It's Been A Hard Day's Night...

I should be sleeping like a log.

Gunnar had the good sense to go get some shuteye, and if I were smarter I would join him and sleep off the couple of shots I had. The second I volunteered my house, I had a glorious vision of spending a night back in my own extremely comfortable bed and soft pillows and blankets after a month away from home. I can't remember the last time I actually slept a whole night.

It won't be tonight, there's been too much to do.

All in all, I would call today a "win." We got most of the kids out of the compound and back here. Carmen bailed halfway through the trip. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't relieved. The way she yelled at Susan, the way she kept hitting on Nate... Ugh. She was a troublemaker. She might still be, if we run into her again. The only other one we lost was... Azeeza. She was dead before we got there, taken and... And I don't know what. It's distressing and frustrating, but I only have conjectures at this point. I promised her I would find out what happened, and that I would make it right. Fuck.

I have no idea how. Well, not yet. But I will, gods damn it. All things in their own time, I suppose.

At least I'm certain I'll have Gunnar's help in... well, everything, I guess. Anything that wants a chance at me has to go through him, he said when we decided we were dating. Tonight he said he's sticking to it, even after I told him about what Mary wanted me to do. After studying the relics we found some time and some space to talk, privately. It was hard telling him about what I'd seen, heard and said. He needed to know. I promised myself from the beginning never to keep anything from him, even though I felt the shakes coming and the tears welling up and that shrapnel feeling shredding my throat and my stomach.

He just hugged me, and said he was glad that I made the choice I had, and... and some of the weight just went away, like he was shouldering it for me. I think I was afraid he wasn't going to feel that way, but he did. That maybe he'd agree when I called it the easy way, but he didn't. That he wouldn't say he'd murder anyone who came to collect, like I'm pretty sure I would. But he did, and I was foolish for harboring those fears for even an instant. So when the time comes he's coming with me, because we'd both rather make the trip to Hell than give Erzulie a "replacement" of our own.
He's sticking with me, and I'm sticking with him. He made the point that Tim might have been a Scion, too. So Gunnar might be in just as much trouble as I am.
But he's not in it alone, either. Anything that wants to get at him has to go through through me, I promised him. I tried to make light of it, the way he offered to vacation with me in Hell, but I'm fairly certain he knew how deathly serious I was. Otherwise it's hard to believe he would have said that was reassuring.
Then I'm pretty sure he drank my bar as we spent a while just talking about nothing, everything... anything. It was very pleasant feeling the alcohol soaking my cells and making some of those worries take a nap for a while.
Gunnar apologized for drinking so much, which I told him not to worry about. There's always more booze and I'm such a light drinker that it was just nice to have that room get used. Then he decided to take a nap and I pointed the way to my room, if he wanted a bed to sleep in. I stayed up.
I had wanted to try hanging out with Susan in the music room, but she was already asleep. It's probably better that we didn't start playing loud music, because everyone else was asleep too. Good thing I'd already talked to Gunter earlier that night.
Well, by talked I mean I lost my patience with his attitude. Maybe I shouldn't have told him that if I really didn't care, I'd have left his ass back at Denny's. It was true though. I'm worried about the kid, and I want what's best for him. Just seems like I have to prove it.
My plan after that was to check out those vials we found at the compound, but I remembered that I had abandoned my plans to convert one of the guest rooms into a lab when I left last month. I hadn't even gotten very far, mostly just the "this is the crap I'm going to need to have a convincing medical lab" stage. Other people call it "planning." Anyway, it will have to wait until the morning.
Finally I settled for talking to Brigitte, and I found her in the backyard staring at the Bay. I tried to get some idea what to expect about paying my debt to Mary, and I didn't really find any surprises: Woe to the person (me, of course and by proxy, Gunnar) on Erzulie's bad side. Brigitte's dad doesn't give favors for nothing. And Brigitte laughed when she said Guinnee is humid, whatever that means. Something about a drowned road, and me being too lily to actually go there.
Still, I think I should pick up some really good rum for the Baron.
And tell Gunnar it's not for drinking.

So tomorrow I need to stop by the hospital and run some tests on the vials we found, as well as calling in some favors to get ahold of some formaldehyde. I might think about having a second, heavy-duty refrigerator installed in the garage or something, as well.
I think we've basically figured out what to do with the kids. Jack offered to take the twins up to Spokane. They have a mom who, aside from being irritated that they break stuff all the time, loves them. So we can send them home. Amanda has family who wants her back, too. Gunnar, Camila and I are going to handle that one. Susan's parents are dead, so I told her that since we're family she can stay at my house. Charlotte, Gunter and Brendan Gair are going to stay too, because Charlotte's family is overseas, Gunter has nowhere else to go and Gair's foster parents were abusing him.
So I guess I'm running an orphanage. Good thing I lost my mom to cancer, and not crime, otherwise there'd be a danger of me becoming Batman. Anyway, Gunnar's got the caped-crusader covered.
After dropping off Amanda, Gunnar and I are going to L.A. with Camila to retrieve mine and Nate's cars, a package for Gunnar, and Brigitte's body.
Nate is going to stay at my house and keep an eye on Susan, Gunter and Charlotte while O'Shea looks into assuming guardianship of Gair. I'll give Susan some money and every number she can use to get ahold of me and tell her I want at least one update a day.
Nate's been hitting on her. I might have to take his kneecaps.