Please tell me I'm not the only one who became obsessed with Esai Morales after seeing him in Ozark. Not to mention Del is one of the best characters, and he was killed way too soon. So here's my take on what could've happened if Darlene only intended on causing him "a little" damage instead of killing him. Also, Del's wife passed away years prior in this fanfic.
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Marty Byrde had never been so anxious about anything in his life. Not when his children were born, not when Bruce decided to start their own firm, not even when he agreed to move to Missouri to launder eight million dollars. No this was the most intense moment of his entire life. One that could very much lead to his own downfall. What was he thinking deciding to work with the Snells? And to convince the Navarro cartel to partner with them had been a stupid idea. Darlene was too unpredictable, as he just witnessed first hand.
Of course it really was Del's own fault. He was never one to watch what he said to people. But it came with the territory Marty figured. Anyone in his position would take advantage of the safety provided by a cartel and intentionally push a person's boundaries. Maybe he should've warned Del to be careful; Darlene was offended easily.
Then again, she should've known better than to act so rash. What kind of crazy person shoots a man they just became partners with. Her overreaction could ruin their entire arrangement before they could even start it. He was so, so close to having an easy way out. That casino was his only bet to make that five hundred million before the five years were up. It was going to take a lot of convincing on his part to get Del, and in consequence Navarro, to agree to continue with his plans. That is if Del even survived.
All of this was playing in Marty's head as he drove down a long, narrow road on the backside of the Snell farm. He thought they only had the one, but apparently there was another they only used on occasion. Jacob said they needed discreetness once in a while-he hated to think about what that meant. It was apparently quicker to get off the property than their main road, which he definitely needed. Because Del was currently bleeding out in the backseat, hardly managing to stay conscious as he held a balled up towel against his chest. Darlene hit him just right to teach him a lesson without instantly killing him. But if Marty didn't get him help soon, that would quickly be the case.
The issue Marty was faced with now is the fact that Del couldn't be brought to the hospital. There would be too many questions and would be more of a hassle than anything. He wouldn't exactly know how to remove a bullet either. So he was left with one option; bring Del to someone who kept to themselves and thankfully knew how to handle injuries like his enough to keep him alive. Or at least that's what he hoped.
"Hang on, we're almost there."
Marty knew he was mostly talking to himself at that point. Del only grunted in response, not truly comprehending what he said. He sped up a little then. If he took any longer to get the bleeding to stop, Del would fade fast. It was already a challenge to get him to keep the pressure on his wound. And he was the lucky one considering his bodyguard got shot in the throat before Jacob realized Darlene hadn't killed Del on the spot like he assumed.
Pulling out his phone, he quickly searched for the number he needed and dialed. He had to give a heads up. After a few rings, he finally heard Erica's voice. "What do you want, it's late."
"Listen I really need your help with something," Marty quipped. "It's a life or death situation."
"Literally or figuratively," she asked.
"Both."
There was a sigh. "What's going on?"
Marty glanced at Del in the rear view mirror. "I can't say too much right now. Just please wait by the door for me and be ready." Her driveway would be coming up any minute now.
"I don't like the sound of this," Erica responded.
"Be ready, two minutes tops."
"Marty," Erica managed to say before being hung up on.
Marty let out his own sigh. This wasn't how tonight was supposed to go. He should have been seeing Del off to his jet and checking in with his family. He only hoped they managed to make it to their destination without any issues. He glanced at his boss again to see him closing his eyes. That made him tap the brakes abruptly to stir him awake.
"You have to stay awake for a little longer," Marty urged.
Del managed to glare back at him. Oh if only he had the energy to yell at him. Marty knew he'd get an earful if the circumstances were different. He was terrified to have Del's death on his hands for obvious reasons, mostly being his own chances to live. But they'd known each other for ten years and built somewhat of a friendship. Del could absolutely not die tonight. He'd be screwed without him around to shield him from the full affect the cartel could have on him.
Finally Marty saw the familiar faded yellow mailbox and made a sharp turn into the curved driveway. He could see Erica standing by her front door like he asked, arms crossed and scowling. With a renewed sense of urgency, Marty switched off the ignition and threw open the door. He went to the backseat door and yanked it open to began helping Del out.
