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crack_van2008-08-02 08:13 am
Reality Check by The Cohorts (PG-13)
Pairing: None, gen
Length: novel
Author on LJ: not - that I know of
Author Website: much of it is at blackraptor
Why this must be read:
In keeping with my MOMA theme (this year's awards winners), this won - more than deservedly - as the best gen story. I will admit upfront that I am amazed that nothing by the Cohorts has been mentioned on Crack_van before. They don't have a vast oeuvre, but what they have is outstanding.
To be straight - I don't write gen, not intentionally (sometimes things happen) and there aren't many stories that actually make me regret that, but everything I've read by these guys and BMP has been so good, so well-written in terms of plot and characterization and the dynamics of the team collectively and in smaller groups, that I know I would fail. The talent these gen writers is stunning.
In terms specific to "Reality Check", there's an extra-added, sort of 'meta' level of writing going on. For those of us who have read for a while in this fandom, it's a wonderful . . . commentary on the elaborate alternative universes that this fandom has engendered, and on the fanon some of these universes have produced, details that are so consistent that people who haven't seen the show itself are actually surprised to discover that there's no canon for the consistent qualities at all! There's no cruelty in the presentation, though, and there's a balance of humor and seriousness that marked the actual episodes themselves. The authors do a brilliant weaving of Old West, ATF, Little Britches, and the creation of a newer, modern AU, while keeping the characters consistent and in-character to the canon - and to the fanon, oddly, which is what's brilliant. At the same time, they resolve several situations in several of the universes in a way that would make the writers of most television science fiction proud.
This award winner is one I back 100% - well and truly earned!
Buck sauntered back into the room, waving a candy bar. It wasn't a Snickers but JD hadn't really wanted one anyway. "Here you go. Sweet Nurse Amy had this Twix in her purse and I didn't want to seem ungrateful and insist on a something different. It's got chocolate on it anyway." Buck tossed the candy bar onto JD's lap and resumed his seat by the bed.
Dr. Ryan turned his attention to Buck. "I understand you're Mr. Dunne's roommate. I can let him go home as long as you're going to be there in case something unexpected happens and he needs to come back to the hospital."
Buck nodded amiably. "Sure thing, doc. I can take tomorrow off and keep an eye on him. I'll be around all weekend too." He looked over at JD and winked. "The lovely Nurse Amy thinks my bedside vigil shows I'm a man of compassionate character. I told her I was concerned that you being an invalid and all, you might need some special meals but I wasn't much of a cook so she volunteered to come over and cook on Saturday."
A short time later the undeniably attractive Nurse Amy came in with a wheelchair and a couple of pill bottles. JD felt so much lighter after hearing Buck act like the womanizing Buck Wilmington in his memory that he didn't quibble about being wheeled out instead of walking. His good mood lasted until they were in the elevator alone.
"JD, I'm happy to take care of you, especially with Amy's help, but why did you tell the doc I was your roommate? We're not college kids. I don't want Amy to think I'm a 35-year-old man who doesn't make enough money to live on his own -- or that I'm a gay cradle robber."
"We aren't roommates?" JD could hear the wistfulness in his own voice but couldn't seem to make himself sound more independent. "Where do I live?"
Damn, he sounded pathetic now.
"Don't you worry. I found you and Betsy a great apartment next to mine. You can come visit me for the weekend or I'll hang out at your place."
Betsy? JD was sure he could feel his heart speed up. He didn't want to find out Casey was missing from this screwed up world he'd woken up in. He stayed silent when Buck parked his wheelchair under the entryway roof while he went to get his car. He looked around, hoping to see something that would tell him this was all a joke. But March in Denver was never this hot and the palm trees near the entry were surrounded by white rocks, not snow.
A few minutes later Buck drove up in a really cool '57 Chevy convertible. For just a moment JD wondered who he'd borrowed it from, then realized it was probably just something else he'd forgotten.
They'd been driving for five or ten minutes before JD found the courage to raise the subject of Casey indirectly. "Buck, I don't remember Betsy."
Buck immediately slowed the car to a speed that made talking easier in the open top convertible. "Don't you let her know. She worships the ground you walk on. When she greets you at the door, you act like you adore her. She's the best damn partner you could have and you can't be hurtin' her feelings."
JD sank back in the seat and almost whispered his next words. "But I love Casey. At least I think I do. How can I pretend to have feelings for this Betsy when I don't even know her?" He looked up at Buck, terrified to hear the answer to his next question. "Did I do something to make Casey mad at me?" Please don't tell me I made her up as part of my brain scramble.
"Not lately." Buck favored him with the big grin that was exactly as JD remembered. "Don't you worry JD. Casey is as crazy about you as you are about her."
"Then why don't I live with her?"
Buck grinned even more broadly. "'Cause Nettie Wells would skin you alive that's why. Casey's barely 20 and has two more years of college ahead of her. Nettie's not going to let some young man with raging hormones get in the way of that. You just be glad she didn't give Casey a curfew."
