Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Jim/Blair
Length: 124K & 124K
Author on LJ: dolimir_k
Author Website:  Slash as Dolimir  and  Gen as Rimilod 

Why this must be read:   Because this is a very enjoyable “parallel universe” presented by the talented Dolimir. Her summary statement is “What would happen if Jim and Blair made slightly different choices?” And in this story they do. But they are also slightly different themselves. Jim is seriously considering suicide and they cross paths as Blair is manning a hotline. After Blair gives him the sentinel explanation, Jim is not happy but prepared to accept his senses. However, Blair is reluctant to become the sentinel’s primary resource. He’s even more doubtful of the partnership after he goes through the experience of “The Siege”.  Here he’s visiting Joel in the hospital afterward:
Choices, Part 1
Choices, Part 2 

Like it? Don't forget to send the author some feedback!

Fandom: DOCTOR WHO
Pairing: Rose Tyler/Jack Harkness
Length: 4,408 words
Author on LJ: sunstar77
Author Website: Account on A Teaspoon and an Open Mind;
Fic Master List on Livejournal
Why this must be read: Bit of background here: This fanfic is actually a redo of an earlier version. While I liked the original's superb characterizations and the sizzling hot porn, wendymr and a couple other readers pointed out a logic flaw in the ending of the original story--and I had to agree with them.

Unlike some lesser fic writers, sunstar77 did not throw a hissy fit at the constructive criticism but took it into account and came up with this superior version. Like the first draft, this rewrite maintains the wonderful interactions between Jack and Rose and the way the narrative tone changes from burning hot porn (still there) to melancholy regret at the end. Now, this fic is my favorite one-shot Whoniverse story.

Timelines and All That

Fandom: DOCTOR WHO
Pairing: None
Length: 2,354 words
Author on LJ: malicehaughton
Author Website: FanFiction.Net Account
Why this must be read: I mentioned earlier this month that I hated "Journey's End." A lot. A huge, honking amount. To the point where it is rather irrational to feel this much anger towards a fictional television show.

So, my solution when I'm mad at canon is to READ MOAR FIC.

To manage my JE-induced anger, I asked over at dw_ficsearch for any fics where Rose and Ten II don't work out as a romantic couple, and I was directed to this story. I liked that it's from Jackie's POV. She's an underused character in fanfic, and she's being burdened with Ten II as much as Rose. (Seriously, at the end of JE, I was wondering whether Ten II was going to be sleeping on Jackie's couch.) Her simultaneous instincts both to mother him and to slap him were right in-character. Also, the blue bunny just about killed me.

Journey's Beginning

I keep being taken aback by the stories I've found that haven't been recommended here; I guess, with some of the recent ones, it's that they've made a big splash in the fandom, they're written by writers that everyone reads, and putting them here seems pointless. Only: I've been in this fandom a year and a half, and the way I've found a lot of my favorite stories is that somebody recommended them on crack_van when they were relatively new. Multi-fandom recs sites are incredibly useful for newbies, for people just getting into the fandom, maybe for people new to Live Journal or even to life online. And in the interest of those people getting to read the best stuff, I'm recommending a story that's new, and well known, and that people in dS fandom have almost certainly read. I've got other recs in my journal today which are maybe not so well known (a couple of them, anyway) but this story is so unutterably wonderful that I can't resist recommending it now.

Fandom: DUE SOUTH
Pairing: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Length: 6,476 words
Author on LJ: nos4a2no9
Author Website: Out of Water
Why this must be read:Because Ray hurts so beautifully all the way from Bellingham to Prince George, and yet is alive to his surroundings, and to memory. Because I had a hell of a time not just quoting the whole story when I was looking for a teaser. Because sometimes one sees the possibility of a glacial advance wiping out the present as a good thing. Because sometimes pessimism is a shield against disappointment.

( Ray keeps trying to remember exactly what Fraser looks like. He hates the way the days and weeks apart soften the edges of Fraser's face and change the curve of his lips or shift the exact shade of his blue-gray eyes to something easy to pin down, something ordinary, not at all like the stormy blue of Lake Michigan but more like the clear, perfect blue of an arctic morning. )

Price of Distance