Seeing what was happening, Erica went into action. "What the hell Marty," she practically yelled as she went to help him. She just assumed he was drunk or had a fight with Wendy again. The last thing she expected was him to bring a bleeding man to her front door. "Who the fuck is this guy?"
Marty and Erica struggled on either side of Del to keep him upright. "It's a long story." Del let out a groan when they stumbled. "Right now we need to focus on keeping him alive."
"Why didn't you just take him to the hospital," Erica asked in a strangled voice. The man was hardly able to walk which made their trek to the door even longer.
"Too far," Marty stated simply. He almost let go of Del when Erica let go a little to open the door. "There would be too many questions," he added once they were inside.
Erica threw a look past the strange man at Marty. "Like in a he wouldn't want to be found way," she asked suspiciously.
Instead of answering that, Marty brought up the next issue. "Where can we take him?"
"That's the thing," Erica said hesitantly, "my guest room is upstairs."
"Of course it is," Marty muttered.
Erica rolled her eyes. "You're the one who decided to bring a dying man here."
Marty chose to not acknowledge that comment as they focused on getting Del to the guest room. Thankfully the steps were designed to be wider and not too steep. At that point Del seemed to be on autopilot, but he was functioning at least. Erica left Marty to get him settled in the bed while she gathered the first aid kit she kept along with everything she could think of for supplies. She was regretting telling Marty about her experience with stitching up wounds. That was thanks to her brother and his penchant for getting himself into trouble.
After a second to gather herself, Erica quickly went back to the guest room. She shoved Marty out of the way to start working. She was thankful that while she had been out of the room, he managed to get the man's coat off. She unbuttoned his shirt, which had now been almost soaked completely with blood. Where he had been shot was a complete mess that startled her briefly. Why did Marty think she'd be the best option for something like this?
"What the hell caused this?"
"Like I said, long story." Marty took the initiative to set out the items he knew would be more important from her first aid kit. "But to put it simply-Darlene Snell."
That made Erica pause and snap her attention to Marty. "What would the two of you have to do with her," she asked stunned.
Marty shrugged, "business."
"Business," Erica repeated in a harsh whisper, "you shouldn't be in any sort of business with that crazy woman."
Marty quirked a brow in confusion. "Didn't know you had such a strong opinion on her." Granted he couldn't be that surprised. Darlene Snell was disliked by many people around the area.
"Now that is a long story," Erica replied exasperated.
Having cleared the area she needed to work on, Erica grabbed the numbing spray to give at least a little relief to the poor man. He wasn't entirely conscious but she wasn't about to torture him. Before getting started she did pause to wash her hands, then grabbed the tweezers from her kit. The man was lucky the bullet wasn't lodged in too deep and she was able to get it out. She had instructed Marty at some point to give the man a pain med, that seemed to be helping with keeping him unaware of what she was doing. Marty quickly handed her a towel when the blood started pooling again and took the bullet from her. She just needed to clean up around the wound enough to start placing sutures.
As Erica started, she tried again to get answers. "Can I get a name for him?" She couldn't just refer to him as man when she was doing something so oddly intimate.
"Um Del," Marty said with some hesitation. "People just call him that."
Del. Clearly an alias, but she'd let it slide. "Guess that's better than nothing." Del flinched and let out a groan when she started another line. "I might need to get something stronger for the pain once we get him situated," she said after pausing.
"I can do that."
"You're going to leave him here with me?"
Marty sighed, "well it would be easier." He wouldn't have a single clue what to do if Del woke up abruptly in pain, or if he bled too much. "Less of a liability," he added.
Erica had to smile at that, what a coward. "I'm sure you could manage if I left for ten minutes." She looked up at Marty where he was standing at the end of the bed. "Or are you scared something will happen," she asked with a smirk.
Marty wasn't amused. "I'm sure you would be better equipped to handle a shift in his condition than I would." He also didn't want to be the one there when Del inevitable gained consciousness. It was his fault he was in this position.
Erica shook her head as she focused back on her task. This whole thing was starting to weird her out a bit. There was a reason Marty was being so vague about the details and she didn't like it. But right now she couldn't interrogate him like she wanted. He needed her to keep Del alive. So that's what she'll do, then she'll drag the answers out of him. No sane person would involve themselves with the Snells unless they wanted to walk on eggshells everyday. Jacob was more sensible, but Darlene was touchy. One wrong word and she would turn on you.
