Fandom: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 2003
Pairing: Boomer/Ellen
Length: one shot
Author on LJ: icedteainthebag
Author Website: fic list
Why this must be read: Written for this year's bsg_remix, this is a hilarious little tale of how Ellen got drunk and fooled around with Boomer, told by Ellen herself. It includes a spot-on Ellen voice, a very cute pre-series Boomer, and some really hot porn.

Just Another Incident In The Alcohol Storage Room

Fandom: HIGHLANDER
Pairing: Methos/Duncan
Length: 13,431 words
Author on LJ: genteelrebel journal deleted
Author Website:stories found at Highlander Fiction

A post Endgame story in which MacLeod is beginning to withdraw from the world after Connor's death. Called to the rescue by Joe, Methos practices an original form of therapy --no not that -- you have to go read it. With just a touch of angst, Methos proves once again that he is very wise. And MacLeod proves once again that his bravery extends beyond that of the warrior.

Tilt

(Does anyone know if Genteelrebel has a journal elsewhere?)

Fandom: THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Pairing: Vin/Josiah
Length: 15k
Author on LJ: farad
Author Website: Farad's fic at write-em-cowboys
Why this must be read:

This story is set in the Escorts AU (where the Seven are, like it says on the tin, 'escorts') and features the very hard to find pairing of Vin/Josiah. I'll be honest, I never thought this was a pairing that could work, but farad had no problem convincing me otherwise. Torques is also a very interesting story because it was written to take the old fandom cliché of loving one's rapist and make it believable and it succeeds in doing just that.

Torques

Note: please read the warnings, there are possible triggers in this story.

Fandom: DOCTOR WHO
Pairing: Doctor, River Song
Length:  1523 words
Author on LJ: iamshadow
Author Website:  shadowfiction
Why this must be read:

A lot of fandom seems to hate River Song for ... well, for much of the same reasons they love Jack Harkness, actually (smug, sexy, provocatively mysterious, adventurous and very smart, etc.) I love River, personally, and had a devil of a time choosing which River fic I was going to rec. This is an older fic, written back after her first appearance in series 4's Silence in the Library/Forests of the Dead, and (despite her recent appearances in series 5) hasn't been jossed yet.  River is a brash archaeological professor from the 51st century who has such a close and longstanding relationship with the Doctor that she keeps a diary of all their encounters so that whenever they run into one another (and it always happens out of order) she can figure out where they are relative to one another in their personal timelines.

This is her backstory. iamshadow has taken a basic piece of information about current Doctor Who--namely, that the 51st century is apparently a very happening place because the Doctor keeps meeting people from there, one of whom is River Song--and used it to create an innovative and poignant backstory for both River and another DW character (who, I won't say, because it would spoil the story).

This is a beautiful, well-written story about how River came to be the person she is today.

Children of Time