Prelude

Chapter 14: Eluding To The Fact That Shit's About To Go Down

Guinevere woke up Saturday morning in a stranger's house, making her sit up in confusion because she was 99% sure she went to bed at her own house. Making sure she was dressed, if she didn't remember changing houses, she probably wouldn't remember changing her clothes, she looked down and saw her pajama shorts and a ribbed tank top. Rubbing her eyes, she stumbled out of the bed and spotted her phone on the night stand as well as one of her duffels on the floor. She opened the door, looking out into the hallway. The first thing she noticed was how nice the house was. It was almost like it was from a TV show. The second thing she noticed was familiar voices coming from the kitchen. She couldn't quite place them but she knew she knew them and that was why she walked down the stairs and blinked the last of the sleep from her eyes as she yawned and walked into what looked like the kitchen. The faint smell of food was lingering but it was being overpowered by the smell of coffee and cologne? Walking through the kitchen to the next room, the dining room, she found Scott and another boy sat at the table with Lydia, empty plates in front of them and mugs of coffee in hand. 

"Hey, you're up." Lydia smiled up at her, wearing a pair of pajama shorts and a t-shirt herself. 

"When did I get here? And how?" Guinevere asked as she sat down in the chair Lydia pushed out for her. 

"Your parents called me around midnight and asked if you could stay here for the weekend. Your dad carried you in, apparently you're a heavy sleeper." 

"Very heavy sleeper." Guinevere nodded, yawning again before she turned her gaze to Scott and the boy next to him. "Wait, why am I staying here?" 

"They said something about Washington and one of your dad's friends. They were a little frazzled with the last minute flight they were trying to make. Your mom said you should call her when you wake up, no matter the time difference." Guinevere nodded again. 

"Who's this?" She asked as she looked at Scott and his friend once more. 

"This is Liam. He's two years younger than us at school." Scott introduced. 

"Hi Liam. I'm Guin." Liam's eyebrows shot up and his gaze flicked to Scott who gave a subtle nod. 

"We were just talking about you." Scott explained, trying to cover Liam's exaggerated reaction. 

"All good things, I promise." Lydia smiled over at her. "Are you hungry?"

"Not really. I'm not big on breakfast especially. I'll take some coffee though, if there's any left." 

"Yeah, of course. Milk? Sugar? Cream?" 

"Milk and sugar please. I'm going to go call my mom really fast." Lydia nodded and the two walked into the kitchen together before Guinevere continued on back up the stairs. She grabbed her phone and dialed her mom as she grabbed her duffel and sat on the bed, unzipping it and looking for new clothes. 

"Hey." Her mom answered, sounding tired. 

"Hey. What's going on? You guys are back in Washington?" 

"Yeah. Um, Dallas was shot in the line of duty so we're at the hospital with him and Drayton." Guinevere felt her heart squeeze as she froze, hand fisted in a shirt as she sat completely still. 

"Is-is-is he going to be okay?" She asked once the news had settled in and left a chill throughout her bones. 

"Yeah, they think so. He's in surgery right now, he was in pretty bad shape when he came in and he lost a lot of blood but Drayton donated and so did your dad when we got here and now they're working on him again. He should be out in a few hours and then awake anytime after that."

"Okay." She said, blinking as she tried to take everything in. "Was anyone else hurt?" 

"Two cops were killed and three other service members were shot. Two of them are in surgery, the other the bullet went clean through so he's getting stitched up and bandaged before he's sent home." 

"Anyone we know?" 

"No. The two in surgery were new recruits and the third was an Army member filling in for somebody."

"And the cops?" Guinevere asked as she stood up, pressing a hand to her forehead as she started pacing. 

"A S.W.A.T. member and a lieutenant who was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Is there any-anything I can do?" She asked as she paced back and forth, moving her hand from her forehead to her hip. 

"No, baby. I'm sorry." Her mom was quiet on the other end for a second as Guinevere closed her eyes and took a deep breath, tears slipping out anyways and wetting her cheeks. 

"Okay." She looked up at the ceiling and shook out her arms. "Okay, keep me updated and I expect him to call me as soon as he's awake." 

"I'll be sure to tell him." Her mom confirmed. "We should be back by Monday evening but if it's going to be longer, I'm staying up here and your dad will be home by then. Lydia and her mom already said you could stay with them for the weekend so behave, okay?" 

"I will." Guinevere promised as a reflex, never really meaning it. Whatever happened, happened. 

"I love you, sweetheart." 

"I love you too." She replied before her mom hung up and she was left standing in a silent guest room. She took a few seconds to break down and then compose herself before she changed her clothes, pulling on the sweats and t-shirt her parents had packed for her. Sliding her phone into her bra, she headed back down stairs, taking her hair out of the bun it had been tied up in and shaking it out so it was loose. 

"Everything okay?" Lydia asked, concern visible on her pretty features as Guinevere walked back into the kitchen. 

"Yeah." Guinevere nodded, looking down at the mug the redhead slid across the counter to her. "One of my dad's service buddies got hurt in the line of duty so my parents are staying with him and his husband at the hospital until he's in the clear. My mom is supposed to keep me updated." 

"Hey Lydia," Scott said, stepping into the kitchen with Liam before Lydia could say anything to Guinevere, "Liam and I are going to go finish our round and then meet up with Stiles. He said something about a new conspiracy," Scott shook his head with a fond smile that looked the tiniest bit forced, "he's going nuts." Lydia straightened up a bit at that. "Thanks for breakfast." 

"Of course." She smiled at them and Liam gave her a wicked looking grin that reminded Guinevere of Erica the smallest bit. They headed towards the door and Guinevere's gaze lingered on Scott (his ass to be more specific) as he walked out.

"Bye, Liam! Super nice to meet you!" She yelled as he left before she took a drink of her coffee. She heard someone stumble and she smiled to herself a bit. 

"That's just cruel." Lydia said in slight amusement. 

"It's fun though." Guinevere said as she turned back around to look at the ginger. "So what are your plans for today?" 

"Well, Saturdays where I don't go shopping are for homework and usually my boyfriend." 

"Don't let me ruin your plans. I can totally hide out in the guest room if you need me to."

"No, no. Don't worry about it. He's most likely going to be a little busy today anyways so we've got the place to ourselves." Lydia smiled. "You want to watch a movie with me?" 

"That depends on what you had in mind." Guinevere said as she followed Lydia out to the big living room.