After another painstaking twenty minutes, Erica tied off the last of the sutures. Then came the worst part-cleaning up everything. That took even more time, especially when her patient was practically dead weight. It took a lot of effort on her and Marty's part to shift Del around to remove his shirt and fix the sheets. She'll have to ask Marty to find different clothes, she doubted Del would appreciate being left uncovered. The blood stained bedding would need to be tossed out but that was the last thing she cared about.
Marty was picking up the rest of the supplies while Erica worked on washing her hands. She stared blankly at the blood mixing with the water as it went down the drain. It took three applications of soap it get it all off her hands. She wasn't particularly disturbed by it, but the sight was quite bothersome. Never would she have guessed she'd being doing this that evening.
After Marty left, Erica wandered back into the guest room to check on Del again. He was very lucky Marty got him there on time, and his injury wasn't as bad as it could have been. But he really should go see an actual doctor. Hell, she was sure the Snells had someone they could pull some strings with to do a private evaluation. So with that in mind she sent Marty a message to contact them. This was their mess after all. Hearing a soft groan, Erica looked up to see Del move his head slightly but he didn't wake up. She couldn't imagine what he'll think when he does.
...
There was very little noise when Del started to come to, not a single sound near him. It was off-putting. It was hard to move at first and his chest felt heavy. Well heavy was the best word he could come up with, it was more significant than that. There was a tightness and light stinging that should definitely feel worse. He does remember being shot just moments after making a deal with those rednecks. And he vaguely recalled being dragged to some other house after struggling to keep himself awake in the car.
After a few more minutes of bringing himself to consciousness, Del pried his eyes open to take in his surroundings. He was in a small, scarcely decorated room. There was a long dresser across from the bed and a stand next to him that had med bottles and gauze on it. He tried to sit up, but the discomfort in his chest caused him to give that up. He had no idea how long he'd been out but apparently long enough to miss the cleanup process. And he finally took notice of being bare-chested with a large patch of gauze taped on him. He let his head drop back to the pillow and took a few deep breaths.
Just as he ran his hands over his face, the door opened. "Oh good, you're awake." Del looked over to see a younger blonde woman come to the side of the bed. "I'm glad the morphine helped," she said as her hand grazed the bottle on the stand. "I was worried you'd be in agony."
"Where the hell am I," Del asked bluntly.
Quirking a brow at him ignoring her comments, Erica crossed her arms. "My home, Marty thought it was better to bring you here than a hospital." She paused to see if he'd follow that up but he kept quiet. "He told me how you ended up like this, can't say I'm surprised."
"Where is Marty?"
"He ran home," Erica replied with a shrug.
Del huffed. Of course he was conveniently gone when they needed to discuss things. "He better come back soon." Then he thought back to her last comment. "Why do you say you aren't surprised?"
"Well," Erica started as she pulled over a chair to sit next to him, "Darlene Snell is not someone you want to sling insults at."
That made Del scowl, he knew something was off with that woman. "Marty should have known better than to involve me with those rednecks." He tried again to push himself up, and was startled when the woman helped him. Shrugging away from her touch, he glared at her. "Who are you exactly?"
"I'm sort of friends with Marty." She quickly recoiled from her attempt to help Del get more comfortable when she received another glare. "Erica Blackwood," she stated after realizing that's what he was really asking.
Del's expression softened slightly. "Why did he bring me here?"
"I have some experience with stitching wounds and he said the hospital wasn't an option."
"A gunshot wound is more serious than a self-taught nurse can handle." That earned an eye roll as a response. "He was right but I don't know if I like the risk he took with my survival." Marty was good at bull-shitting, he could've figured out an explanation for any questioning doctors.
Erica bit her lip to keep a snarky response from coming out. "Don't worry, the Snells have a connection with one of the local doctors. He came over and did a thorough check of my work." That didn't seem to help. "Where do you think I got the stronger medicine from?"
"I don't want any more involvement with those two."
"Well too late," Erica quipped, "Marty said you're doing business with them."
"Excuse me," Del asked harshly.
Erica held up her hands defensively. "That's all he said, don't worry." This guy was almost as touchy as the Snells it seems.
Del continued to scrutinize Eric a closely. He was already angry at his situation, but hearing Marty let slip even a small detail of their arrangement aggravated him further. "How much do you know of these Snells?"
