Fic: Someday At Christmas (CSI, Nick/Greg, PG) + advent calendar

[carolinecrane]

Today is Jack Johnson day on the advent calendar. And since it's Jack Johnson day, and I've been writing that little Jack Johnson-themed series, I thought I would take a break from Yuletide and write a little CSI fic to go with the music. But oh my God, you guys, I did not intend for it to be this appalling. Talk about sappy. My little angst-

Comments

[rabidfan]

I am pleased that I could write something that touched you. And somewhat shocked. It's not my style.

He does deserve to be happy. Nick was always the happy child. William was just bossy, and Kaitlynn was a terrible nag as a child. Each child had shown a dominant trait right from the beginning, and Nick...Nick had been so happy. Even more than the pain (and the scars! "My Lord, my baby has scars!") of his ordeal, the loss of his happiness was hardest to bear. Bill and Jillian want him to be that happy person again...so they'll adjust to his unconventional (for Texas) lifestyle with all the long-suffering that parents of six have perfected. They want his happiness so badly that they suffer the indignity of being shunned by their nearest neighbors; they pretend not to hear the muttered comments in the market. They know that the talk will wind down in time. They could care less about the neighbors (well, Jillian wants everyone to be civil but really, that woman can't even keep her windows clean; what right does she have judging her baby?!) and it looks like Greg is there for the long haul. Lasting happiness. What more does any parent want for their child.

[carolinecrane]

Nosy neighbors FTW!

I didn't respond to this yesterday because I was afraid of breaking my CM writing groove, but I did love this. I giggled over the dirty windows. Jillian kind of rules.

[rabidfan]

Thanks. I like her.

You'll find when you get around to watching "Grave Danger" (not "Grabe") that they make her out to be kind of stiff. A lot of the fic writers went with that and made her kind of a bitch. Me? I thought she was a woman on the edge. Her youngest child was missing...in the hands of a madman...and she was powerless to do anything at all to get him back. She would be tense. She would naturally be upset and probably a little bitchy. I sure would. Still, when he came home safe (tho not quite sound) she would melt into a puddle of maternal goo and want nothing more than to take him home and feed him her world-famous sweet potato pie (Nick's favorite) until she saw his sweet dimples again. She's a woman after my own heart.

[carolinecrane]

See, I would be far more apt to see your characterization of her, because they've implied in earlier canon that she was the heart of the family, while Nick's dad was the disciplinarian. Or maybe I made that up in my head. Either way, I'm going with warm, because I can't imagine Nick growing up and becoming the gentleman he is without being surrounded by love.

[rabidfan]

I agree. I believe that the women in the family...particularly the mom's...teach the men how to treat women. Yes, violence and bitter words can be learned from either gender, but the true southern courtliness shown by Nick could only be learned in a matriarchal family. Maybe the judge laid down the law, but I'm willing to bet that he didn't have to do it too many times. They wouldn't enjoy making mom unhappy.

[carolinecrane]

EXACTLY. You don't learn that kind of chivalry by watching the men in your life disrespect women. And for all the things Nick is, he's good a warm heart, and he'd have to learn that at home too. I fully believe that the only reason Greg hung in there so long was because he saw that and knew it would be worth waiting around for Nick to work out his issues.

[rabidfan]

Unfortunately, the same strict society that made him such a wonderful, warm gentleman also made him terrified of "letting" his mom down. He couldn't shake the fear that by going against what the Baptist minister preached each Sunday while he sat along side mom would mean he was going against her. Happily for both Nick and Greg, he was finally able to work thru that conflict. Of course, mom knew all along, as mom's aren't as clueless as their kids would wish them to be. She didn't mind so much from the religeous stand point, although it was a source of a few sleepless nights, but because she knew that the world that he lived and worked in still wasn't as open to gay people as it should be. She knew that the two of them would face discrimination; feared they would face physical violence. She need not have worried, though. The extended family in Vegas, while maybe not totally approving (Brass) or understanding (Ecklie) where not going to let outsiders hurt their own.