Downtime Chapter 24.
Title: Downtime
Author: Dark Wyldchilde (wyldchilde37@yahoo.com)
Rating: Still me, NC-17.
Pairing: Faith/Tara, Ziva/Abby
Setting: My Lock series. Starting with "Life on the Farm" and progressing through "Friend of My Friend."
Summary: Gibbs NCIS team is no longer with NCIS, and has signed on to hunt monsters with the men and women of the Lock. This is their transition.
Spoilers: I've gotten so far from the established it is a source of pride. That said I won't fear touching on Buffy, Angel, Stonyman Farm/Executioner, or NCIS cannon.
Disclaimers:This is fanfic, and as such it will draw upon copyrighted material. It is a non-profit work done for the enjoyment of the author and his readers, and is no challenge to any legal properties.
Wyld's Notes: Me being me there will probably be both sex and violence at some point, but with the rich mix of my Lock AU and the NCIS people I decided to do a story where I can explore that a bit before getting back to the action.
It's almost a fluff piece, but will allow me to explore character elements so that when I get to the sixth fic the characters are able to get into the action without all these elements that are demanding my attention.
Continuing thanks to Lisa Countryman. She's like my muses' personal trainer at this point, and continuing thanks to my beta reader laura jones
Chapter 24.
Faith got a few strange looks as she pulled the Harley into the line of bikes, but that was because she wasn't recognized, and she wasn't wearing the marks of station that they expected to see, and that's what she considered them, marks of station because the line of riders she was with were warriors as much as any legion or Calvary or order of mounted knights.
This legion of warriors however wasn't set to charge into battle this day, they were here to honor one of their fallen. One of her fallen actually, he had served at the Lock with distinction as a war wizard and then been rotated out to provide mystical security for the troops in Iraq. Where he had been slain by an all too mundane IED.
Now he was being laid to rest, and Faith was here to honor the solider one last time, and she was doing so with the warriors of the Patriot Guard, though not as a member.
It wasn't that she wouldn't have been honored to join, but no longer existing officially made memberships difficult, but when she had contacted the Patriot Guard branch that was set to watch over her man's funeral they had been very understanding about a war buddy of his wanting to be there to see him laid to rest.
Already one of them had come back down the line the word had been passed up moments ago, and stopped before her. "Hope?"
Faith nodded, she liked to keep her aliases close to her real name, and this time she had decided to go Biblical.
The questioner kept staring at her. "Was there a last name to go with that?"
Faith smirked. "None that anyone can remember."
A smirk came over the old soldier's face. "Word is you served with the departed. Probably nothing you can confirm huh?"
Faith's smirk mellowed. "Nothing you would believe."
He noticed her twitch as her eyes looked across the street. "First time at one of these huh? Don't let them get to you kid. Just remember we're here for the family."
Faith was here for the family, and to honor the memory of her fallen soldier, but "they" were hard to ignore. "They" were the men and women of the Westboro Baptist Church and "they" were waving signs proclaiming the IED's were God's way of proclaiming his outrage of America's acceptance of homosexuality.
Faith, now effectively a lesbian because of Tara, and she had a small smirk at that thought, knew she should have been offended. The soldier however had done her homework, and if it hadn't been homosexuals it would have been Jews, or Democrats, or whatever. The Westboro Baptist Church believed that everyone who wasn't a member of the Westboro Baptist Church was going to Hell, and were determined to make a spectacle as the spread of THEIR word.
At this point they had become a sick joke that no one would ever choose to say, but no one could seem to avoid, and when one of Willow's computers had kicked out their plans to protest at a War Wizard's funeral Faith started making plans of her own.
It wasn't surprising really. The War Wizard was a Muslim who had the handle of Gerber. While there had been plenty of baby food jokes the name had actually been an honorific to an Arabic alchemist of the same name.
Since this Gerber was also an alchemist as well as a Arab he wore the name with pride, and took the baby food jokes with good humor.
To the Westboro Baptist Church however he was just a Muslim solider, and twice as much reason for them to spew their hateful speech.