Letting out a small sigh, Erica adjusted her position to fight the awkwardness that crept in at that moment. "I know enough to stay away." She crossed her arms and waited for him to give her a questioning look before continuing. "Darlene and I have a complicated past, to put it simply." Well that was really simplifying the truth. "I might have said something that upset her and she gifted me with a dead deer in front of my house." And that was playing it down, the whole story was far more ridiculous to hear.
"Now I really question Marty's decision to work with her," Del responded tersely.
"In his defense, they do have a lot of connections that let them easily pull strings." She quirked a brow suggestively, she knew their influence ran very deep into the town. "Whatever you're doing with them relies on that, right?"
Del just stared at Erica blankly as he listened to her. "In a way," he responded shortly.
Getting the sense that she shouldn't say more than that, Erica pushed herself up. "Are you thirsty? Hungry? Or in any pain?" Del shrugged. "You've been out for a while, I'm sure you at least need water or something."
Knowing she wouldn't stop pestering, Del just nodded. "I could go for some." That seemed to appease Erica and he was left in peace for a few minutes. He laid his head back against the headboard, now being overcome with a headache. He never imagined ending up like this when he decided to do this surprise visit.
He must have dozed off in that time he was alone because he startled awake to find a darker room and a glass of water left on the nightstand. It took a few seconds to bring himself to full consciousness, and once he did it registered that it must have been late afternoon. But was he out for that long? It only felt like maybe five minutes. Feeling the dryness of his throat become more apparent made him finally move. He slowly pushed himself into a seated position and reached for the water. Everything felt heavy.
Del hesitated for a second as he brought the glass up to his mouth, considering Erica may have tampered with it. Then again she's done nothing but try to make him comfortable so far. So he pushed his paranoia aside and took a sip. It had been so long since he's had to take any sort of pain medication that he forgot how refreshing it could be. It was a good thing he didn't push too hard against Erica's suggestion.
"You must be hungry now."
Swallowing another sip quickly, Del's gaze shot over to the door to see Erica leaning against it. "How long was I out?"
"Only an hour I think." Erica bit back a smile. She had a feeling this guy wasn't used to being so unaware. "I made soup if you're up to it," she added with what she hoped was a hospitable tone. Even though he really didn't have room to argue, he needed some nourishment.
"I will try it," he said with a shrug.
"Coming right up then," Erica responded with a small smile before backing away to go downstairs.
Things continued in a similar routine for a few days with small improvements in Del's condition. The healing part was simple, the wound could have been much worse in the grand scheme of things. Del's role as a patient, however, was another story. Erica had quickly discovered he did not like to be told what to do. He argued over the instruction she gave him quite often. Apparently, he didn't like to take her help at face value. He didn't trust her.
Now Erica wasn't saying his distrust for her was unreasonable. It made sense for him to be wary of her given the circumstances. But it made things more difficult than they needed to be when she was trying to help him recuperate. Not to mention they were both stubborn, and neither of them wanted to give up control. But during the course of his stay with her, she learned when to just let things be or she'd get a few nasty Spanish insults flung at her. This was something she also learned to just let go as he was clearly trying to hold back showing how much pain he was really in. And to his defense, he did apologize when he got too worked up.
For Del it had been difficult to let himself be vulnerable around a stranger. He was never one to be open with his emotions in general, so the condition he was in made him shut down even more. But that didn't seem to go over well with his pseudo nurse. He did have to give the woman some credit in his moments of stubbornness, she didn't put up with his attitude. Perhaps that was why he didn't mind staying there for the time being. Better than a hospital.
...
Today marked a week since that horrendous night at the Snell's. It also marked the day Del was able to wander Erica's house freely without worry of being overcome with exhaustion. Something that came as a surprise to him was lack of personalization to the main part of the house. He had caught glimpses of her personal life from photos upstairs. But the living room was bare of any such thing. It seemed to him that Erica hardly had any personal belongings. Everything came off as being staged.
Del knew to keep these musings to himself as he got settled on the small loveseat situated near the back sliding door. He was diagonal from the view of the kitchen where Erica was currently preparing something. He took notice of a laptop sitting open on the other side of the counter. He guessed she had been working before he came downstairs. Her occupation slipped his mind.
