Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, I'm late. But since I don't even have a driver's licence, the ride on the van was doomed to be kinda bumpy.

Fandom: HORATIO HORNBLOWER
Pairing: Horatio Hornblower/William Bush, William Bush/OMC
Author on LJ: juxiantang
Author Website: Juxian Tang's Fiction
Why this must be read:

Hurt/Comfort fics are abundant in HH, as the canon completely supports them, at least in the case of Horatio/Archie. This story offers a slight twist to the norm, while Horatio is still the one offering comfort, instead of Kennedy it is now Bush with the past of abuse and torment, which returns to haunt him.

The concept does not seem as plausible as with the case of Archie abuse. Bush, as he first appears in the HH mini series is confident, decisive and very much in control, in contrast to Archie's vulnerability. But the premise of this post-Retribution fic is set up so well, the back story revealed gradually to the reader, that it's easy to suspend your doubts as the plot develops. A great long read, the original character in the role of the villain, is both fascinating and loathsome, and just as interesting as Horatio and William. The plot starts with a languid pace as the scene is set and reaches nail-chewing suspense halfway through, while the sheer intensity of the longing that William feels for Horatio makes my knees weak. I think I might go lie down for a minute.

Water Under the Bridge

Fandom: FIREFLY
Pairing: N/A
Author on LJ: defender82
Author Website: N/K

Why these must be read:

Written in 2003, these two stories serve as follow-ups to the episodes "War Stories" and "Objects in Space." The author calls them conversations on the nature of courage, but they're far more than that. They give marvelous insight into three different characters: Wash, Mal and Kaylee, but especially Wash, and how each deals with the harsh realities of their life in the black--and more importantly, how they see each other.

____________________

The captain’s eyes narrowed as he came the few steps up from the passageway to the bridge to loom over Wash, "Is there something you know, that I don't?"

"Hell, dan nang, Cap. I can fly the boat for instance, which having seen you try, I 'm pretty sure I know something there that you don't. . . . And I know this nice little cabaret where you can see geese juggled and get warm plum wine with no cover . . . . Also, I know where the sweet spot on Zoe's . . . well, let's just say there's some things I know that you don't."

"Je shr shuh muh lan dong shi? As you can see, I am not finding this as amusing as you are. In fact, I'm armed and I'm getting seriously annoyed. So–o-o, let's circle back to where we were before you tried to distract me with your low cunning and amazing lack of self preservation in talking about Zoe's sweet anything--Is there something about Kaylee you know, that I don't?"

Big Damn Heroes

____________________

He looked at her seriously. “The truth is, meimei, on any given day any one of us might get killed, or get someone else killed. That doesn’t mean we don’t need you. It doesn’t even mean you are a coward. I’ve been giving this a lot of thought in the dogwatches. I’ve come to the conclusion that there are different kinds of courage. Mal and Zoe and even Jayne have one kind. But you and I, we have our kind too, a smaller kind, maybe, an everyday kind. But Serenity needs both kinds to survive, as a ship and as a home.”

Sadly, she shook her head. “I don’t get your meaning, Wash. I’m the onliest person on the boat that can’t hold her end up when push comes to shove. Every other person on the boat can suck it up when it’s a case of ‘have to’. Just not me.”

“Oh, and I suppose that wasn’t you under the cargo deck bypassing the pressure catch on that booby trap the Reavers left? That must have been some other mechanic, risking getting blown to Kingdom Come. You know, kiddo, Mal got Book, Simon and especially Jayne out of the way, he never gave thought you wouldn’t be able to do the needful. I was nearly a quivering nancy-boy myself, you just got under there and did what needed doing.”

Everyday Hero

FANDOM: FARSCAPE
Pairing: John & Chiana
Author on LJ: sabaceanbabe
Author website: None known.

Why you should read:
Wow, I can't believe this hasn't been recced till now, but I'm ecstatic to be the one to do it. Left Behind was probably one of the first stories I stumbled on after watching most of the season that I found myself. And since the episode Eat Me had been critical in causing me to slowly warm to Jool, I couldn't wait to read this AU version of the ending (especially since it featured my two favorite character-Chiana and John).

sabaceanbabe manages to give this story the feel of an episode -- every time something goes right, trouble soon follows. But John and Chiana roll with the punches and manage to not only help themselves, but the new group that they've been thrown together with. This is still one of my all-time favorite Farscape fanfics and probably the start of my John/Chiana OTP obsession. Go and read, enjoy, and leave feedback.

( Teaser from Chapter 1 )

Left Behind

Fandom: Enterprise
Pairing: Archer/Sato
Author on LJ: no
Author Website: N/A

Why these must be read: This is apparently a companion piece to an angsty Reed/Sato fic, but I never saw it as necessary to read the other.

This is an a great look at what happens when one person moves on from a relationship, but the other is still hoping to fix the past. It's angsty, it's well written, and it makes your heart ache for all the characters. This is quite literally one of my all time favorite Enterprise fics.

