New The District Fic: 10-7 Out of Service
Title: 10-7 Out of Service
Fandom: The District
Characters: Phil, Nancy, Jack and Ella Brander and Evelyn Parras
Prompts:For family_15#7 “Families are like fudge- mostly sweet but with a few nuts” (Author Unknown) and varietypack100 #93 Thanksgiving
Word Count: 1394
Rating: K+
Summary: “They’re gone now,” he whispered as he kissed the spot just below Nancy’s ear.
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. 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.
Phil watched the silent sobs tearing through his wife’s body and had to curtail his urge to take his service weapon out of the gun safe and chase after his moronic brothers-in-law. From where he stood in the doorway of their bedroom he could look passed where Nancy lay on the bed and see her face in the mirror on her dresser. Her eyes were squeezed shut, but tears still crept past her lids to roll down her cheeks. Ella, who was curled in her mother’s arms, wore a confused expression on her bright and sensitive face as she repeatedly signed “tears” through the wetness on Nancy’s cheek.
With a sigh, Phil gave into one of his urges and crossed to the bed to lay down next to his wife. As he molded his body to her back, he wrapped his arms around her and laid one of his hands on Ella’s chest. His hand was massive compared to the 14-month old and his fingers could stroke her chin as the heel of his hand ran soothing circles on her stomach. Her tiny arm wrapped around his hand, hugging it to her body as he could feel her relax beneath his fingers. He could tell that she believed that somehow his presence made things better. He hoped that her confidence in her daddy was not misplaced.
“They’re gone now,” he whispered as he kissed the spot just below Nancy’s ear. “Evelyn kicked them out.”
“Why,” Nancy’s voice shook with tears as she spoke.
“Because, it may be our house, but they are her sons and she was more pissed than I’ve ever seen her and it took a while for your mom to like me.”
“No,” she gave a slightly sad laugh as she rolled slightly to look at him. “Why would my brothers say those things about our little girl?”
The horrible, racist and vial words that her brothers had spewed like venom at the dining room table during the middle of their Thanksgiving dinner replayed in Phil’s head. Nancy had wanted to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner now that they had a house large enough to hold most of the family, so she had invited her parents, her brothers, and their friends for dinner. Only her parents, her two unmarried brother, Kevin Debreno and Davey Davidson had been able to make it, but still the day had been lovely and happy. Until… Ella had tried reaching for something on her brother’s plate and in the process spilled a large glass of ice tea into her Uncle Oliver’s lap. Nancy’s brother had cried out some absolutely vile things about Ella’s race and background. Most shockingly, if Kevin hadn’t been sitting right next to Oliver, he would have backhanded the child across her face. Sadly, the argument that erupted between the family members at that point proved to divide them, perhaps permanently, with Oliver and Nancy’s other brother Samuel showing their true and ugly colors. Nancy had scooped up Ella and ran to the bedroom before she could see her parents defend her and their family so strongly and beautifully.
Letting the memories fade from his mind, he wrapped his arms tighter around his wife and daughter, “I don’t know, Nance. I just don’t know.”
“I do,” Nancy’s mother, Evelyn, spoke from the doorway before moving into the room and crossing to sit at her daughter’s other side. “They’re cretins that’s why.”
“Mama,” Nancy started.
Evelyn shook her head as she smooth her hand over Nancy’s hair, “No, don’t defend them. Or think that I should defend them either. What they said and did was incomprehensibly wrong and I told them that they aren’t welcome here or in our home until they apologize.”
Nancy sighed, “You shouldn’t have done that, Mama. You need their help with Daddy and the house and things.”
“That is what Oliver said, but Kevin and Davey said that they’d be more than willing to help and frankly I think your dad likes Kevin better than Oliver. Besides, in case you haven’t noticed or realized, this little one,” Evelyn gently lifted the nearly asleep baby from Nancy’s arms, “is going to have a very hard time in this life. There are going to be people who hate her because she’s black, because she’s deaf, because she’s got white parents, because she’s got cop parents, even because she’s beautiful and smart. But, I will not allow those people to be members of my family. Hopefully, time, reason and enough coffee to kill the alcohol in their blood stream will bring them to their senses and we can be a family again, but until then I’m got two sons, two lovely daughters-in-law, a beautiful daughter, a wonderful son-in-law, and five completely amazing grandchildren. All of whom will be at our house for Christmas and there will be no tears. Right?”
Nancy smiled, “Right.”
“Good. Well, now that that is settled; Phil, could you help me get Lowell in the car? It has been a very long day and I think he’s probably worn out,” Evelyn smiled as her son-in-law as she laid a sleeping Ella back in Nancy’s arms and kissed both their foreheads.
Phil gave Nancy another quick kiss below the ear and crawled out of the bed, “Not a problem, Evelyn.”