Come to think of it, Erica hardly spoke about herself at all and she was careful with the questions she asked about his. There was a noticeable boundary between them; personal information was off limits. She also caught onto how to phrase her comments regarding his business arrangements with Marty. Del suspected she had an idea, even if Marty never explicitly stated the truth. It was there, hiding, behind simplistic sounding observations. Erica seemed to sense she shouldn't do even that. But he allowed it, for now.
"What are you thinking so hard about?"
Del moved his gaze from the table in front of him up to Erica. "How I'll explain my absence when I return home," he lied easily. That wasn't something he needed to worry about. She didn't need to know that he was contemplating how far he'd let her inquiries go.
Erica's brows furrowed. "Have you told anyone where you are?" Del shook his head curtly. "Your phone was with your coat, which I managed to clean by the way."
"I don't remember you mentioning that," Del replied shortly.
"Did I not give it to you," Erica muttered to herself before leaving the room. When she returned, she hung his coat on the railing post to the stairs and handed him his phone. "It might not have any battery at this point."
Pressing the button, all Del received was the symbol before the screen turned black again. "You would be right about that." He quirked a brow when Erica held her hand out again, hesitating to give into her silent demand.
Rolling her eyes, Erica leaned forward and pried the phone from his hand. "Relax, it will be charging right over there." She scoffed to herself as she exaggerated her action of plugging his phone into the charger on the counter. "You're not a prisoner, it's right here when you need it."
That pulled a bit of a smirk from Del. He had to admit he enjoyed her snarky comments. "Good to know," he stated with a hint of amusement.
Erica looked over her shoulder at him with a playful glare. "You've clearly been held captive by me this entire time." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, which prompted a genuine chuckle from him. That made her smile in return.
"You could've fooled me," Del responded amused.
Shaking her head, Erica hid her smile as she went back to her previous task of preparing lunch. She caught him watching her on occasion but didn't acknowledge him. She knew what he was doing. While it should offend her, she didn't mind his cautious observing. The dynamic between them was far less tense than when he first woke up, however, there was still that underlying distrust that wouldn't go away. That feeling extended to both of them. Erica knew that he was a dangerous man even if it wasn't explicitly stated. She could just sense it whenever she got too close or upset him in some way. Something in her told her to tread lightly when it came to Del-unless she welcomed threats to her being.
As she finished cutting up the mix of vegetables for the salad, Erica was broken out of her thoughts by a grunt. She looked over to see Del maneuvering himself from the couch slowly. He didn't have trouble walking or moving really, but the tightness on his chest made it difficult to sit or get up normally. Sighing, she started to go to him before he held his hand up.
"I can manage on my own," Del stated gruffly.
"Maybe you should've chosen the armchair," she commented, "the cushion isn't as deep."
Del huffed, "thank you for the suggestion."
Erica bit back a snappy response and watched silently while Del got himself straightened out. She was surprised when he came to stand across from her at the counter. He studied the different items she laid out before humming in acceptance. If she had to guess, he was making sure it was something he would tolerate eating.
"Would you like a hand?"
Well that was unexpected. "Excuse me," Erica asked bewildered.
Del glanced up at her and quirked a brow. "Do you need any help with this?"
"I heard you," Erica said dismissively, "but no thank you. It's mostly done now." She would've appreciated the offer about twenty minutes earlier, if he even genuinely cared to help.
Del seemed to catch on to that unspoken meaning and shrugged slightly. "I was going to ask before you distracted me," he said teasingly.
"Convenient," Erica responded with a smirk.
"You don't believe I would be willing to help you?"
Shaking her head, Erica scoffed softly. "I would believe it if this wasn't the first time." She starting gathering the chopped up veggies and tossing them into the large bowl sitting off to the side. "You've been quiet until now."
Smirking, Del perched himself on the stool near him. "I wasn't physically capable at first," he excused.
Erica paused and looked at him bemused. "Last I checked your arms still worked." Del hummed noncommittally. "After we decreased the pain meds, you were fully capable of at least handing me things." She smiled smugly when he had the decency to appear a little sheepish. "Lucky for you, I'll forgive your transgression," she quipped, "as long as you put yourself to use from now on."
Del's brows were raised, amusement curling at his lips, as Erica held out her hand. After a second of consideration he took her hand. "I'll accept that," he stated while giving her one firm shake. Their hands stayed clasped together a beat longer until Erica pulled hers away to turn back to her task.
