Calamitous (Kaylor)

33

"Great, when are we going?" It was a week later, and Cut Throat was well enough to consider a mission into the headquarters that Arsyn and Toni now shared. Now that they knew where the headquarters was, Karlie and her team were planning to invade, steal back the weapon, and hopefully neutralize a lot of the gang. If they didn't have the weapon, they'd be much less of a threat in the future, so that was the main goal.

"Uh, how about tomorrow?" Cut Throat answered Karlie uncertainly.

"Great! I'll get a team together!" the detective cheered, reaching for her phone.

"Karls, wait. Don't you think that we should think about this a little more?" Taylor asked. "I mean, we have no experience with this place. I hardly know Toni, and I'd imagine that it might be difficult for you to face her -"

"It won't be. I'm over her," Karlie scoffed.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Taylor muttered under her breath.

"Maybe Taylor's right, Karlie," Lily added. She had joined the group once she heard that Cut Throat was ready to go. "You haven't really dealt with Toni in a while, but I imagine she'll be doing everything to get under your skin. And Taylor will have Arsyn to deal with, too. Don't you think it would be best to prepare a bit more?"

"Not to sway anyone, but remember Frostbyte's message the other day?" Cut Throat interjected, referring to a communication they'd received a few nights ago. "They've got something big planned soon. If they use that weapon on the city so they can, I don't know, steal a bunch of stuff without setting off alarms, they'll also end up shutting off important buildings like the hospital. We might want to act sooner rather than later."

"See?" Karlie said, looking from Taylor to Lily. "We've got to make our move. So, tomorrow?" The women glanced at each other but nodded, reluctantly agreeing.

"Tomorrow," Lily repeated. "I'll get the team together, Karlie. Cut Throat, you can come with me to help me figure out what sort of people we need for our strategy. You two, keep working on the plan, and get some rest. Neither of you is looking very good."

Since the fight at Karlie's parents' house last week, neither had been sleeping well. Karlie had encouraged her parents to move in to take a vacation for a few weeks, hoping to keep them away from the house long enough for the criminals to be caught. Still, the stress of the situation was getting to them.

"Okay, okay. Let's go see what Andrea's got for lunch, Tay," Karlie said. They headed back to the house, making a beeline for the kitchen once they arrived.

"Karlie? Taylor?" they heard Andrea call.

"Yes?" Karlie called back.

"Help yourself to anything in the kitchen! I made some more of those cookies for you that Taylor really liked, too, so go ahead and have a few!" Taylor took off after hearing that, and by the time Karlie entered the kitchen, she was already several cookies in.

"Okay, slow down a little there," she said, dragging her girlfriend away from the cookie jar. "Remember that you're not used to eating that much sugar." Taylor pouted but relented, moving to sit at the table as Karlie pulled a loaf of bread and various sandwich options out of the fridge.

"I can't help it," the blonde said. "They just taste...nostalgic, Karlie." The taller girl turned around and raised her eyebrow.

"Seriously, Taylor? Nostalgic? They're cookies." Taylor went back to pouting as Karlie started making sandwiches. "Tuna?" she asked, already making herself one.

"Yes, please."

After eating, the couple made their way into the living room, where Andrea was sitting in her chair, watching some old movie. Karlie and Taylor settled on the couch to watch with her, but it quickly became apparent that neither of them was going to make it to the end.

"Do you two want a blanket?" Andrea asked, noticing that their eyes were closing for longer and longer periods as they watched. Karlie waited for Taylor's response, but the smaller girl only grunted softly and snuggled closer into her girlfriend's side.

"That would be wonderful, Andrea. Thank you," Karlie agreed. Moments later, she drifted off to sleep, wrapped in a warm blanket and her lover's embrace.

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When Karlie walked back downstairs for some water at around 11:00 PM that same evening, she wasn't expecting Andrea to still be up. Usually the older woman retired to her bedroom before the couple, but today Taylor had decided that she needed the extra sleep and had encouraged Karlie to join her early.

The living room light was on, and Karlie headed toward it, curious. Andrea was sitting on the couch, some books spread out over the coffee table in front of her. "You're up a bit later than usual, aren't you?" Karlie said lightly. The other woman glanced up and met her gaze with a tired smile.

"You're right about that. I was having trouble sleeping, so I decided to come out here and go through some photo albums. It always makes me feel better." Karlie hesitated in the doorway, wanting to comfort the woman in some way, but not wanting to overstep. Andrea must have noticed, because she waved the detective over and patted the couch next to her. "Come sit! I'll show you my family."

Intrigued, Karlie padded over to the couch and sat beside Andrea, looking down at the open pages of the album. "Now this, here," Andrea said, pointing to a man, "was my husband, Scott. We were happy for a while, and had two beautiful children, but some things are just too big for a marriage to take. When we lost our daughter, we began to drift apart. After almost ten years of it, we decided to call it quits, but I'll be forever grateful for our time together."

Karlie looked down at the pictures. He looked like a kind man. "That must have been very hard on you," she murmured. "Losing your daughter, and then your husband." Andrea turned to her, reaching out to take her hand.

"It was. It still is. But having you young people around is a big help; it really is." She turned the page, and Karlie was now looking at an array of pictures of young children.

"Which one is that?" Karlie asked, pointing to a baby.

"This is Austin. He's about your age, and he's the joker of the family. Always the class clown. He was a very happy baby, but he was more lonely growing up than we would have liked. We never intended him to be an only child, you see." Karlie squeezed the older woman's hand, unsure how to answer.

"And this," Andrea said, turning to another page, "this is my daughter." She gestured to the page, which was covered with pictures of a young girl with wide blue eyes and curly blonde hair.

"She's adorable," Karlie said. She glanced from picture to picture, admiring the ever-present grin and playful expression.

"She was my little bundle of joy," Andrea said, smiling slightly as she gazed down at the pictures. "She could make the grumpiest person smile. There wasn't a mean bone in her body. My Taylor."

"Taylor?" Karlie said, now thinking back to how Andrea's expression had been slightly uncomfortable when she had first introduced her girlfriend. Well, that explains it. It's kind of poor luck for Andrea. "Taylor Finlay," she tried out, trying to think if she'd ever seen an obituary for the girl.

"No, no. That's my maiden name that I went back to after the separation," Andrea said. "It's Swift. Taylor Alison Swift."