They didn't know him, they wouldn't want to even if they had the clearance. They wouldn't care that Gerber had been the one to come up with the way to bind the demon Sammael. The demon was called the "Hound of Resurrection" and once it was able to lay it's eggs it would be able to bring itself back.
Not just back, but for every one they killed two would hatch. While the Lock was concentrating one finding all it's clutches and destroying it's eggs so it would have nothing to hatch from their successes were questionable.
Gerber however looked at the original binding, a white powder said to have been made from the dried tears of angels. He managed to melt the tears and turn them into a liquid that a newly recruited Lex had managed to summon the demon's essence into, where Gerber had then solidified it into what was now called the "Angel's Tear" where it was then locked away in vaults the Lock had specifically for storing dangerous artifacts.
They couldn't know how many lives he had saved that day, but Faith found herself wishing one of those Hounds had found it's way into one of the Westboro prayer meetings before hand.
She knew Gerber would have been able to understand her anger. The man had first enlisted because he felt that every time someone screamed Allahu Achbar before committing an atrocity it was a slap to the face of God and an affront to all those who seek to live in a peaceful and loving world.
His rotation to the Lock almost seemed to displace the man at first, but as he learned the nature of the infernal threat he quickly took to their mission.
While he still held a particular contempt for the misguided souls that called themselves "Muslim" while murdering the innocent, he fought the genuine evils of the world with a definite passion.
Yet it had been no surprise that when he had the chance to continue his mission as a Lock field asset AND battle those misguided Muslims that he jumped at the chance. The fact that he lost his life doing so made Faith want to hold him up to those misguided Muslims as a real martyr.
She physically shook her head. This wasn't about those assholes. This was about Gerber, and his family. The man died an honorable death, a warriors death, and she and her people were there for them. Not for unstable fools looking for an excuse to die, or miserable souls seeking to dole out that misery to others at their most vulnerable moments.
However even as she refocused her attention she realized the two groups had far more in common with each other then they did with what had the right to call itself "civilization".
Her mind back on task she started spotting her people. It was unsurprising that Tara was the first she found, she smiled at that thought, Tara was always the first she found it seemed. Her gentle love was there with the family providing all the comfort she could in their time of grief.
It still amazed her how many "conservative" types who would object to Tara's woman loving, nature-based religious lifestyle still warmed to the woman when in her actual presence.
She snickered, it worked on the last President, it worked on the open-minded, but still traditionalist Gerber, and it was working on his family.
Just as unsurprising was that over Tara's shoulder stood Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Ever since the man had signed on at the Lock if Tara was out and about he would designate himself her Close Protection Officer.
It had been Faith's role, but she trusted the man's capabilities, she trusted Tara's, and if all else failed Faith kept herself close enough that if things truly went sideways those first two people's talents would keep Tara safe long enough for Faith to get there.
There were a few other war wizards in the crowd. Old teammates of Gerber's who would probably have defied any orders Faith might have given to stay away. That was if she had the heart to give them.
That included the now fully active war wizard Lex. She had met the alchemist early on in her time with the Lock as he had needed someone versed in demon summoning to call Sammael into his binding, and where Tara's gentle nature was able to get through to the traditionalist Muslim, Lex's flamboyant... hedonistic ways were more a point of contention.
The two soldiers however were able to leave the ethical debates to their personal time, and even then kept them polite enough so it had never been an issue.
Instead a respect had formed, and Faith imagined it was that respect that had Lex here today.
Looking at all her people she wasn't sure if they were here to prevent trouble, or secretly hoping the Westboro people would start something, but there presence was felt in the lowered level of enthusiasm the Calvinists had in portraying their "message". As if they somehow knew they were in the presence of people who had faced true evil, and knew how ridiculous the Westboro Baptist Church truly was.
It was seen in the postures of the family that were showing a greater level of calm even in the depths of their grief. As they seemed to feel that no one would be allowed to intrude on their suffering.
It was also seen in the eyes of the veteran soldiers of the Patriot Guard who kept spotting the cool eyed persons with the professional movements who all seemed to be deferring to the young woman who was standing in line with them.
They realized that "Hope" was the one they knew about, but Gerber's war buddies were all through out the crowd, and between them and the Patriot Guard they made sure that Gerber was laid to rest peacefully.
