Happy (belated) New Year, U.N.C.L.E. fans! I'm going to celebrate the long awaited release of the DVDs by exploring the theme of change. Also, like many of the stories I'll be recommending, the one below serves as an excellent introduction to this wonderful fandom.

Fandom: MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Pairing: Napoleon/Clara Richards (AKA Clara Valdar)
Author on LJ: st_crispins
Author Website: St. Crispin's Day Society

Why this must be read:

The inserts for the new DVDs finally blew C.W.W.'s secret identity as a member of U.N.C.L.E. However, fans of her writing have known all along. This story, like the rest of her St. Crispin's Day Universe, reads like an expansion of canon, revealing wholly believable insights into our favourite secret agents and the organization they serve.

What We Leave Behind brings Napoleon and Illya's pre-series lives into sharp focus. Napoleon is living in New York while Illya is in England, but both men are undergoing a profound change on the same day. The decisions they make will have long-lasting repercussions on their futures. Reading this story will have an equally long-lasting impact on how you perceive U.N.C.L.E. and its agents.

What We Leave Behind

P.S. Thanks to C.W.W. for the loan of her fab lj icon. This favour in no way influenced my first pick for the month -- honest!

Hi everyone! Apologies for the late start, but I'm Severuslovesme and I'll be reccing X-Files fic this month. As I've already recced X-Files before, I thought I might go for a bit of a theme this go round. So I'm reccing one of my very favorite style of fics: post-eps. I hope y'all enjoy the recs!

Fandom: X-FILES
Pairing: Mulder/Scully
Author Website: Oracle's X-Files Fanfic

Why this must be read: Not exactly timely anymore, but who doesn't love Halloween? This fic is set in Season 2, post One Breath and during Scully's recovery from her abduction. It's funny and sweet and will tug at your heart strings. Mulder and Scully are perfectly themselves, and the writing is flawless. A must read, especially if you like early Mulder/Scully!

( Excerpt )

October Skies

Fandom: STARGATE ATLANTIS
Pairing: Sheppard/McKay
Author on LJ: 01100100
Author Website: 01100100
Why this must be read: Because it's Danvers and because it's a fic that sometimes disappears in a mirage of jungle heat. It's part of a larger collection of separate AUs by the author ("5 Ways John and Rodney Meet"), and if one forgets that, it's sometimes hard to find the story when you need to. And believe me, you'll need to find it again and again.

Rodney's trying to get out of Peru - he's miserable, tired, and so very Rodney (which means he's managed to piss off most people in the vicinity). His only hope seems to be an ex-pat American pilot named John Sheppard, who's having a few problems of his own and coincidentally decides leaving the country is a good idea. But their plane goes down in the jungle (with a little help from some stray bullets) and the two have to rely on each other to survive the heat, the bad guys, and each other.

And let me just say that the heat isn't all in the jungle. The story is lush and gives off an almost surreal feeling - a combination of the oppressive heat and the chemistry of the characters. Plus, there's a feeling that these men have shared something, that they have a connection drawing them to one another - it's not hokey and it's not overdone - it's just subtle enough that the hints of an Atlantis where they knew each other are part of a delicious fever dream. And when they finally get together, it's like this: "The jungle was behind them, but the crazed heat had followed them right to the hotel. So maybe it wasn't insanity at all."

Crazed heat. John and Rodney. Parachutes with duct tape. 45,000 + words. Go read.

( You've only got one parachute? What are you? Crazy? Is this some kind of death wish thing? )

Read the Story / Feedback the Author: Heat

Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Kal/Chloe
Author on LJ ivorykiss
Author Website: Shiny Pretties
Why this must be read: Of all the lost summer (Exile) fics out there this is by far the hottest one I've ever read.

( Excerpt )

You Are Red, Violent Red

Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: Abigail Sciuto/Timothy McGee (Leroy Jethro Gibbs/Donald 'Ducky' Mallard implied).
Author on LJ: sageharper
Author Website: Spectrum Headquarters

Why this must be read:

This story is set in Sage's 'Miss Sciuto Universe', which I cannot recommend highly enough as Sage not only made me enjoy stories with a baby/kiddy in, she made me want more. This particular story is the 17th story, but each story pretty much stands alone. Abby and Tim are a couple and they have a daughter Lola and Gibbs and Ducky (also an established couple) are her 'grandfathers'.

Close To Home is a case story, but that cannot detract from the love of the two couples as well as the closeness of the entire team and how much they care about one another. Because 'Madam' Director, insists on bringing Abby into work, Lola gets to go too; thus the story is about her day at NCIS where she gets to observe her first autopsy, as well as the case element. Rather poignantly the case centres around a naval Lieutenant, a single mom, who is reported missing by her brother after she fails to collect her little boy from child care and whose body is found. The twist is really moving and painfully well done.

Sage manages to balance the two aspects seamlessly in a way that one might not think possible. Lola doesn't detract and doesn't seem 'out of place', she is just there, and fits in naturally. The story has a good mix of emotions too: humour, affection, love, friendship, the 'kids' (Gibbs's team) bitching, closeness, caring, sadness, and extremely good characterisation. Sage makes the story come alive on the page and you can clearly hear and see the characters interact in their daily job.

( Extracts )

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Close To Home

Fandom: HIGHLANDER
Pairing: Methos
Author on LJ: calime33
Author Website: Calime's page on HLFiction
Why this must be read:

An evocative, bittersweet look at Methos and one of his 68 wives. Short, with beautiful language and well done historical details.

( A Taste: )

Linen