New The District Fic: 10-60 Injury/Illness
Title: 10-60 Injury/Illness
Fandom: The District
Characters: Temple Page, Kevin Debreno, Nancy, Phil, and Jack Brander (OMC), OFC
Prompts:For family_15#4 Illness and varietypack100 #81 How? Word Count: 1097
Rating: K+
Summary: “She was left at University Hospital a few weeks back. Part of the Safe Haven Project.”
Author's Notes: This is an AU story that is so far off on timeline and storyline that it is only a “The District” fanfic because it is borrowing those characters. In order for this universe to work with another universe that I crossed these characters over into, the show needs to have taken place in the early/mid ‘90’s. So, this story take place in about 2001, which means for this universe Nancy found out about her Huntington’s disease in 1995 and Ella Farmer died about the same time. Also, Nancy never took the promotion to Detective in this series, but she does work closely with Debreno and Temple as needed.
“What is it?”
Kevin Debreno shook his head as he looked at his partner, “Temple, man, please tell me you didn’t just ask that.”
“Okay, I didn’t mean ‘what is it.’ I meant ‘who is it.’ And,” Temple Page gestured to the tiny infant in Debreno’s arms, “more importantly what are you doing with it?”
Debreno glanced sadly down at the baby, “She was left at University Hospital a few weeks back. Part of the Safe Haven Project.”
“So, we just let her mother abandon her kid and we do nothing about it,” Page growled at he dropped into his chair, disgusted and annoyed.
“What do you suggest we do,” Nancy Brander came into the squad room carrying a bottle and with a diaper bag over her shoulder. Dropping the bag on Debreno’s desk, she motioned for him to hand over the baby, which he did somewhat reluctantly.
“How about we find the mother and make her take responsibility for her child?”
Nancy looked up from the happily feeding baby and glared at him, “Yes, brilliant idea. How about you run and find the, most likely, teenage girl that gave birth to this baby and then allowed someone to or actually did beat this five week old so severely that she’s lost her hearing. Then, if she isn’t beaten to death before then, maybe another cop can find her living in her own filth in a pile of blankets when she’s four. How’s that for a plan?” With that Nancy repositioned the baby in one arm and flung the diaper bag back over her shoulder as she marched off towards Chief Mannion’s office.
“So,” Debreno chuckled slightly as he flopped into his now vacate desk chair, “how do your size tens taste?”
Page shook his head, “The baby’s deaf?”
“Yeah. According to Nance, the doc isn’t sure how she even survived the beating. Whoever did it hit her on the back of the head hard enough to burst the both the left and right cochlear nucleus.”
“Brain damage?”
Debreno sighed and looked towards where Nancy had carried the baby, “Really too early to tell, but according to the MRI’s the only area effected was there.”
“How does a person do that to a baby,” Page’s eyes drifted to where Debreno was watching Nancy through the blinds into the Chief’s office. “So, what’s Nancy doing with the baby?”
“Seriously, did you pass the detective’s exam?”
Page looked at his partner in totally confusion, but before he could respond the redheaded whirlwind known as Jack Brander ran up to their desks.
“Hey, Uncle Temple,” he waved at the younger detective while fling himself into Debreno’s arms. “Uncle Kev, didcha hear? I’m getting a little sister. Hopefully, a permanent, for real, forever little sister. Not like the foster kids that lived with us before for a few weeks or months, but a real sister.”
Debreno squeezed the ten-year-old, “I heard. You are going to make an awesome big brother.”
“You better believe it,” Phil Brander winked at his son as he joined them at the desk. Setting the baby carrier down on top of Page’s in box, he asked, “Where’s Nance?”
“Chief’s office. Temple opened mouth and inserted foot. Her temper matched her hair at that moment,” Debreno explained with a chuckle.
Phil laughed as well, “Nance with a temper? I can’t imagine it.”
“That better not be sarcasm I hear in your voice, oh husband of mine,” Nancy’s voice was teasing as she appeared behind him.
“Of course,” Phil turned and kissed her quickly and softly on the lips. “You wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without your temper. How she doing?”
Nancy smiled down at the baby, whose cheek Phil was gently stroking, “Good. She took her bottle and doesn’t seem to be in any pain. And she was smiling at the Chief a minute ago, but I think she’s ready for a nap now.”