Author: Dark Wyldchilde (wyldchilde37@yahoo.com)
Rating: Still me, NC-17.
Pairing: Faith/Tara, Ziva/Abby
Setting: My Lock series. Starting with "Life on the Farm" and progressing through "Friend of My Friend."
Summary: Gibbs NCIS team is no longer with NCIS, and has signed on to hunt monsters with the men and women of the Lock. This is their transition.
Spoilers: I've gotten so far from the established it is a source of pride. That said I won't fear touching on Buffy, Angel, Stonyman Farm/Executioner, or NCIS cannon.
Disclaimers:This is fanfic, and as such it will draw upon copyrighted material. It is a non-profit work done for the enjoyment of the author and his readers, and is no challenge to any legal properties.
Wyld's Notes: Me being me there will probably be both sex and violence at some point, but with the rich mix of my Lock AU and the NCIS people I decided to do a story where I can explore that a bit before getting back to the action.
It's almost a fluff piece, but will allow me to explore character elements so that when I get to the sixth fic the characters are able to get into the action without all these elements that are demanding my attention.
Continuing thanks to Lisa Countryman. She's like my muses' personal trainer at this point, and continuing thanks to my beta reader laura jones
Chapter 24.
Faith got a few strange looks as she pulled the Harley into the line of bikes, but that was because she wasn't recognized, and she wasn't wearing the marks of station that they expected to see, and that's what she considered them, marks of station because the line of riders she was with were warriors as much as any legion or Calvary or order of mounted knights.
This legion of warriors however wasn't set to charge into battle this day, they were here to honor one of their fallen. One of her fallen actually, he had served at the Lock with distinction as a war wizard and then been rotated out to provide mystical security for the troops in Iraq. Where he had been slain by an all too mundane IED.
Now he was being laid to rest, and Faith was here to honor the solider one last time, and she was doing so with the warriors of the Patriot Guard, though not as a member.
It wasn't that she wouldn't have been honored to join, but no longer existing officially made memberships difficult, but when she had contacted the Patriot Guard branch that was set to watch over her man's funeral they had been very understanding about a war buddy of his wanting to be there to see him laid to rest.
Already one of them had come back down the line the word had been passed up moments ago, and stopped before her. "Hope?"
Faith nodded, she liked to keep her aliases close to her real name, and this time she had decided to go Biblical.
The questioner kept staring at her. "Was there a last name to go with that?"
Faith smirked. "None that anyone can remember."
A smirk came over the old soldier's face. "Word is you served with the departed. Probably nothing you can confirm huh?"
Faith's smirk mellowed. "Nothing you would believe."
He noticed her twitch as her eyes looked across the street. "First time at one of these huh? Don't let them get to you kid. Just remember we're here for the family."
Faith was here for the family, and to honor the memory of her fallen soldier, but "they" were hard to ignore. "They" were the men and women of the Westboro Baptist Church and "they" were waving signs proclaiming the IED's were God's way of proclaiming his outrage of America's acceptance of homosexuality.
Faith, now effectively a lesbian because of Tara, and she had a small smirk at that thought, knew she should have been offended. The soldier however had done her homework, and if it hadn't been homosexuals it would have been Jews, or Democrats, or whatever. The Westboro Baptist Church believed that everyone who wasn't a member of the Westboro Baptist Church was going to Hell, and were determined to make a spectacle as the spread of THEIR word.
At this point they had become a sick joke that no one would ever choose to say, but no one could seem to avoid, and when one of Willow's computers had kicked out their plans to protest at a War Wizard's funeral Faith started making plans of her own.
It wasn't surprising really. The War Wizard was a Muslim who had the handle of Gerber. While there had been plenty of baby food jokes the name had actually been an honorific to an Arabic alchemist of the same name.
Since this Gerber was also an alchemist as well as a Arab he wore the name with pride, and took the baby food jokes with good humor.
To the Westboro Baptist Church however he was just a Muslim solider, and twice as much reason for them to spew their hateful speech.
They didn't know him, they wouldn't want to even if they had the clearance. They wouldn't care that Gerber had been the one to come up with the way to bind the demon Sammael. The demon was called the "Hound of Resurrection" and once it was able to lay it's eggs it would be able to bring itself back.
