Chuck fic: Ellie vs. the Skinned Knees
Ellie vs. the skinned knees
Ellie, Chuck, the Bartowski parents, OCs, PG, preseries, ~1,000 words
a/n: Written for the halfamoon 2010 Impromptuthon, for latxcvi's prompt, why did Ellie become a doctor?
Summary: Some things she can fix, some things she can't.
By the time she was nine years old, Ellie understood she had to keep an eye on Chuck, that even if Mom and Dad were around, and the ones in charge for real, she was on Chuck detail. He got bored easily and liked to run around a lot, and one time tried to take the stereo apart but Ellie caught him before he could get the case open.
"Chuck!"
He looked up at her, his eyes growing big. "But I wanna see..."
"No," Ellie said, and took his hand, pulling him out of the living room. "We're going outside," she shouted, and Mom shouted back, sounding distracted, "okay!"
The day was hot, California sun beating down on them as they played in the yard. Ellie thought she should've put sunscreen on them both first, and was about to tell Chuck they had to go back in when the music of the ice cream truck sounded.
"Ice cream!" Chuck dropped his Star Wars action figures, off and running before Ellie could stop him.
One of his laces was too loose, or he was running too fast. For weeks Ellie lived over and over in her head the moment when he tripped and went sprawling to the sidewalk, limbs flying in all directions. There was a second where he lay quiet and stunned while the music from the ice cream truck got louder before Chuck started to cry, quietly, big tears rolling down his face.
Ellie didn't think to yell for her mother, she just ran over to Chuck and helped him sit up. Tears splashed into dark spots on the dry, hot pavement. There was blood on his right palm and a bloody gash on his left knee.
"It'll be okay, Chuck." Ellie took his hand in hers, studying the injury, then knelt and peered at his knee. "You need that stuff from the medicine cabinet, and a band-aid." Her hands shook a little; there was a lot of blood but the cut didn't look deep. "It's not so bad."
Chuck sniffed as she lifted the hem of his t-shirt up to wipe his face with it. In the coolness of the bathroom, he clenched his teeth and didn't make a sound when she cleaned the cut, put on the antiseptic and a bandage, even though Ellie knew it stung.
Her little brother was an ongoing log of skinned knees, elbows, palms; he sprained his ankle riding his bike, he fell out of a tree once and needed stitches.
It'll be okay, Chuck Ellie told him, because she would make sure it was.
Her best friend junior year was Kara Patterson, who was a lot more of a talker than Ellie, and seemed to know kids in every social circle. She pulled Ellie along with her, so Ellie got to go to a lot of parties, met a lot of kids she wouldn't otherwise.
On a Saturday night in early October, they wound up at some kid's house, a friend of a friend of a friend of Kara's. The sound system was great, even if it was so loud Ellie was sure someone would call the police any minute. She wound up dancing with a very cute boy with purple streaks in his hair, very much not her type but he had a great smile. Across the back yard, all lit up with paper lanterns, she saw Kara dancing her heart out. Kara caught Ellie's eye, flashed her a grin, and raised her beer. Ellie did the same.
Things were going well and Ellie thought she might even let purple-hair guy (whose name was Billy) make out with her until Kara came running over to her and grabbed her arm. A cluster of kids near the pool had stopped dancing.
"Oh my god, Ellie, some girl she just -- Ellie, you have to come here." Kara always seemed to think Ellie could fix anything; that time they drove up the coastline and the car broke down, Ellie knew all the right calls to make and even what was wrong with the car before the AAA showed, and Kara said Ellie was a goddess.
An hour later Ellie stood in front of the house with Kara clutching her hand. The ambulance and almost all the kids had all gone. The girl who'd collapsed had the flu, but had decided to go out partying anyway. She'd be okay, the EMTs said -- Ellie got a number from one of her friends so she could check later. Ellie was no expert but she'd read something about it somewhere and had used her cell to call 911 while the other kids had stood looking shocked, had known what to do until the ambulance got there.
Ellie's stomach jumped with relief when her dad's car finally pulled up.
Kara seemed weirdly calm now, rubbing Ellie's back as she shivered. Dad got out of the car and ran over to them. When he saw Ellie, he took off his jacket off, put it around her, as Ellie reached out and hugged him. He held her tight.
When he asked, Kara explained what had happened, in rapid-fire detail.
"Ellie." Her dad kissed the top of her head.
"She's some kind of a...superheroine," Kara burst out.
"Yeah, yeah she is," Dad said.
The girl was fine.
Ellie kept reading about medicine. She took a class in CPR. Her guidance counselor encouraged her to apply to colleges with strong pre-med programs.
When Mom left, there was nothing Ellie could do to fix it. She couldn't get Dad to stop withdrawing; he talked to her and Chuck less and less, kind as ever but more and more abstracted, a sadness in his eyes always. When Dad left, there was nothing Ellie could do to fix it. She did what she'd always done -- looked after Chuck. When Chuck left for Stanford, there was nothing she could do to fix how it felt seeing her baby brother leave home and go where she couldn't be there instantly if he got hurt.
She put a first-aid kit and a box of band-aids in his suitcase when he wasn't looking.