“Think she’ll want to suck on my finger while she sleeps like she did the other day,” Jack asked as he moved between his parents and rested his forefinger against the palm of her tiny hand.
Immediately her small fingers wrapped around his as her head turned to look at him. As impossible as it seemed, it was as if she recognized Jack and smiled slightly before pulling his finger to her mouth and sucking as her eyes fell closed.
Leaning over to kiss Jack’s head, Nancy smiled, “I guess she will. You might be stuck that way for awhile.”
“That’s okay,” Jack shrugged, never taking his eyes off the baby.
With a bit of maneuvering and Phil’s help, Nancy was able to place the baby in the carrier without waking her and without making Jack remove his finger from her grasp. Nancy was tucking the soft pink blanket around the little girl when Page’s voice made her stop.
“Nancy, I’m sorry. I never gave it a thought that you might be planning on fostering her.”
Nancy looked up at him sadly, “We’re not planning of fostering her, Temple. We’re planning on adopting her. The papers have been filed. We just need to wait out the mandatory period.”
“But…” he trailed off.
“But, what,” Phil asked with a small glare.
Page sighed, “She’s black.”
Nancy blinked at the man she considered an old friend, “Does that bother you? Do you think she’d be better off with an African American family?”
“No… Yes…. I don’t know. I just never thought that you and Phil would want a black baby.”
Phil sighed, “We don’t want ‘a black baby,’ Temple. We want this baby. We want Ella.”
“Ella,” Page repeated confused.
Nancy turned the carrier, forcing Jack to move so that he was standing right next to Page’s side, “Temple Page, meet Ella Mae Brander. She’s named after the best and strongest woman that Phil and I were privileged to ever know. She’s also named after a proud African American woman and, hopefully, that is what she’ll grow up to be.”
“Ella Mae,” Page repeated again this time he reached out to run a finger over her brow and down her cheek. Their skin tones were almost a perfect match.
Jack looked up at his ‘uncle,’ “Uncle Temple, it doesn’t matter what color she is. We love her and she’s now a part of our family. Besides, Grappy Jack always says we have a colorful family.”
Page laughed as he one-arm hugged the boy to his side, “That’s right, Jacky. That is absolutely right and Uncle Kevin’s right. You’re going to make an awesome big brother.”
Fandom: The District
Characters: Temple Page, Kevin Debreno, Nancy, Phil, and Jack Brander (OMC), OFC
Prompts:For family_15#4 Illness and varietypack100 #81 How? Word Count: 1097
Rating: K+
Summary: “She was left at University Hospital a few weeks back. Part of the Safe Haven Project.”
Author's Notes: This is an AU story that is so far off on timeline and storyline that it is only a “The District” fanfic because it is borrowing those characters. In order for this universe to work with another universe that I crossed these characters over into, the show needs to have taken place in the early/mid ‘90’s. So, this story take place in about 2001, which means for this universe Nancy found out about her Huntington’s disease in 1995 and Ella Farmer died about the same time. Also, Nancy never took the promotion to Detective in this series, but she does work closely with Debreno and Temple as needed.
“What is it?”
Kevin Debreno shook his head as he looked at his partner, “Temple, man, please tell me you didn’t just ask that.”
“Okay, I didn’t mean ‘what is it.’ I meant ‘who is it.’ And,” Temple Page gestured to the tiny infant in Debreno’s arms, “more importantly what are you doing with it?”
Debreno glanced sadly down at the baby, “She was left at University Hospital a few weeks back. Part of the Safe Haven Project.”
“So, we just let her mother abandon her kid and we do nothing about it,” Page growled at he dropped into his chair, disgusted and annoyed.
“What do you suggest we do,” Nancy Brander came into the squad room carrying a bottle and with a diaper bag over her shoulder. Dropping the bag on Debreno’s desk, she motioned for him to hand over the baby, which he did somewhat reluctantly.
“How about we find the mother and make her take responsibility for her child?”
Nancy looked up from the happily feeding baby and glared at him, “Yes, brilliant idea. How about you run and find the, most likely, teenage girl that gave birth to this baby and then allowed someone to or actually did beat this five week old so severely that she’s lost her hearing. Then, if she isn’t beaten to death before then, maybe another cop can find her living in her own filth in a pile of blankets when she’s four. How’s that for a plan?” With that Nancy repositioned the baby in one arm and flung the diaper bag back over her shoulder as she marched off towards Chief Mannion’s office.
