WC Fic: I'm a Girl (But You Know You Can Lean on Me)
Title: I'm a Girl (But You Know You Can Lean on Me)
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Neal/Peter(/Elizabeth), Collins, OFC
Spoilers: None
Content Notice: Some homophobic language
Word Count: ~2,000
Summary: Tag to Lights Will Guide You Home; Mindy the flight attendant’s POV.
A/N: Written for my timestamp meme for my pal doctor_fangeek, and it helps to have read the original, I think. Title is a lyric from the song, “Protection” by Massive Attack.
----
Mindy loved being a flight attendant, from day one; it had taken her years to work up to being purser on a transatlantic route, an achievement of which she was very proud. And she was damn good at her job - just ask the other cabin crew, and even a fair amount of the flight crew, and they’d tell you that Mindy Stein got stuff done! Cranky, teething baby in coach? Mindy kept a secret stash of infant Tylenol on hand for harried mommies who may have packed it in the stowed luggage. Handsy businessman in first class? It was amazing what a little ipecac in a man’s Scotch would do to clear that right up. Nervous flier in business class? Mindy had helped her uncle train horses on his farm in Tennessee every summer, and if she could calm a spooked colt, she could soothe a person - at least she could reason with them.
Today, it seemed, was the day when her skill at her job would be tested.
It started off pretty interesting - she’d heard early in the day that they would be hosting two US Federal agents who would be escorting two men in their custody back to New York.
“I got this, sweetheart,” one of the agents - she thought he’d said his name was Collins - said to her dismissively as she offered his handcuffed companion a pillow and blanket during pre-boarding. Rolling her eyes behind his back, she turned to see if the other two men required assistance.
She thought the younger man looked like he was limping. “Is everything OK?” she asked.
“He’s been injured,” the agent with him said as he helped the man into his seat rather solicitously and removed his handcuffs. “I’m Peter Burke, by the way, with the FBI. I’m escorting this man back to New York, but I assure you, he’s not dangerous in any way.”
Mindy looked at the other man - the ship’s passenger manifest had identified him as “Caffrey” - and he looked harmless enough. His pale skin and the way his eyes were drooping also told her that he must not have been feeling well. “I believe you, Agent Burke. Can I get your friend something to drink? Some ginger ale, maybe?”
Agent Burke smiled, and Mindy decided he was very handsome. “That would be so great, thank you - Ms…?”
“Stein, but you can call me Mindy.”
----
They were two hours into the flight and they had just completed their first drinks service when Mindy answered Agent Burke’s call.
“What is it?” she asked Agent Burke when he’d asked to speak with her in the galley.
His kind, brown eyes were worried. “My, uh, friend - he was injured, like I said, but it looks like he’s got an infection, and they never gave him any antibiotics. He’s got a high fever all of a sudden and he’s in a lot of discomfort. Is there anything you can do?”
Mindy bit her lip, her brain automatically running through the first aid course she had just taken the week before. “We’ve got some Advil around somewhere - that ought to help a bit with the fever - and the pain.”
“Thank you so much.”
He looked so grateful, she wanted to hug him; he was clearly worried about his friend. Then something occurred to her - there were seats being held aside for flight crew to sleep in during the flight, and this time around they were being held in first class. Given how ill poor Mr. Caffrey looked, she thought her co-workers could forego the comforts of a first class seat so that a sick man could be accommodated.
“But I think I can do a bit better. Will you hold on?”
She picked up the intercom and rang the flight attendants up in first class, and made the proper arrangements. She turned to Agent Burke and told him they could move them both to First Class, he looked so relieved and exhausted, she really did hug him - just to make him feel better.
When they returned to Agent Burke’s seat, his companion had fallen asleep, and Mindy could tell he was very ill - his face was flushed now, and sweaty. Agent Burke leaned over, and gently ran the back of his finger along Mr. Caffrey’s jaw until he woke. He spoke to Caffrey in a gentle voice, explaining they were going to be moving him, and the sick man regarded Burke with such love and trust, Mindy had to look away, feeling like she was intruding on an intimacy.
