[Original: Drabbles] "Serve and Protect" [Zeke Jones, G]
Title: Serve and Protect
Prompt: writerverse challenge #16a back to basics, part 1 (write a story)
Word Count: 313
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: original ( Zeke Jones ‘verse)
Summary: Jones and Howell take some time to serve instead of protect.
Note(s): originally posted to the writerverse wv_library
Serve and Protect: Original
I had never made any secret of the fact that I hated the cold. And by ‘cold’, I typically meant anything lower than sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit. As soon as the barest hint of winter chill hit the Philadelphia air, I was huddled in layers of uniform and knitted scarves.
Howell never seemed affected by any change in temperature- he was just as comfortable during a summer heatwave as he was on the coldest days of winter. Usually, he dealt with my frequent complaints about the cold by ignoring me and slowly shifting our patrols to more driving than walking.
But tonight, I was out in the cold and not complaining a bit.
It was a clear night and the snow from the day before sparkled where it clung to the trees and bushes in the park. Everyone’s breath condensed instantly into little puffs of clouds, even where they gathered in groups.
“I wish we could do this every night,” said Sister Rose, from beside me.
I settled the basket of rolls into the warmer and closed the metal lid, to keep in the heat. “I wish it wasn’t necessary that you do this at all,” I said.
The nun smiled at me from behind her scarf. “I pray for that every day, Officer Jones. Oh, Officer Howell, you can set that right over here.”
Howell carried a huge pot of soup as though it weighed nothing- the sisters made the food, offered comfort and counseling, put people at ease with their welcome, so Howell and I provided the only thing they couldn’t, simple brute force.
We were both off duty and out of uniform, but the sisters were big on formality. “Thank you again for coming out to help us, officers,” said Sister Rita.
I smiled, and Howell looked less scowly than usual. “Serve and protect,” I said. “We really do mean it.”
Title: Serve and Protect (Edit One)
Prompt: writerverse challenge #16b back to basics, part 2 (edit story to 200-250 words)
Word Count: 250
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: original ( Zeke Jones ‘verse)
Summary: Jones and Howell take some time to serve instead of protect.
Note(s): originally posted to the writerverse wv_library
Serve and Protect: Edit One
I had never made it a secret that I hated the cold. And by ‘cold’, I typically meant anything lower than sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit.
Howell wasn’t affected by temperature- he was as comfortable during a summer heatwave as he was on the coldest winter days. Usually, he dealt with my frequent complaints by ignoring me and slowly shifting our patrols to more driving than walking.
But tonight, I was out in the cold and not complaining a bit.
It was a clear night and the snow from the day before sparkled where it clung to the trees in the park. Everyone’s breath condensed instantly, even where they gathered in groups.
“I wish we could do this every night,” said Sister Rose, beside me.
I settled the basket of rolls into the warmer and closed the lid. “I wish it wasn’t necessary that you do this at all,” I said.
The nun smiled at me from behind her scarf. “I pray for that every day, Officer Jones. Oh, Officer Howell, you can set that right over here.”
Howell carried a huge pot of soup like it weighed nothing- the sisters made the food and did the welcoming, so Howell and I only had to provide the brute force.
We were both off duty and out of uniform, but the sisters liked formality. “Thank you again for helping us, officers,” said Sister Rita.
I smiled, and Howell looked less scowly than usual. “Serve and protect,” I said. “We really do mean it.”
Title: Serve and Protect (Edit Two)
Prompt: writerverse challenge #16c back to basics, part 3 (edit story again to 100-125 words)
Word Count: 125
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: original ( Zeke Jones ‘verse)
Summary: Jones and Howell take some time to serve instead of protect.
Note(s): originally posted to the writerverse wv_library
Serve and Protect: Edit Two
I had always hated the cold, by which I meant anything lower than sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit. Howell usually dealt with my frequent complaints by ignoring me.
But tonight, I was out in the cold and not complaining.
“I wish we could do this every night,” said Sister Rose.
“I wish it wasn’t necessary at all,” I said.
The nun smiled. “I pray for that every day. Officer Howell, set that right here.”
Howell carried a huge soup pot- the sisters made the food, so Howell and I only had to provide the muscle.
We were both off duty and out of uniform, but the sisters liked formality. “Thank you again, officers,” said Sister Rita.
Howell scowled, gently.