Something he had to appreciate in Erica was her boldness, which was clearly demonstrated just now. And it was also clear that she wasn't one to mess around with. But he enjoyed that. There were no games or fronts. With Erica, what you see is what you get. That made her presence far more tolerable in this annoying situation he ended up in. The one Marty put him in. Speaking of Marty, that gringo had been absent for too long. Del was done letting him get away with his slip ups. No more hiding.
...
After another quiet few days, Del kept true to his personal vow. He instructed Erica to get Marty to come to her house since his calls had been screened. Marty Byrde had some nerve ignoring him after their botched meeting with the Snells. And he knew Marty was keeping tabs on his condition through Erica. He was just too much of a coward to face him directly. So once they were face to face again, Del gave him a very firm warning about not being allowed any missteps.
If Marty had any hope of completing his plan to open this casino, he better be very careful. Del wouldn't cover for him any longer. For the last ten years he's shielded Marty from the mistakes he overlooked in their organization. But this deal he's decided to make here in the Ozarks, that was on him. He would take full responsibility for any issues that came up along the way.
Del made a promise to Marty the day he was finally leaving. As soon as he saw any sign of this casino plan failing, he would be back in Missouri and end it. It didn't need to be said for Marty to understand that applied to his family as well.
Taking a deep breath outside, Del waited patiently for Rodrigo. It felt good to finally be going home, he couldn't handle the stifling Missouri atmosphere anymore. He was ready to be back in the comfort of his own home. Not that his stay in Erica's home had been entirely unpleasant. She managed to make him relax to the point of dropping his guard little by little. Now it felt strange to be going back to an empty house after being around someone for some time.
Marty, who was pacing a few feet away while they waited, had pulled Erica aside a few minutes prior and essentially tried to keep her away from him. Del had the distinct feeling he did this to insure her safety in a way, as if he didn't trust that she would be left alone. But he didn't plan on doing anything to her. Nothing in their interactions told him she would be a problem. Erica posed no threat to him, and there was no need to cause an unnecessary death. However, Del couldn't fault Marty for being cautious.
Eventually Erica just shrugged Marty off and went to stand near Del. "I bet you're anxious to get out of here."
"More than you know," Del said with a single nod.
Smirking a little, Erica had to tease him one more time. "I know it must have been hard to be stuck with me." That comment had the desired effect and earned her a chuckle.
Del lifted a brow as he looked at her, "not because of you."
"That's reassuring."
Before Del could respond, a black SUV pulled down Erica's driveway and pulled to an abrupt stop. A lean man got out with a revolver in his hand, eyes scanning from Erica to Marty as if he expected one of them to pull a move. Del was quick to hold up his hand and give an order in Spanish, which prompted the driver to put the gun away. After another scan he nodded then opened the back seat door. That was the official cue for Del's departure.
As Del turned to give his parting words, Erica beat him to it. "Try to take care of yourself," she urged softly, "and please be careful with who you insult from now on. I'd hate for all my hard work to be wasted."
Del laughed a little at that. "I'll do my best." That was a hard thing to promise, he wasn't alway a patient man. "I owe you a debt," he added as he nodded at her assuringly. She gave a half smile before crossing her arms and taking a step back. Del then looked past her at Marty, who was trying to avoid making eye contact. "I'll be in touch," he stated resolutely.
Marty looked at Del, apprehension in his eyes, and nodded. "Yeah," he gulped out unsure of himself, "look forward to it."
That was lie, but Del accepted it. With that he got in the car and waited for Rodrigo to get back in the driver's seat before looking out the window. Marty was watching with what he tried to pass off as indifference, but he knew better. Even from behind a tinted window he could see the relief in the advisor's eyes. As they backed out of the driveway, Del caught one last glimpse of Erica. She had turned to go back inside her house after a slight moment of hesitation. He had to wonder if it would be easy for her to transition back to being alone, just as he would.
Another thought that crossed his mind was how involved she might become as time goes on. Marty already entrusted her with an edited admission to his business in Missouri. But how far would that trust go? Erica did insist on not being told anything she didn't need to know. And yet there was this idea in his mind that she was hiding her own secrets. Either way, Del certainly looked forward to crossing paths with her again.
AHHH can't believe I finally cracked and wrote this! I hope those of you who liked Del enjoyed this little AU I created :)