Critic’s shaking hand as he let him go.
“Thanks…I…just don’t want to be alone right now,” Critic muttered before he continued eating. After finishing his meal faster than he usually would, Critic went into the bathroom and immediately turned the water on. Once it was warm enough, he stepped inside and let the water run over his body. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t even notice the tears running down his face.
Film Brain, meanwhile, had left Critic’s room with the tray when he ran into Chick. “How’s he doing?” she asked.
“Well, he managed to eat but I think he’s still bothered by what happened,” Film Brain frowned. “I don’t know what to do…he wants to be with me but I don’t know what I can do for him…”
“I think the best thing is to just listen to what he needs,” Chick told him. “If he needs space, give him space. If he wants company, give him company.”
Film Brain nodded in understanding. “I hope so,” he replied. “He’s in the shower right now. Are you going to talk to him?” he wondered.
“Yeah. I wanna make sure he’s okay,” Chick nodded.
Film Brain nodded as he went to put the tray back downstairs. Chick carefully entered the room and sat on his bed. It was strange being back here after leaving so long ago. She had thought about coming back to visit but she had wanted it to be more of a nice surprise, not an emergency call. Regardless, she’d do what she could for her old friend.
He was worth it.
~*~*~*~
It had been a few days since the incident and Critic still was struggling from the experience. He had been sleeping more during the day and having nightmares at night. Chick would try to come by every day to try and help Critic through this. When she would have to leave for the night, everyone else would try to cheer Critic up in their own ways with varying degrees of success. Linkara and Film Brain would try talking with him about what was still bothering him, Angry Joe and Marzgurl would try to cheer Critic up with various gaming tournaments, and even Chester would try and give him any change he could get that day on the streets.
It was really starting to worry them all when he wouldn’t get mad at a bad movie Cinema Snob would put on to try and cheer him up.
“Come on, man. It’s Masters of the Universe. You love this dumb shit,” Snob tried. Critic barely reacted when the shorter man poked his face. “Well…enjoy the movie,” Snob told him before getting up and walking past Chick who moved to sit by him.
“Critic? Are you okay?” she asked as she gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
Critic shook his head before placing his hand in his arms. “I know you guys are trying…and I appreciate it but…I’m still scared,” Critic admitted.
“He must’ve beat you bad, huh,” Chick mused.
“No…I got in more hits on that bastard than he did to me but thinking about that night?” He shook as he looked at her with big watery eyes. “I’m scared of feeling that alone again…” he told her. He buried his face in one of the pillows as Chick lightly patted his back.
“It’s gonna be okay Critic. They’re going to catch that bastard and put him away for good,” she assured him.
“I hope so…I can’t take it anymore…” he sniffed, curling up into a ball.
Guy, who had heard everything that had happened, moved away from the library and stomped down the hall. He was pissed off when someone was causing his younger twin pain he should’ve been doing. But now with Critic as broken as he could possibly get right now? That was too far for him. He was a sadistic bastard but no one screwed with his family and got away with it.
Well, no one that lived to talk about anyway.
~*~*~*~
“How’s he holding up?” Linkara whispered.
Chick looked up at the tall comic book reviewer and sighed. “He’s not crying but I’m still worried about him…” she told him. “He’s barely talking anymore…”
Linkara glanced at Critic across the room, who was glued to the phone talking to Rob. “Poor guy…I wish I could find the jerkass that broke into the studio and did this to him so I could turn him in myself,” he frowned. “After beating the ever-loving CRAP out of him!” he growled, punching his fist into his other hand.
Before Chick could respond, a knock on the door caught both their attentions. “I’ll get it,” she replied as she moved to the front door. She opened it and was surprised to see the police officer from the other day? “Officer? What are you doing here?” she blinked.
“Did you find the crook?” Linkara asked as the cop stepped inside.
“Not yet but we did receive a call from a Mr. Guy saying he had something he wanted to discuss with us,” the officer told them as Critic came up to them in confusion. “How are you holding up Mr. Critic?” he asked.
“I’m getting through it but…why are you here?” Critic blinked.
“That’s a very good question. And the answer is, I called him here.”
