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http://users.livejournal.com/_steelphoenix_/) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
crack_van2012-02-28 07:03 am
http://users.livejournal.com/_steelphoenix_/) wrote in crack_van2012-02-28 07:03 am
Entry tags:
Aftermath: USA by traveller (NC-17)
Fandom: GENERATION KILL
Pairing: Nate Fick/Brad Colbert
Length: 24616
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
traveller
Author Website:traveller, AO3
Why this must be read:
This is a story about love. It's about what you do for it, what makes you do it, and how growing into it - acknowledging it - is hard. This is a fantastic story that makes me feel so much, and is one of my go-to inspiration fics. It also touches on some very hard, real issues, deals with them gracefully, and makes art of it. It's future-fic, so only kinda-sorta an AU, but it's one of my favourites, and very high-quality fic.
Nate, now a foreign policy expert who'd been consulting with the State Department, meets the President, and by chance, ends up beside him during an assassination attempt. He's shot. When he leaves hospital, it's Brad that takes him. As they travel home, they discover more about each other, about how they feel. It's an amazing piece, full of feeling and rich description. Nate and Brad are both perfectly drawn, and their emotions and reactions feel so real and true to the characters we know. Nate's trying so hard to get his shit together, and Brad is trying so hard to understand and give him space. The UST between them is stunning, and the payoff is hot as hell.
It's an amazingly-crafted piece, and well worth multiple readings. I've included the entire first section - because cutting it seems like a crime.
The morning of the assassination, Patti Jankowski got up, took a long shower and towel dried her hair before braiding it into two long ropes that hung over her shoulders. She put on jeans, a t-shirt that showed Mickey Mouse saluting the American Flag, a light tan windbreaker and her comfortable blue SAS sneakers. In her shoulder bag she put a Smith and Wesson .22 caliber revolver, and an umbrella. The forecast was for a 62% chance of rain.
Patti had worked her whole life, only taking sick time once, when she had her gall bladder out at 42. She paid her taxes on time for the two-bedroom ranch in Landover, the house having been the better part of a divorce settlement eleven years ago. Al Jankowski had moved to Kannopolis, North Carolina, with a woman who worked for NASCAR. Patti's own job, in the UPS sorting facility in DC, had let her go 14 months ago. She had just one ticket on her record, for parking in a handicapped zone outside the Rite Aid. She'd asked the officer to overlook it. She was, she told him, just so tired.
She had tried twice before, but couldn't get close enough; she didn't trust her accuracy over more than a few yards. The .22 was front-heavy and had a tendency to waver, especially when her arm was all the way extended. The president did so few appearances on the street, there was always a big crowd, but that day Patti was ready to push her way through to the front and get the job done. She wasn't used to letting work go unfinished. She didn't even leave the house in the morning until the breakfast dishes were done.
The President started his day like any other, with a five am 25K run -- in the gym, in deference to both the weather and his agents -- followed by an eight-minute shower. Breakfast was a loaded Western omelet (extra cheese), half a grapefruit, and three cups of black coffee. He stopped in to the residence to tell the kids to have a good day at school, and to change his cufflinks from the ones his wife had picked out the night before back to his favorite pair, a gift from his mother. An aide met him in the hallway with the morning agenda, and another cup of coffee.
At 9:40 am, he sat down for a meeting with Nathaniel Fick (USMC, Captain, Retired), a foreign policy expert who'd been consulting with the State Department. After introductions, Captain Fick requested that the President call him Nate, since, as he said, he'd been a civilian for a few years now. In return the President insisted that Captain Fick call him by name instead of 'sir,' and, at the close of their meeting, that Captain Fick accompany him to the 11 o'clock appearance he had in Georgetown, so that they could continue the conversation.
The motorcade ran ten minutes late, because of unexpected construction due to a water line break on the route. At 11:13 am, the President, his four primary agents, three staffers and Nate exited the cars and approached the building in front of a cordoned off block full of people. Patti Jankowski waited until the President was twelve feet away, pausing to wave at the group, calling out a promise to be back in a little bit, before she drew her gun.
Captain Fick was hit first, in the left shoulder as he threw himself in front of the President. Agent George Ruiz was hit second, in the head. The President was hit third, in the neck even as Captain Fick's body blocked the fourth shot, which passed through his upper right chest and into the President's. At that point, Captain Fick turned and covered the President as they both fell to the sidewalk, Agent Paula Mottola throwing herself down on top of them. White House Aide Tonia Johnson dropped to a crouch, arms spread wide as she screamed for help. MPDC Sergeant Joseph Dominguez and Agent Tyson Boone rushed at Patti, who squeezed off the final two rounds, shattering a window, and White House Aide Jordan Katz's left femur.