As Agent Burke struggled to get Mr. Caffrey to the front of the plane, Mindy and one of the other flight attendants, Rosa, collected their carry-ons and followed behind. There seemed to be some altercation between Burke and the unpleasant Agent Collins, but it was over before she got near enough to be able to deal with it. She noticed a dark look on Collins’ face as he watched them, and she nodded to Rosa and moved ahead to help Mr. Caffrey as Rosa stayed behind to make Collins take his seat as the fasten seatbelt sign happened to be on.
Mindy smiled proudly - her team was always on it.
----
It was three hours later, and Mindy had switched with another of the attendants in first class because she wanted to keep an eye on Agent Burke and Mr. Caffrey. There had unfortunately been no medical professionals on board, and what antibiotics had been found turned out to be unacceptable. Mindy was worried - Mr. Caffrey looked worse each time she checked up on him. She couldn’t explain why she cared so much - it wasn’t as if she knew either man. But they clearly meant a lot to each other, despite whatever circumstances caused the one to be taking the other home in handcuffs, and such situations felt so romantic to her. She hoped they and their relationship survived this; she was already marrying them off in her mind.
Her reverie was interrupted by a flurry of activity where they sat; Agent Burke had half-risen from his seat and was trying to rouse Mr. Caffrey.
“What is it?” Mindy asked when she got to them.
“He - he’s worse, I don’t know why,” Burke said, his voice shaking, hands flying all over the other man but never resting anywhere, ineffectual. “Neal, come on. Don’t do this.”
Caffrey just lay in his seat, eyes open but staring, unresponsive.
“Now what is going on with my prisoner?” said another voice. Mindy looked up to see Agent Collins had apparently been attracted by the commotion. Mindy caught Rosa’s eye, who rushed off to grab as many of the other flight attendants as were available.
“This is your fault,” Burke was saying. “All your fault. If he dies…”
“Then I still get my bonus,” Collins replied. “Come on, Burke, surely you’re not falling for this sick act of his?”
Mindy gasped - even a complete moron could see that Mr. Caffrey was seriously ill.
“I am giving you one more warning,” Burke said.
Collins laughed. “Oh, I get it. You know, when Kramer said you two were close, I didn’t know he meant close. Well, Burke, you wouldn’t be the first agent to go for a little strange with a CI, but damn, man, I didn’t have you pegged for a homo.”
Mindy gasped again, shocked. “Please, sir, you need to return to coach!” Mindy said; she could see that the other flight attendants were moving into position, Rosa already at the entry between Business and First Class.
Collins ignored her. “But that’s OK, it’s cool. If you want to step out on your wife, that’s none of my business.”
Agent Burke’s face darkened, and Mindy wondered what kind of an idiot could have that expression turned on them and not know they were in trouble; nevertheless, Collins kept talking, “She’s a real pretty thing, your wife. Let me know if you get tired of that, maybe she’ll want a real man--“
“Sir, that is ENOUGH!” Mindy said sharply; such ugly language was not to be tolerated.
But her words were not enough to defuse the situation, as Agent Burke practically growled as he lunged at the other man. There was not much room to move, but Burke’s fist managed to connect with Collins’ mouth, once. Collins danced away, a grin and a challenge on his face, goading Burke.
“Come on, Peter, is that all you’ve got? I guess it shouldn’t surprise me you hit like a girl, faggot.”
“ALL RIGHT,” Mindy said, loudly enough to get both men’s attention. Pushing past Agent Burke she gestured to Rosa, who tossed her the telescoping baton she’d retrieved from the locked cabinet where it’d been stowed. With one fluid movement, Mindy caught the thing and extended it with a flick of her wrist. Two, sharp raps to Collins’ shins brought him to his knees, then Mindy planted a foot on his solar plexus and pushed him to the floor onto his back.