The group turned around to see Guy, looking very tired but happy all the same. “I figured the police would be in a bit of a sticky situation looking for this dick-hole so I decided to help them out,” Guy continued.
“Uh, Guy? I work with the government and they don’t like people getting involved in things way over their heads,” Linkara told him.
“Maybe. But I did manage to catch the bastard,” Guy replied as he tossed a tied up man onto the floor. “I made sure it was him from the security tapes from the studio,” he added as the cop knelt down to look the man over.
Critic flinched as he hid behind Linkara and Chick, clearly recognizing him from days ago. “Get him out of here!” he cried.
The officer checked the surly man over before standing up. “How did you find him?” he asked Guy.
“Most crooks like him like to strike twice in an area so I staked out the studio and sure enough, the bastard stupidly came back,” Guy explained.
“Well, I don’t approve of a citizen getting involved with police work but with two cases of attempted robbery and an assault case, he’s going to be put away for a long time,” the cop replied as he picked up the criminal. “You’re under arrest.”
The robber glared at the cop but conceded when he saw Guy’s death glare. After making sure he didn’t have a concealed weapon on him, the cop put him in handcuffs and escorted him out of the building.
“Hmph. Stupid criminal. So sloppy with his work,” Guy tutted before turning to his twin. “Are you alright?” he asked.
“Y-You…helped me?” Critic muttered, moving out from behind his friends. “I don’t get it…you’re usually a horrible creepy bastard…why would you help me?” Critic wondered.
“I’ll choose to ignore those accurate accusations for now,” Guy snarked before clearing his throat. “First of all, if anyone is going to torment my family and friends, I should be the one to do it. If anyone else does it, it’s no fun for me,” Guy started before softening a bit. “And second, no one is going to mess with my family on my watch,” Guy reasoned.
Critic blinked before launching himself onto Guy, hugging him close. “Thanks man…” he whispered, holding onto him tightly. “I’ll never call you creepy or an asshole again…” he promised.
Guy awkwardly patted Critic’s head, blushing in embarrassment. “Y-You don’t have to go that far…” he muttered as he tried not to look at Linkara and Chick’s smirking faces. “What’re you two looking at?” he asked, letting Critic go.
“I knew you had a heart in there somewhere,” Linkara grinned.
“It was just buried deep down,” Chick smiled.
“Shaddup,” Guy pouted, crossing his arms when Critic laughed at his bashful behavior. “So, are you going to be alright or what?” Guy questioned.
“I think so…and thanks guys,” Critic smiled, the first time he had in the last few days. “I don’t know how or when, but I’ll make it up to you all,” he told them.
“Don’t sweat it Critic,” Linkara assured him as he put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’m just glad to see you back to being your normal self,” he smiled, giving his shoulder an affectionate squeeze before walking off, Guy following him and muttering something about sleeping for several days.
Critic watched them before looking at Chick. “I’m really glad you’re here…” Critic told her, rubbing the back of his neck. “With Rob out of town, I wouldn’t have gotten through this if you weren’t here,” he admitted.
“Your acting buddies really knew what to do,” Chick replied.
“I’m gonna have to thank them big time,” he mused before looking back at her. “I know it’s dumb and we can chat online and stuff but…I miss having you around, y’know?” he confessed.
Chick blinked before blushing a bit. “It’s not that dumb…I’ve missed you guys too,” she told him. “I know I’ve been busy with videos and other work but…I’ll try to make time to see you all more,” she promised.
“Hopefully when it’s not when any of us are in trouble,” Critic joked. Chick laughed and was about to leave when Critic tapped her shoulder. “Hey…do you wanna stay for dinner? I know looking after my sorry ass is a lot of hard work,” he noted.
“Alright. But just for dinner. I’ve gotta get a walk in for Kali before we’re in for the night,” she requested.
“Deal. It’s pizza night so it won’t take too long,” he reminded her.
Chick smiled at the familiar routine. “I’ll call the usual place,” Chick replied, whipping out her phone with a grin.
Critic grinned back as he went to gather everyone for dinner, showing that he was going to be okay. Chick smiled softly to herself in the meantime while dialing the number. It was funny to think that even after being gone a little over a year at this point, she was able to get back into routine so easily.
Even if it was for a short time, it was pretty nice.
