Fic: Witness Protection 25/25 FINAL CHAPTER

[jncar]

I just couldn't wait any longer, so here it is!

Title: Witness Protection, part 25/25
Fandom: Parks and Recreation
Characters/Ships: Ben/Leslie, Chris/Ann, Andy/April, Ben/Pawnee, ensemble
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~ 8,800
Summary: When corporate whistleblowers Ben Adams and Chris Robinson barely escape an attempt on their lives, they gladly

Comments

[shornt]

This fic has been an incredible read, I almost don't even know how to write another long comment about my feelings for it. I've always had a weird craving to see Leslie and Ben's relationship play out in a more dire situation, and this fic has done it so beautifully. I just really appreciate and commend the way you've handled them, post-shooting. They've both stumbled on the way to healing and have both made good and bad decisions, and I love that even after they gave in to each other in the last chapter, it wasn't all tied up on a bow. Leslie still feels nervous and Ben still has anxiety. And you gave them even more time to heal on their own. It was just really lovely, and by the end, they'd really earned that happy ending. They worked hard for it. This has been a really amazing story and you deserve to be proud of it :) I've been captivated for over two years now!

How do you see their future canons in this universe? Would they start following the trajectory of canon, would Ben's position in the government conflict with Leslie's job, etc? Just curious!!

[jncar]

Thank you so much! You've been one of my biggest cheerleaders for this fic, and it means a lot to me. I had a wonderful time exploring these characters in this intense situation, and I'm so happy that the characterizations worked for so many people. Thanks for always reading and commenting.

Here's my head canons in brief: I think that the people of Pawnee would be very excited to elect a real-life action hero, so I think Leslie would still be recruited to run for city council. Bobby Newport would probably be scared off by her good reputation and not even run, so she'd win handily. Once in office she wouldn't behave any differently, but based on her overwhelming popularity it would take a lot longer for the public to sour on her, and there would never be a recall. I believe she would eventually pursue office as a state assemblywoman and then run for congress.

I think that Paul and Ben would wisely set up some good HR boundaries to prevent conflict of interest dilemmas regarding his oversight of the Parks Department, and he would be happy in his low-key job as assistant city manager until Paul finally retires and he takes over, while Leslie goes off to be a state assemblywoman.

I'm also sure they'd be engaged within a year and married not long after.

Ron would probably date Tonya for six or seven months and then she'd be transferred to a different state and they'd amicably break up.

April and Andy would follow a very similar trajectory to canon, except Andy would not have any ambitions to join law enforcement after what happened. Instead he'd focus on martial arts, advancing in ranks, teaching classes, and competing in local MMA fights on the side of his work at city hall.

Chris and Kelsey would end up married and have two super-babies.

Eventually the government would collect all the money that Everson Pharma had hidden from them via tax fraud, and there is a law on the books that whistle blowers in tax fraud cases get rewarded with a percentage of the collected money, so Chris and Ben would have a huge financial windfall. Ben would pay off his mom's and brother's mortgages, and buy a new house for him and Leslie with cash. Probably also fund a long-term investment account intended to help jump start Leslie's future pursuit of public office. Chris would start a scholarship trust fund for victims and families of victims of the Everson drug scheme, and he and Ben would put most of their reward money into the trust. Eventually they would start offering scholarships to all sorts of young people affected by cancer, and running the scholarship trust would be Chris's full time job.

I don't really have any head canons for anyone else in this universe, but I hope you like these.

[shornt]

I adore this and I love that you put the time in to answer with so many details. Truly shows your dedication to the universe you created!!