“What?” he gasped, blinking up at her, winded.
“Sir, I have repeatedly asked you to return to your seat!” Mindy told him as politely as she could muster.
“I’m a federal agent!”
“And that means diddly squat here, sir. What I say goes, and I say you are a disturbance on this aircraft, and one more outburst from you will be in violation of several international laws. Do I make myself clear?”
“But -“
Mindy repositioned her foot to the base of his throat as the unmistakable sound of the Taser Rosa held powering up filled the space. ”Do I make myself clear?”
----
“The Captain’s gotten permission to land in Nova Scotia,” Mindy said to Agent Burke, bringing him an ice pack for his bruised knuckles. “They’ll have an ambulance waiting - we land in under an hour.”
She was about to move away when he caught her sleeve. “Mindy - I don’t think I can thank you enough for what you’ve done for us.”
“I did my job.”
“Yeah, but Agent Collins -“
“Agent Collins is going to keep his mouth shut.”
“I’m not too sure about that.”
“Aren’t you? He’s a bully - a bully who was beaten up by a couple of girls on an airplane, in front of twenty witnesses. He'll keep his mouth shut.”
“Still, what he said was true - I am married.”
“That’s your business, Agent Burke.”
“Call me Peter, I think we can be on a first name basis after all of this. Anyway, I’m married, but Neal -“ he turned toward Caffrey in the seat beside him, who was still unconscious, his breathing alarmingly shallow; he caressed the flushed face gently. “He’s family - we’re family, my wife, me, him - together. Can you understand?”
Mindy couldn’t say that she did, but she also couldn’t say that it bothered her either. “Love is love, Peter. Looks to me like you hit the jackpot twice. That’s more than most people get.”
“Thank you,” he said humbly, and turned back to fuss over Mr. Caffrey.
Mindy turned away, said a small prayer for them both, then signaled for the other flight attendants to prepare the cabin for their unscheduled landing.
She still had a job to do - one she loved just a little bit more today.
----
Thank you for your time.
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Neal/Peter(/Elizabeth), Collins, OFC
Spoilers: None
Content Notice: Some homophobic language
Word Count: ~2,000
Summary: Tag to Lights Will Guide You Home; Mindy the flight attendant’s POV.
A/N: Written for my timestamp meme for my pal doctor_fangeek, and it helps to have read the original, I think. Title is a lyric from the song, “Protection” by Massive Attack.
----
Mindy loved being a flight attendant, from day one; it had taken her years to work up to being purser on a transatlantic route, an achievement of which she was very proud. And she was damn good at her job - just ask the other cabin crew, and even a fair amount of the flight crew, and they’d tell you that Mindy Stein got stuff done! Cranky, teething baby in coach? Mindy kept a secret stash of infant Tylenol on hand for harried mommies who may have packed it in the stowed luggage. Handsy businessman in first class? It was amazing what a little ipecac in a man’s Scotch would do to clear that right up. Nervous flier in business class? Mindy had helped her uncle train horses on his farm in Tennessee every summer, and if she could calm a spooked colt, she could soothe a person - at least she could reason with them.
Today, it seemed, was the day when her skill at her job would be tested.
It started off pretty interesting - she’d heard early in the day that they would be hosting two US Federal agents who would be escorting two men in their custody back to New York.
“I got this, sweetheart,” one of the agents - she thought he’d said his name was Collins - said to her dismissively as she offered his handcuffed companion a pillow and blanket during pre-boarding. Rolling her eyes behind his back, she turned to see if the other two men required assistance.
She thought the younger man looked like he was limping. “Is everything OK?” she asked.
“He’s been injured,” the agent with him said as he helped the man into his seat rather solicitously and removed his handcuffs. “I’m Peter Burke, by the way, with the FBI. I’m escorting this man back to New York, but I assure you, he’s not dangerous in any way.”