JD decided not to ask any more questions. He'd just wait to meet this Betsy and get the feel for what their relationship was. Maybe she was his ATF partner and they were just roommates. It wasn't unheard of for men and women to share housing, even if they weren't a couple. But then why had Buck told him to act like he adored her?
A few minutes later they turned into a small apartment complex in which the two-story units had the look of townhouses. Buck was out of the car and at JD's side before he'd gotten the car door open. "Okay, kid, you get woozy or something, you just grab onto old Buck."
"I ain't gonna get woozy." Actually JD was still feeling a little dizzy but he didn't think it was from his head wound. He was straining to find something familiar about the apartments but there was nothing. They were pretty nice - blue tile roof, deep porches, kind of a hacienda look but nothing like the CDC.
Buck grabbed him by the arm. "Come on. We'll go to my place first. I put Betsy in there to keep Blossom company."
"Put? You put Betsy in your place? And who's Blossom? If she's at your place what are you going to tell your nurse friend Saturday?"
Buck didn't answer, he just held onto JD's arm, both supporting him and dragging him along. Once he'd unlocked the door, Buck pushed JD in ahead of him. The place was lit only by the porch light shining in through the front windows. JD assumed the girls had gone out until two dark shapes threw themselves on him, knocking him backwards into Buck.
Buck laughed as he reached over and turned on the foyer light. He set JD on his feet and knelt down to fondle the ears of a madly wriggling black dog. JD found he couldn't resist doing the same to the other dog.
"Betsy." When he said her name, the dog in his arms somehow managed to wag her tail faster and lick his face harder. "Betsy, named for Daniel Boone's rifle." He looked over at Buck for confirmation; his friend was beaming.
"And this is her sister Blossom. I just knew seeing Betsy would bring everything back."
JD hated to disappoint Buck but if he was going to hide his memory loss from the world, he'd need Buck's help. He couldn't afford to lie to him. "Sorry, Buck. It wasn't that I remember her. It's just that she's such a nice dog and I can tell she loves me."
"So why do you think she was named for Daniel Boone's rifle?"
"'Cause when I was looking for a horse, if I'd gotten a mare I'd thought about calling her Betsy after the rifle."
Buck's disappointment was evident but short-lived. "Don't worry, it'll just take some time. Actually she and Blossom had their names before they were assigned to us. You picked Betsy 'cause of her name. Now you sit down on the sofa over there and I'll rustle us up some supper. I think they released you from the hospital early so they could save on feedin' you."
JD couldn't sit though. He had to see how Buck lived now that he didn't live with JD. Or since he'd never lived with JD. Or . . . whatever. The inside didn't look any more like the CDC than the outside had. It wasn't exactly spotless, but it was definitely on the clean side of the spectrum. As he walked around, he was excited to recognize some bits and pieces of Buck's past. In a place of honor on the mantel was a photo of Buck's mother, the same photo he had on his dresser back home. In the home he remembered, the home he had made up in his head.
There were other photos too, photos in which he recognized all the people but none of the times or places. There was a big one of Buck and him with the two dogs at some kind of graduation ceremony. It was flanked by two smaller photos - one with Chris in the middle with one arm around each of them, the dogs sitting in front. The third showed one dog, probably Blossom, sniffing for something in a building.
There were several photos showing a much younger Chris and Buck, one with them astride motorcycles, another with both in formal clothes with Chris's wife Sarah in the middle. Chris had a similar photo in his ranch house "back home" but this one had flowering cactus in the background instead of a rose arbor. There were photos of the team in western clothes posed with trophies or horses but with a blonde woman instead of him. He supposed that must be Kate Stokes. He was pleased to see he recognized all the horses except one, a palomino that must belong to her.
Buck appeared beside him. "Those photos bringing back memories?"
JD shugged. He pointed to the graduation photo. "I recognize us and that's Betsy and Blossom but where were we?"
"That's when we graduated from K-9 accelerant detection training in Virginia. I saw this green as grass kid and knew you'd need my help so you wouldn't waste that fine dog. I worked a patrol dog back when I was a cop in Tucson so I gave you the benefit of my wisdom and sure enough you managed to squeak through."
"Buck, there's one thing I remember now."
Buck gave him an encouraging smile.
"You are so full of crap."
Buck let loose a delighted laugh and gave JD a little punch on the shoulder. "Kid, you're gonna be okay. Come on, we'll eat in the kitchen. I have some of your favorites. I heard tell that tastes and smells can trigger memories better than most anything."
And here's the real thing - but it is wonderfully, wickedly, delightfully, long!!!!!
Reality Check by the Cohorts
PS - The runners-up in this category (which is hard to be because you have to score within five points of the winner's score - and yes, there are 2 here, which tells you have close it was) are:
"Breathe" by BMP and "So Easy to Kill" by - The Cohorts!
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I haven't read the runners-up yet, but I've definitely got them bookmarked for later. ^^