Not just back, but for every one they killed two would hatch. While the Lock was concentrating one finding all it's clutches and destroying it's eggs so it would have nothing to hatch from their successes were questionable.
Gerber however looked at the original binding, a white powder said to have been made from the dried tears of angels. He managed to melt the tears and turn them into a liquid that a newly recruited Lex had managed to summon the demon's essence into, where Gerber had then solidified it into what was now called the "Angel's Tear" where it was then locked away in vaults the Lock had specifically for storing dangerous artifacts.
They couldn't know how many lives he had saved that day, but Faith found herself wishing one of those Hounds had found it's way into one of the Westboro prayer meetings before hand.
She knew Gerber would have been able to understand her anger. The man had first enlisted because he felt that every time someone screamed Allahu Achbar before committing an atrocity it was a slap to the face of God and an affront to all those who seek to live in a peaceful and loving world.
His rotation to the Lock almost seemed to displace the man at first, but as he learned the nature of the infernal threat he quickly took to their mission.
While he still held a particular contempt for the misguided souls that called themselves "Muslim" while murdering the innocent, he fought the genuine evils of the world with a definite passion.
Yet it had been no surprise that when he had the chance to continue his mission as a Lock field asset AND battle those misguided Muslims that he jumped at the chance. The fact that he lost his life doing so made Faith want to hold him up to those misguided Muslims as a real martyr.
She physically shook her head. This wasn't about those assholes. This was about Gerber, and his family. The man died an honorable death, a warriors death, and she and her people were there for them. Not for unstable fools looking for an excuse to die, or miserable souls seeking to dole out that misery to others at their most vulnerable moments.
However even as she refocused her attention she realized the two groups had far more in common with each other then they did with what had the right to call itself "civilization".
Her mind back on task she started spotting her people. It was unsurprising that Tara was the first she found, she smiled at that thought, Tara was always the first she found it seemed. Her gentle love was there with the family providing all the comfort she could in their time of grief.
It still amazed her how many "conservative" types who would object to Tara's woman loving, nature-based religious lifestyle still warmed to the woman when in her actual presence.
She snickered, it worked on the last President, it worked on the open-minded, but still traditionalist Gerber, and it was working on his family.
Just as unsurprising was that over Tara's shoulder stood Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Ever since the man had signed on at the Lock if Tara was out and about he would designate himself her Close Protection Officer.
It had been Faith's role, but she trusted the man's capabilities, she trusted Tara's, and if all else failed Faith kept herself close enough that if things truly went sideways those first two people's talents would keep Tara safe long enough for Faith to get there.
There were a few other war wizards in the crowd. Old teammates of Gerber's who would probably have defied any orders Faith might have given to stay away. That was if she had the heart to give them.
That included the now fully active war wizard Lex. She had met the alchemist early on in her time with the Lock as he had needed someone versed in demon summoning to call Sammael into his binding, and where Tara's gentle nature was able to get through to the traditionalist Muslim, Lex's flamboyant... hedonistic ways were more a point of contention.
The two soldiers however were able to leave the ethical debates to their personal time, and even then kept them polite enough so it had never been an issue.
Instead a respect had formed, and Faith imagined it was that respect that had Lex here today.
Looking at all her people she wasn't sure if they were here to prevent trouble, or secretly hoping the Westboro people would start something, but there presence was felt in the lowered level of enthusiasm the Calvinists had in portraying their "message". As if they somehow knew they were in the presence of people who had faced true evil, and knew how ridiculous the Westboro Baptist Church truly was.
It was seen in the postures of the family that were showing a greater level of calm even in the depths of their grief. As they seemed to feel that no one would be allowed to intrude on their suffering.
It was also seen in the eyes of the veteran soldiers of the Patriot Guard who kept spotting the cool eyed persons with the professional movements who all seemed to be deferring to the young woman who was standing in line with them.
They realized that "Hope" was the one they knew about, but Gerber's war buddies were all through out the crowd, and between them and the Patriot Guard they made sure that Gerber was laid to rest peacefully.