Mindy looked at the other man - the ship’s passenger manifest had identified him as “Caffrey” - and he looked harmless enough. His pale skin and the way his eyes were drooping also told her that he must not have been feeling well. “I believe you, Agent Burke. Can I get your friend something to drink? Some ginger ale, maybe?”
Agent Burke smiled, and Mindy decided he was very handsome. “That would be so great, thank you - Ms…?”
“Stein, but you can call me Mindy.”
----
They were two hours into the flight and they had just completed their first drinks service when Mindy answered Agent Burke’s call.
“What is it?” she asked Agent Burke when he’d asked to speak with her in the galley.
His kind, brown eyes were worried. “My, uh, friend - he was injured, like I said, but it looks like he’s got an infection, and they never gave him any antibiotics. He’s got a high fever all of a sudden and he’s in a lot of discomfort. Is there anything you can do?”
Mindy bit her lip, her brain automatically running through the first aid course she had just taken the week before. “We’ve got some Advil around somewhere - that ought to help a bit with the fever - and the pain.”
“Thank you so much.”
He looked so grateful, she wanted to hug him; he was clearly worried about his friend. Then something occurred to her - there were seats being held aside for flight crew to sleep in during the flight, and this time around they were being held in first class. Given how ill poor Mr. Caffrey looked, she thought her co-workers could forego the comforts of a first class seat so that a sick man could be accommodated.
“But I think I can do a bit better. Will you hold on?”
She picked up the intercom and rang the flight attendants up in first class, and made the proper arrangements. She turned to Agent Burke and told him they could move them both to First Class, he looked so relieved and exhausted, she really did hug him - just to make him feel better.
When they returned to Agent Burke’s seat, his companion had fallen asleep, and Mindy could tell he was very ill - his face was flushed now, and sweaty. Agent Burke leaned over, and gently ran the back of his finger along Mr. Caffrey’s jaw until he woke. He spoke to Caffrey in a gentle voice, explaining they were going to be moving him, and the sick man regarded Burke with such love and trust, Mindy had to look away, feeling like she was intruding on an intimacy.
As Agent Burke struggled to get Mr. Caffrey to the front of the plane, Mindy and one of the other flight attendants, Rosa, collected their carry-ons and followed behind. There seemed to be some altercation between Burke and the unpleasant Agent Collins, but it was over before she got near enough to be able to deal with it. She noticed a dark look on Collins’ face as he watched them, and she nodded to Rosa and moved ahead to help Mr. Caffrey as Rosa stayed behind to make Collins take his seat as the fasten seatbelt sign happened to be on.
Mindy smiled proudly - her team was always on it.
----
It was three hours later, and Mindy had switched with another of the attendants in first class because she wanted to keep an eye on Agent Burke and Mr. Caffrey. There had unfortunately been no medical professionals on board, and what antibiotics had been found turned out to be unacceptable. Mindy was worried - Mr. Caffrey looked worse each time she checked up on him. She couldn’t explain why she cared so much - it wasn’t as if she knew either man. But they clearly meant a lot to each other, despite whatever circumstances caused the one to be taking the other home in handcuffs, and such situations felt so romantic to her. She hoped they and their relationship survived this; she was already marrying them off in her mind.
Her reverie was interrupted by a flurry of activity where they sat; Agent Burke had half-risen from his seat and was trying to rouse Mr. Caffrey.
“What is it?” Mindy asked when she got to them.
“He - he’s worse, I don’t know why,” Burke said, his voice shaking, hands flying all over the other man but never resting anywhere, ineffectual. “Neal, come on. Don’t do this.”
Caffrey just lay in his seat, eyes open but staring, unresponsive.
“Now what is going on with my prisoner?” said another voice. Mindy looked up to see Agent Collins had apparently been attracted by the commotion. Mindy caught Rosa’s eye, who rushed off to grab as many of the other flight attendants as were available.
