The Fields of Elysium (1/1)

[jlrpuck_fic]

Title: The Fields of Elysium (1/1)
Rating: T
Author: jlrpuck
Characters: Elias McCoy and Ruby Quarles
Disclaimer: The characters contained in this story are the products of my imagination; as such, I retain all right to and ownership of them. 
Summary: Another glimpse into Elias’s life before his partnership with Peter.
Notes: I’ve long been

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Prin TFoE Comments 2 of 2

[principia]

It helped that she knew most of the story-he'd given her his copy of the internal report into the incident shortly after he'd almost killed them coming back from Portsmouth.

Is this an incident I’m not remembering, or has this not been discussed yet?

The guilt he felt over not being more vigilant was crushing even on a good day; it was always exponentially worse in the immediate aftermath of dreaming about it.

Survivor’s guilt, indubitably - he was hardly the only man in the unit. And they had no reason to expect a Welsh contingent.

"Gaines was on the other end that day, which was probably for the best-the man is utterly imperturbable…”

I hope he’d have been able to keep it together if it actually had been Ruby on the other end; it may be for the best it wasn’t her.

"That's when I knew I was in love with you."

No pressure.

His saving grace had been having a blood type that meant he could take a transfusion from anyone.

And given the medical technology, it was like getting wounded during WWII, or maybe Korea. *sigh*

He still considered that he got off the luckiest of the group; while his back bothered him periodically, he'd been able to go back into full service once he'd completely recuperated.

The rest of the team were injured out, or just quit in disgust?

"…And then the entire thing was wrapped up with a prolonged visit from the psychologist, whose job it was to get me to the point mentally that I could go back and do that all over again without thinking twice.”

But of course. *grrrrr*

He could see Ruby's jaw tighten, her eyes sparking in the half-light. "Did you just apologise for having a nightmare?" Her voice was low, disapproval radiating from her.

Nobody beats up on her Elias. Least of all himself.

"You're too good for me."

"I'm just good enough for you."

Heh.

"The report was full of rubbish, but it had some useful things in there, too. Like the fact that none of you could have known you were in enemy territory."

Did command choose not to update the maps, or was it an actual mistake? (You may have covered this in HTB, but memory fails.)

"I can't, Rue."

"I know." Her gaze returned to his. "I'm always going to be here for you, though. If you want to talk, or anything. Even if it's the middle of the night and I'm sound asleep. I'll be selfish on this bit-I can't bear the idea of you trying to hold it all in, simply because you don't want to inconvenience me." Her eyes dropped to where she now held his hand. "I hate that you have to suffer for something that was out of your control."

She’s got your back, McCoy.

"I love you, you know. All of you."

He swallowed thickly, then replied, "I love you, too."

Awwwwwwww.

His back was still screaming, and he needed a cup of tea before he could properly go back to sleep.

Elias and his tea. Some things never change.

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Absolutely pulse-pounding - the action scenes were brilliantly evocative, as was the aftermath. It’s good to know that Elias will be alright in the end. I hope Spitty and the other survivors of his unit have fared at least decently well in the meantime.