Fic: Silver Linings

[reve_silencieux]

Title: Silver Linings
Author: reve_silencieux
Rating: PG
Characters: Neal, Peter
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Word Count: 4,106
Beta: sapphire2309
Summary: Where he once read body language to see if someone was lying, now he read lips and closed captioning. Neal adjusts to a life of silence.
Author's Note: This is a sequel of sorts to qwertyfaced Fool's Gold, part of her Senseless

Comments

[kanarek13]

This is such a great sequel to qwerty's story! You did an excellent job showing us how Neal's life would look like after the accident, both the struggles and the silver linings.

With such wonderful friends it was a given that Neal would be okay, he just had to adjust :D

[reve_silencieux]

Thank you! I think that's the beauty of the h/c genre, especially with Neal. He's been through a lot, but he always comes out stronger for it. So yeah, it was only a matter of time for him to adjust.

[caseyf123]

What a great story. It was so sweet how everyone banded together to help Neal adjust to his new life. You did a great job showing what it would be like if he actually did lose his hearing. Nice job.

[reve_silencieux]

Thank you! I really do think it's the people around Neal that have kept him from wanting to leave. They're his family.

[morganslady]

This was a wonderful story. You did an excellent job in portraying the world a deaf person lives in. I took ASL courses and found it enlightening(and I was a Special Ed teacher)..

[reve_silencieux]

Thank you! I really tried hard, even though I was still imagining it and I'm glad it came across well. It's been awhile since I was around the Deaf world.

[ladyrose42]

Great inclusion of how people look at interpertor instead of the person signing. It's just a natural thing to do. Ages ago took one class in sign language, the teacher trying to get us to add facial expressions and frustrated I couldn't really frown. Turned out to be more of a cultural class for me. And my fingers were stiff and sore from practicing finger spelling!

[reve_silencieux]

Hehe, it took me awhile to loosen up my fingers to spell with any type of speed or accuracy. It's been years since I took those classes, so when a deaf man asked me something one day on the street, it was painfully slow for me to respond. I was so embarrassed!

But yeah, I'm sure some people are used to interpreters, but I figured for Neal it would be off-putting to not have eye contact. I do understand though that some people will naturally be inclined to talk to the interpreter. I had to speak to the jury in a mock trial instead of the prosecutor and I just couldn't do it! I'm always looking at someone just so I can hear so I couldn't turn my head away to direct my response to the jury.

Anyways... thanks for reviewing!

[ladyrose42]

One stitching friend is very HOH. Don't know if she signs, but we all know to get her attention first, and make sure she's looking at us directly before speaking.

[reve_silencieux]

Yeah, it's something people around you have to get accustomed to. It's very natural for me, and my family and friends to walk or sit on a certain side of me. What's funny though, is my manager is the same as me, so we're always dancing around each other. At least there, there's no worries when I don't hear him because half the time he doesn't hear me either!

[angelita26]

This was such an interesting look at such a dramatic change in Neal's life. It was amazing. Thank you for sharing!

[reve_silencieux]

Thank you so much! It definitely changed him, but I'd like to think he'd still be the Neal we love.