“This is your fault,” Burke was saying. “All your fault. If he dies…”
“Then I still get my bonus,” Collins replied. “Come on, Burke, surely you’re not falling for this sick act of his?”
Mindy gasped - even a complete moron could see that Mr. Caffrey was seriously ill.
“I am giving you one more warning,” Burke said.
Collins laughed. “Oh, I get it. You know, when Kramer said you two were close, I didn’t know he meant close. Well, Burke, you wouldn’t be the first agent to go for a little strange with a CI, but damn, man, I didn’t have you pegged for a homo.”
Mindy gasped again, shocked. “Please, sir, you need to return to coach!” Mindy said; she could see that the other flight attendants were moving into position, Rosa already at the entry between Business and First Class.
Collins ignored her. “But that’s OK, it’s cool. If you want to step out on your wife, that’s none of my business.”
Agent Burke’s face darkened, and Mindy wondered what kind of an idiot could have that expression turned on them and not know they were in trouble; nevertheless, Collins kept talking, “She’s a real pretty thing, your wife. Let me know if you get tired of that, maybe she’ll want a real man--“
“Sir, that is ENOUGH!” Mindy said sharply; such ugly language was not to be tolerated.
But her words were not enough to defuse the situation, as Agent Burke practically growled as he lunged at the other man. There was not much room to move, but Burke’s fist managed to connect with Collins’ mouth, once. Collins danced away, a grin and a challenge on his face, goading Burke.
“Come on, Peter, is that all you’ve got? I guess it shouldn’t surprise me you hit like a girl, faggot.”
“ALL RIGHT,” Mindy said, loudly enough to get both men’s attention. Pushing past Agent Burke she gestured to Rosa, who tossed her the telescoping baton she’d retrieved from the locked cabinet where it’d been stowed. With one fluid movement, Mindy caught the thing and extended it with a flick of her wrist. Two, sharp raps to Collins’ shins brought him to his knees, then Mindy planted a foot on his solar plexus and pushed him to the floor onto his back.
“What?” he gasped, blinking up at her, winded.
“Sir, I have repeatedly asked you to return to your seat!” Mindy told him as politely as she could muster.
“I’m a federal agent!”
“And that means diddly squat here, sir. What I say goes, and I say you are a disturbance on this aircraft, and one more outburst from you will be in violation of several international laws. Do I make myself clear?”
“But -“
Mindy repositioned her foot to the base of his throat as the unmistakable sound of the Taser Rosa held powering up filled the space. ”Do I make myself clear?”
----
“The Captain’s gotten permission to land in Nova Scotia,” Mindy said to Agent Burke, bringing him an ice pack for his bruised knuckles. “They’ll have an ambulance waiting - we land in under an hour.”
She was about to move away when he caught her sleeve. “Mindy - I don’t think I can thank you enough for what you’ve done for us.”
“I did my job.”
“Yeah, but Agent Collins -“
“Agent Collins is going to keep his mouth shut.”
“I’m not too sure about that.”
“Aren’t you? He’s a bully - a bully who was beaten up by a couple of girls on an airplane, in front of twenty witnesses. He'll keep his mouth shut.”
“Still, what he said was true - I am married.”
“That’s your business, Agent Burke.”
“Call me Peter, I think we can be on a first name basis after all of this. Anyway, I’m married, but Neal -“ he turned toward Caffrey in the seat beside him, who was still unconscious, his breathing alarmingly shallow; he caressed the flushed face gently. “He’s family - we’re family, my wife, me, him - together. Can you understand?”
Mindy couldn’t say that she did, but she also couldn’t say that it bothered her either. “Love is love, Peter. Looks to me like you hit the jackpot twice. That’s more than most people get.”
“Thank you,” he said humbly, and turned back to fuss over Mr. Caffrey.
Mindy turned away, said a small prayer for them both, then signaled for the other flight attendants to prepare the cabin for their unscheduled landing.
She still had a job to do - one she loved just a little bit more today.
----
Thank you for your time.