“Serve and protect,” I said. “We mean it.”
Prompt: writerverse challenge #16a back to basics, part 1 (write a story)
Word Count: 313
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: original ( Zeke Jones ‘verse)
Summary: Jones and Howell take some time to serve instead of protect.
Note(s): originally posted to the writerverse wv_library
Serve and Protect: Original
I had never made any secret of the fact that I hated the cold. And by ‘cold’, I typically meant anything lower than sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit. As soon as the barest hint of winter chill hit the Philadelphia air, I was huddled in layers of uniform and knitted scarves.
Howell never seemed affected by any change in temperature- he was just as comfortable during a summer heatwave as he was on the coldest days of winter. Usually, he dealt with my frequent complaints about the cold by ignoring me and slowly shifting our patrols to more driving than walking.
But tonight, I was out in the cold and not complaining a bit.
It was a clear night and the snow from the day before sparkled where it clung to the trees and bushes in the park. Everyone’s breath condensed instantly into little puffs of clouds, even where they gathered in groups.
“I wish we could do this every night,” said Sister Rose, from beside me.
I settled the basket of rolls into the warmer and closed the metal lid, to keep in the heat. “I wish it wasn’t necessary that you do this at all,” I said.
The nun smiled at me from behind her scarf. “I pray for that every day, Officer Jones. Oh, Officer Howell, you can set that right over here.”
Howell carried a huge pot of soup as though it weighed nothing- the sisters made the food, offered comfort and counseling, put people at ease with their welcome, so Howell and I provided the only thing they couldn’t, simple brute force.
We were both off duty and out of uniform, but the sisters were big on formality. “Thank you again for coming out to help us, officers,” said Sister Rita.
I smiled, and Howell looked less scowly than usual. “Serve and protect,” I said. “We really do mean it.”
Title: Serve and Protect (Edit One)
Prompt: writerverse challenge #16b back to basics, part 2 (edit story to 200-250 words)
Word Count: 250
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: original ( Zeke Jones ‘verse)
Summary: Jones and Howell take some time to serve instead of protect.
Note(s): originally posted to the writerverse wv_library
Serve and Protect: Edit One
I had never made it a secret that I hated the cold. And by ‘cold’, I typically meant anything lower than sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit.
Howell wasn’t affected by temperature- he was as comfortable during a summer heatwave as he was on the coldest winter days. Usually, he dealt with my frequent complaints by ignoring me and slowly shifting our patrols to more driving than walking.
But tonight, I was out in the cold and not complaining a bit.
It was a clear night and the snow from the day before sparkled where it clung to the trees in the park. Everyone’s breath condensed instantly, even where they gathered in groups.
“I wish we could do this every night,” said Sister Rose, beside me.
I settled the basket of rolls into the warmer and closed the lid. “I wish it wasn’t necessary that you do this at all,” I said.
The nun smiled at me from behind her scarf. “I pray for that every day, Officer Jones. Oh, Officer Howell, you can set that right over here.”
Howell carried a huge pot of soup like it weighed nothing- the sisters made the food and did the welcoming, so Howell and I only had to provide the brute force.
We were both off duty and out of uniform, but the sisters liked formality. “Thank you again for helping us, officers,” said Sister Rita.
I smiled, and Howell looked less scowly than usual. “Serve and protect,” I said. “We really do mean it.”
Title: Serve and Protect (Edit Two)
Prompt: writerverse challenge #16c back to basics, part 3 (edit story again to 100-125 words)
Word Count: 125
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: original ( Zeke Jones ‘verse)
Summary: Jones and Howell take some time to serve instead of protect.
Note(s): originally posted to the writerverse wv_library
Serve and Protect: Edit Two
I had always hated the cold, by which I meant anything lower than sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit. Howell usually dealt with my frequent complaints by ignoring me.
But tonight, I was out in the cold and not complaining.
“I wish we could do this every night,” said Sister Rose.
“I wish it wasn’t necessary at all,” I said.
The nun smiled. “I pray for that every day. Officer Howell, set that right here.”
Howell carried a huge soup pot- the sisters made the food, so Howell and I only had to provide the muscle.
We were both off duty and out of uniform, but the sisters liked formality. “Thank you again, officers,” said Sister Rita.
Howell scowled, gently.
“Serve and protect,” I said. “We mean it.”