“So,” Debreno chuckled slightly as he flopped into his now vacate desk chair, “how do your size tens taste?”
Page shook his head, “The baby’s deaf?”
“Yeah. According to Nance, the doc isn’t sure how she even survived the beating. Whoever did it hit her on the back of the head hard enough to burst the both the left and right cochlear nucleus.”
“Brain damage?”
Debreno sighed and looked towards where Nancy had carried the baby, “Really too early to tell, but according to the MRI’s the only area effected was there.”
“How does a person do that to a baby,” Page’s eyes drifted to where Debreno was watching Nancy through the blinds into the Chief’s office. “So, what’s Nancy doing with the baby?”
“Seriously, did you pass the detective’s exam?”
Page looked at his partner in totally confusion, but before he could respond the redheaded whirlwind known as Jack Brander ran up to their desks.
“Hey, Uncle Temple,” he waved at the younger detective while fling himself into Debreno’s arms. “Uncle Kev, didcha hear? I’m getting a little sister. Hopefully, a permanent, for real, forever little sister. Not like the foster kids that lived with us before for a few weeks or months, but a real sister.”
Debreno squeezed the ten-year-old, “I heard. You are going to make an awesome big brother.”
“You better believe it,” Phil Brander winked at his son as he joined them at the desk. Setting the baby carrier down on top of Page’s in box, he asked, “Where’s Nance?”
“Chief’s office. Temple opened mouth and inserted foot. Her temper matched her hair at that moment,” Debreno explained with a chuckle.
Phil laughed as well, “Nance with a temper? I can’t imagine it.”
“That better not be sarcasm I hear in your voice, oh husband of mine,” Nancy’s voice was teasing as she appeared behind him.
“Of course,” Phil turned and kissed her quickly and softly on the lips. “You wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without your temper. How she doing?”
Nancy smiled down at the baby, whose cheek Phil was gently stroking, “Good. She took her bottle and doesn’t seem to be in any pain. And she was smiling at the Chief a minute ago, but I think she’s ready for a nap now.”
“Think she’ll want to suck on my finger while she sleeps like she did the other day,” Jack asked as he moved between his parents and rested his forefinger against the palm of her tiny hand.
Immediately her small fingers wrapped around his as her head turned to look at him. As impossible as it seemed, it was as if she recognized Jack and smiled slightly before pulling his finger to her mouth and sucking as her eyes fell closed.
Leaning over to kiss Jack’s head, Nancy smiled, “I guess she will. You might be stuck that way for awhile.”
“That’s okay,” Jack shrugged, never taking his eyes off the baby.
With a bit of maneuvering and Phil’s help, Nancy was able to place the baby in the carrier without waking her and without making Jack remove his finger from her grasp. Nancy was tucking the soft pink blanket around the little girl when Page’s voice made her stop.
“Nancy, I’m sorry. I never gave it a thought that you might be planning on fostering her.”
Nancy looked up at him sadly, “We’re not planning of fostering her, Temple. We’re planning on adopting her. The papers have been filed. We just need to wait out the mandatory period.”
“But…” he trailed off.
“But, what,” Phil asked with a small glare.
Page sighed, “She’s black.”
Nancy blinked at the man she considered an old friend, “Does that bother you? Do you think she’d be better off with an African American family?”
“No… Yes…. I don’t know. I just never thought that you and Phil would want a black baby.”
Phil sighed, “We don’t want ‘a black baby,’ Temple. We want this baby. We want Ella.”
“Ella,” Page repeated confused.
Nancy turned the carrier, forcing Jack to move so that he was standing right next to Page’s side, “Temple Page, meet Ella Mae Brander. She’s named after the best and strongest woman that Phil and I were privileged to ever know. She’s also named after a proud African American woman and, hopefully, that is what she’ll grow up to be.”
“Ella Mae,” Page repeated again this time he reached out to run a finger over her brow and down her cheek. Their skin tones were almost a perfect match.
Jack looked up at his ‘uncle,’ “Uncle Temple, it doesn’t matter what color she is. We love her and she’s now a part of our family. Besides, Grappy Jack always says we have a colorful family.”
Page laughed as he one-arm hugged the boy to his side, “That’s right, Jacky. That is absolutely right and Uncle Kevin’s right. You’re going to make an awesome big brother.”