Eight seconds passed from first shot to last. When Sergeant Dominguez and Agent Boone grabbed Patti Jankowski, dragging her bodily over the fallen police barrier, she dropped the gun, saying, "I'm done. My work is done."
The President and Agent Ruiz were both pronounced dead at the scene. The Vice President was sworn in at 11:54 am, becoming the United States' first woman president.
The through and through on Nate's right side missed the lung by slightly more than a hairsbreadth; his left shoulder fared slightly worse, the bullet lodging close to the subclavian artery. When a bullet enters the body, it does so at over 500 degrees Fahrenheit; when it stops, it in effect cauterizes its immediate location. Surgeons at Georgetown University Hospital made the decision to not attempt removal, due the site's proximity to the artery and to minimize the already significant nerve damage. While it remained to be seen how much use of his left arm he'd regain, his prognosis was good.
Once stabilized, his family had him transferred to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, near their home. Nate's sister Olivia came down from Connecticut with her two young children, and rented an apartment near the hospital to be closer to her brother's recovery; his sister Catherine visited daily on her way home from work. Nate's estranged wife did not visit after the first time, leaving their daughter in the hands of her former in-laws and returning to her family home in Massachusetts. It had been agreed that to finalize the already in-progress divorce while Nate was still recovering, still in the public eye, would be in poor taste; it had not been agreed that the couple's daughter Madeline would remain with the elder Mr. & Mrs. Fick, but plans were changed.
Nate had a Secret Service detail outside his door in Georgetown, local cops in the hallway at Hopkins, the latter volunteering their service to keep a peaceful perimeter around America's Hero. Press and fans alike tried to get in during the first days, the more persistent having to be forcibly removed. Nate refused all requests for interviews after his initial statement; he wouldn't talk to anyone who wasn't family and had a nurse fired when she tried to ask him what it was like.
On his fourth day at Hopkins he is transferred to sub-acute care to begin rehab. Two weeks later, on the 24th day after the shooting, Nate checks himself out of the hospital, with the help of an unidentified man described only as very tall and very blond. They drive away.
Aftermath: USA
Pairing: Nate Fick/Brad Colbert
Length: 24616
Author on LJ:
travellerAuthor Website:
traveller, AO3Why this must be read:
This is a story about love. It's about what you do for it, what makes you do it, and how growing into it - acknowledging it - is hard. This is a fantastic story that makes me feel so much, and is one of my go-to inspiration fics. It also touches on some very hard, real issues, deals with them gracefully, and makes art of it. It's future-fic, so only kinda-sorta an AU, but it's one of my favourites, and very high-quality fic.
Nate, now a foreign policy expert who'd been consulting with the State Department, meets the President, and by chance, ends up beside him during an assassination attempt. He's shot. When he leaves hospital, it's Brad that takes him. As they travel home, they discover more about each other, about how they feel. It's an amazing piece, full of feeling and rich description. Nate and Brad are both perfectly drawn, and their emotions and reactions feel so real and true to the characters we know. Nate's trying so hard to get his shit together, and Brad is trying so hard to understand and give him space. The UST between them is stunning, and the payoff is hot as hell.
It's an amazingly-crafted piece, and well worth multiple readings. I've included the entire first section - because cutting it seems like a crime.
The morning of the assassination, Patti Jankowski got up, took a long shower and towel dried her hair before braiding it into two long ropes that hung over her shoulders. She put on jeans, a t-shirt that showed Mickey Mouse saluting the American Flag, a light tan windbreaker and her comfortable blue SAS sneakers. In her shoulder bag she put a Smith and Wesson .22 caliber revolver, and an umbrella. The forecast was for a 62% chance of rain.
Patti had worked her whole life, only taking sick time once, when she had her gall bladder out at 42. She paid her taxes on time for the two-bedroom ranch in Landover, the house having been the better part of a divorce settlement eleven years ago. Al Jankowski had moved to Kannopolis, North Carolina, with a woman who worked for NASCAR. Patti's own job, in the UPS sorting facility in DC, had let her go 14 months ago. She had just one ticket on her record, for parking in a handicapped zone outside the Rite Aid. She'd asked the officer to overlook it. She was, she told him, just so tired.