Also it doesn't hurt that it's the best. pairing. ever. :-)

Regrets Coda

Fandom: INVISIBLE MAN
Pairing: Implied Kevin/Keeper
Author Website: Story found at The Invisible Man Fanfiction Archive
Why this must be read:

One of my all-time favorite episodes of Invisible Man is the ep where Darien, through the miracles of memory RNA, intentionally becomes his dead brother Kevin every time he falls asleep, providing Kevin with the bizarre experience of seeing what impact his death and his life had on the people around him. So today I have two great Kevin-centric stories for your enjoyment.

When I was done reading Kevin's letter; when I was done getting angry at him for leaving this fucking thing in my head; when I was done cursing his name and screaming at his grave, I was left to wonder to wonder why, why in the name of all that is holy, do I have watermelon chapstick on my lips?

Screw the Wiseman

Fandom: INVISIBLE MAN
Pairing: None
Author Website: Story found on Imaniacs.org
Why this must be read:

That look. He looked so tall, so dominating, with that disappointed pout on his face. Tall? Ha. He just needed to stand to tower over Kevin. Just needed to stand. Maybe then he wouldn't feel so small.

No Man can do Enough for His Brother

Fandom: X-Men Movieverse
Pairing: Scott/Jean, Scott and Logan pre-slash
Author on LJ: No blog
Author Website: Marvelous
Why this must be read:

A “missing scene” story – that is, Scott went missing for most of X2. So what the hell happened to him while he was Stryker’s prisoner? Why did Stryker kidnap him at all?

Ostensibly, Stryker wants to turn Scott into another zombie, like Yuriko, and utilize his mutant power. But really it’s nothing as sensible and straightforward as that. Really it’s all about Stryker revenging himself on Charles Xavier by hurting Charles’ surrogate son.

The “hurt” scenes are scary but not horrendously graphic, hence the R rating. Be aware before reading that Scott gets tortured and is sexually assaulted. There's a "comfort" scene between Scott and feral Logan that is verrry interesting. The attraction Logan feels for Scott is presented cleverly. The boyz are terribly guy-ish about it and do not talk about it or even think much about it. It all kind of screams for a sequel.

What I liked most about this story: the interaction between Logan and Scott. I can just hear these two characters actually talking to each other like this. Wonderful, in-character, realistic, nothing overly emotional. The last scene/conversation between them is much more satisfying than the scene outside Xavier's study in X2.

Pressure on the back of his head forced him to bend forward until his neck was fully exposed. Scott felt Stryker’s fingers pushing down the high collar of his uniform jacket. When Stryker spoke, his face close to Scott’s ear, his voice had finally lost the affable just-folks quality.

“Because in a minute you’re not going to have sufficient control over yourself to care about such things, I want you to know this now, that this – everything that happens to you from this point on – this is all Xavier’s fault.”


Ceremony of Innocence on ff.net

And in case the Decency Police remove this story from ff.net:

Alternate link to Ceremony of Innocence

Fandom: THE MAN FROM UNCLE
Pairing: Napoleon/Illya
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Unknown (the author is administrator of File 40)
Why this must be read:

This is a slash hurt/comfort story, mild and gentle enough to please readers who don't like h/c. It's also a first time story that cleverly uses the bodies's temperature to ignite another kind of fever. It's so cold outside and Napoleon's bed is so warm and so welcoming! Even the wild forces of Nature and the technology breakdowns join their action to unite in quite another sort of partnership two mates who didn't know until then they could need each other's physical support outside the field. A storm, a power failure: their fate is set.

A classical plot line, maybe, but an examplary one, well conducted and nicely settled. I should have liked to present other stories from Kate D that I enjoy still more but, unfortunately they are only published in zines, I mean paper zines and that's rather frustrating. Take this one as a tasteful morsel, just to stir a little your appetite.

Fever

Fandom: STAR WARS PT
Pairing: Vader/Palpatine
Author on LJ: pen_and_umbra
Author Website: N/A

Why this must be read: Yes, the pairing is Vader and Palpatine. Fear not, for this is not the genocidal brooder and the paranoid despot; this is the brilliance of Vader radiating complexity and Palpatine illuminating with his subtlety in and between the flashbacks. I will spare everyone paragraphs of praise, but this tale, with its elegant prose, trapped me into this insidious pair of Sith Lords.

( Excerpt )

In Sublime Sincerity

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Frannie/Welsh (with a mention of Fraser/RayK)
Author on LJ: laurakaye
Author Website: Oblique Stroke
Why this must be read:

I have a soft spot for this pairing and for me, this story proves why Frannie and Welsh would work. Spot-on characterizations, quick dialogue, a story line that flows perfectly - the author gives us a bit of plot, a solid friendship between the characters and the beginnings of a romance. Even those that don't generally read het will find something to love in this soft, gorgeous look at a few of our favorite supporting characters.

( Excerpt )