After driving herself back home, she stayed up late studying her medical textbooks.
~end
Ellie, Chuck, the Bartowski parents, OCs, PG, preseries, ~1,000 words
a/n: Written for the halfamoon 2010 Impromptuthon, for latxcvi's prompt, why did Ellie become a doctor?
Summary: Some things she can fix, some things she can't.
By the time she was nine years old, Ellie understood she had to keep an eye on Chuck, that even if Mom and Dad were around, and the ones in charge for real, she was on Chuck detail. He got bored easily and liked to run around a lot, and one time tried to take the stereo apart but Ellie caught him before he could get the case open.
"Chuck!"
He looked up at her, his eyes growing big. "But I wanna see..."
"No," Ellie said, and took his hand, pulling him out of the living room. "We're going outside," she shouted, and Mom shouted back, sounding distracted, "okay!"
The day was hot, California sun beating down on them as they played in the yard. Ellie thought she should've put sunscreen on them both first, and was about to tell Chuck they had to go back in when the music of the ice cream truck sounded.
"Ice cream!" Chuck dropped his Star Wars action figures, off and running before Ellie could stop him.
One of his laces was too loose, or he was running too fast. For weeks Ellie lived over and over in her head the moment when he tripped and went sprawling to the sidewalk, limbs flying in all directions. There was a second where he lay quiet and stunned while the music from the ice cream truck got louder before Chuck started to cry, quietly, big tears rolling down his face.
Ellie didn't think to yell for her mother, she just ran over to Chuck and helped him sit up. Tears splashed into dark spots on the dry, hot pavement. There was blood on his right palm and a bloody gash on his left knee.
"It'll be okay, Chuck." Ellie took his hand in hers, studying the injury, then knelt and peered at his knee. "You need that stuff from the medicine cabinet, and a band-aid." Her hands shook a little; there was a lot of blood but the cut didn't look deep. "It's not so bad."
Chuck sniffed as she lifted the hem of his t-shirt up to wipe his face with it. In the coolness of the bathroom, he clenched his teeth and didn't make a sound when she cleaned the cut, put on the antiseptic and a bandage, even though Ellie knew it stung.
Her little brother was an ongoing log of skinned knees, elbows, palms; he sprained his ankle riding his bike, he fell out of a tree once and needed stitches.
It'll be okay, Chuck Ellie told him, because she would make sure it was.
Her best friend junior year was Kara Patterson, who was a lot more of a talker than Ellie, and seemed to know kids in every social circle. She pulled Ellie along with her, so Ellie got to go to a lot of parties, met a lot of kids she wouldn't otherwise.
On a Saturday night in early October, they wound up at some kid's house, a friend of a friend of a friend of Kara's. The sound system was great, even if it was so loud Ellie was sure someone would call the police any minute. She wound up dancing with a very cute boy with purple streaks in his hair, very much not her type but he had a great smile. Across the back yard, all lit up with paper lanterns, she saw Kara dancing her heart out. Kara caught Ellie's eye, flashed her a grin, and raised her beer. Ellie did the same.
Things were going well and Ellie thought she might even let purple-hair guy (whose name was Billy) make out with her until Kara came running over to her and grabbed her arm. A cluster of kids near the pool had stopped dancing.
"Oh my god, Ellie, some girl she just -- Ellie, you have to come here." Kara always seemed to think Ellie could fix anything; that time they drove up the coastline and the car broke down, Ellie knew all the right calls to make and even what was wrong with the car before the AAA showed, and Kara said Ellie was a goddess.
An hour later Ellie stood in front of the house with Kara clutching her hand. The ambulance and almost all the kids had all gone. The girl who'd collapsed had the flu, but had decided to go out partying anyway. She'd be okay, the EMTs said -- Ellie got a number from one of her friends so she could check later. Ellie was no expert but she'd read something about it somewhere and had used her cell to call 911 while the other kids had stood looking shocked, had known what to do until the ambulance got there.
Ellie's stomach jumped with relief when her dad's car finally pulled up.
Kara seemed weirdly calm now, rubbing Ellie's back as she shivered. Dad got out of the car and ran over to them. When he saw Ellie, he took off his jacket off, put it around her, as Ellie reached out and hugged him. He held her tight.
When he asked, Kara explained what had happened, in rapid-fire detail.
"Ellie." Her dad kissed the top of her head.
"She's some kind of a...superheroine," Kara burst out.
"Yeah, yeah she is," Dad said.
The girl was fine.
Ellie kept reading about medicine. She took a class in CPR. Her guidance counselor encouraged her to apply to colleges with strong pre-med programs.
When Mom left, there was nothing Ellie could do to fix it. She couldn't get Dad to stop withdrawing; he talked to her and Chuck less and less, kind as ever but more and more abstracted, a sadness in his eyes always. When Dad left, there was nothing Ellie could do to fix it. She did what she'd always done -- looked after Chuck. When Chuck left for Stanford, there was nothing she could do to fix how it felt seeing her baby brother leave home and go where she couldn't be there instantly if he got hurt.
She put a first-aid kit and a box of band-aids in his suitcase when he wasn't looking.
After driving herself back home, she stayed up late studying her medical textbooks.
~end