She had tried twice before, but couldn't get close enough; she didn't trust her accuracy over more than a few yards. The .22 was front-heavy and had a tendency to waver, especially when her arm was all the way extended. The president did so few appearances on the street, there was always a big crowd, but that day Patti was ready to push her way through to the front and get the job done. She wasn't used to letting work go unfinished. She didn't even leave the house in the morning until the breakfast dishes were done.
The President started his day like any other, with a five am 25K run -- in the gym, in deference to both the weather and his agents -- followed by an eight-minute shower. Breakfast was a loaded Western omelet (extra cheese), half a grapefruit, and three cups of black coffee. He stopped in to the residence to tell the kids to have a good day at school, and to change his cufflinks from the ones his wife had picked out the night before back to his favorite pair, a gift from his mother. An aide met him in the hallway with the morning agenda, and another cup of coffee.
At 9:40 am, he sat down for a meeting with Nathaniel Fick (USMC, Captain, Retired), a foreign policy expert who'd been consulting with the State Department. After introductions, Captain Fick requested that the President call him Nate, since, as he said, he'd been a civilian for a few years now. In return the President insisted that Captain Fick call him by name instead of 'sir,' and, at the close of their meeting, that Captain Fick accompany him to the 11 o'clock appearance he had in Georgetown, so that they could continue the conversation.
The motorcade ran ten minutes late, because of unexpected construction due to a water line break on the route. At 11:13 am, the President, his four primary agents, three staffers and Nate exited the cars and approached the building in front of a cordoned off block full of people. Patti Jankowski waited until the President was twelve feet away, pausing to wave at the group, calling out a promise to be back in a little bit, before she drew her gun.
Captain Fick was hit first, in the left shoulder as he threw himself in front of the President. Agent George Ruiz was hit second, in the head. The President was hit third, in the neck even as Captain Fick's body blocked the fourth shot, which passed through his upper right chest and into the President's. At that point, Captain Fick turned and covered the President as they both fell to the sidewalk, Agent Paula Mottola throwing herself down on top of them. White House Aide Tonia Johnson dropped to a crouch, arms spread wide as she screamed for help. MPDC Sergeant Joseph Dominguez and Agent Tyson Boone rushed at Patti, who squeezed off the final two rounds, shattering a window, and White House Aide Jordan Katz's left femur.
Eight seconds passed from first shot to last. When Sergeant Dominguez and Agent Boone grabbed Patti Jankowski, dragging her bodily over the fallen police barrier, she dropped the gun, saying, "I'm done. My work is done."
The President and Agent Ruiz were both pronounced dead at the scene. The Vice President was sworn in at 11:54 am, becoming the United States' first woman president.
The through and through on Nate's right side missed the lung by slightly more than a hairsbreadth; his left shoulder fared slightly worse, the bullet lodging close to the subclavian artery. When a bullet enters the body, it does so at over 500 degrees Fahrenheit; when it stops, it in effect cauterizes its immediate location. Surgeons at Georgetown University Hospital made the decision to not attempt removal, due the site's proximity to the artery and to minimize the already significant nerve damage. While it remained to be seen how much use of his left arm he'd regain, his prognosis was good.
Once stabilized, his family had him transferred to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, near their home. Nate's sister Olivia came down from Connecticut with her two young children, and rented an apartment near the hospital to be closer to her brother's recovery; his sister Catherine visited daily on her way home from work. Nate's estranged wife did not visit after the first time, leaving their daughter in the hands of her former in-laws and returning to her family home in Massachusetts. It had been agreed that to finalize the already in-progress divorce while Nate was still recovering, still in the public eye, would be in poor taste; it had not been agreed that the couple's daughter Madeline would remain with the elder Mr. & Mrs. Fick, but plans were changed.
Nate had a Secret Service detail outside his door in Georgetown, local cops in the hallway at Hopkins, the latter volunteering their service to keep a peaceful perimeter around America's Hero. Press and fans alike tried to get in during the first days, the more persistent having to be forcibly removed. Nate refused all requests for interviews after his initial statement; he wouldn't talk to anyone who wasn't family and had a nurse fired when she tried to ask him what it was like.
On his fourth day at Hopkins he is transferred to sub-acute care to begin rehab. Two weeks later, on the 24th day after the shooting, Nate checks himself out of the hospital, with the help of an unidentified man described only as very tall and very blond. They drive away.
Aftermath: USA