Once he was gone, Evelyn sighed, “He is a good man. I’m sorry I didn’t see it earlier.”
“You and me both, Mama. I better good say good night to Daddy and Kevin and Davy,” Nancy started to get up, but found herself being gently pushed back to the mattress.
“No, you stay here and take care of what is really important. I’ll tell them all good night for you.”
With another couple of kisses Nancy’s mother left her laying there pondering the day’s events. Growing up, Nancy always believed that if her mother was forced to chose, she would chose to support any or all of her sons over Nancy. Today Evelyn Parris proved her daughter wrong. Very, very wrong. Evelyn Parris loved all her children, but she loved her grandchildren… her adopted, disabled, diverse grandchildren even more. Nancy was honestly amazed and more than a little happy about her mother’s reaction.
“Ma?”
Jack’s voice brought her out of her thoughts; she rolled her head to look at him standing in the doorway, “Hey, baby.”
Jack bit his lip as he looked at his mother, “Are you okay, Mama?”
“Come here,” Nancy patted the bed next to her. She had to smile as Jack eagerly scrambled onto the bed and snuggled down in her open arm, “I’m better. Everything is going to be okay. Those things that Uncle Oliver and Uncle Sam said were very mean and hurt me, but they aren’t true so they won’t hurt for long.”
Resting his chin on Nancy’s shoulder, he looked up at her, “Know what Grandpa said?”
“I can only imagine,” Nancy laughed as she carded her hand through her son’s thick red hair.
“He said, ‘Families are like fudge- mostly sweet but with a few nuts and we just bit into the nuts.’”
“That sounds like Grandpa,” Phil laughed as he came back into the bedroom in time to hear what Jack said.
Nancy smiled up at her husband over the top of their son’s head, “And, amazingly, he wasn’t talking about us.”
“Is there such a thing as a Thanksgiving miracle,” Phil winked at her as he crossed to the TV/VCR combo across from the bed. Putting a tape in the machine, he grabbed the remote and made his way back to the bed, “I thought we deserved a treat, so the dishes can wait. Right now, we just need to be a family.”
Nancy nodded in agreement as she adjusted the pillows so they were sitting up a little more and handed Ella to her big brother. Jack laid Ella out along his chest so that she was facing the TV and her feet rested on his raised legs. Sitting next to Jack, Phil wrapped a long arm around the boy and Nancy and pulled them as close as they could. By the time the closing credits ran they would all be fast asleep. Not that it would really matter, because they were together and no one, not even crazy mean family members, would ever pull them apart.
Fandom: The District
Characters: Phil, Nancy, Jack and Ella Brander and Evelyn Parras
Prompts:For family_15#7 “Families are like fudge- mostly sweet but with a few nuts” (Author Unknown) and varietypack100 #93 Thanksgiving
Word Count: 1394
Rating: K+
Summary: “They’re gone now,” he whispered as he kissed the spot just below Nancy’s ear.
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. 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.
Phil watched the silent sobs tearing through his wife’s body and had to curtail his urge to take his service weapon out of the gun safe and chase after his moronic brothers-in-law. From where he stood in the doorway of their bedroom he could look passed where Nancy lay on the bed and see her face in the mirror on her dresser. Her eyes were squeezed shut, but tears still crept past her lids to roll down her cheeks. Ella, who was curled in her mother’s arms, wore a confused expression on her bright and sensitive face as she repeatedly signed “tears” through the wetness on Nancy’s cheek.
With a sigh, Phil gave into one of his urges and crossed to the bed to lay down next to his wife. As he molded his body to her back, he wrapped his arms around her and laid one of his hands on Ella’s chest. His hand was massive compared to the 14-month old and his fingers could stroke her chin as the heel of his hand ran soothing circles on her stomach. Her tiny arm wrapped around his hand, hugging it to her body as he could feel her relax beneath his fingers. He could tell that she believed that somehow his presence made things better. He hoped that her confidence in her daddy was not misplaced.
“They’re gone now,” he whispered as he kissed the spot just below Nancy’s ear. “Evelyn kicked them out.”
“Why,” Nancy’s voice shook with tears as she spoke.
“Because, it may be our house, but they are her sons and she was more pissed than I’ve ever seen her and it took a while for your mom to like me.”
“No,” she gave a slightly sad laugh as she rolled slightly to look at him. “Why would my brothers say those things about our little girl?”
The horrible, racist and vial words that her brothers had spewed like venom at the dining room table during the middle of their Thanksgiving dinner replayed in Phil’s head. Nancy had wanted to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner now that they had a house large enough to hold most of the family, so she had invited her parents, her brothers, and their friends for dinner. Only her parents, her two unmarried brother, Kevin Debreno and Davey Davidson had been able to make it, but still the day had been lovely and happy. Until… Ella had tried reaching for something on her brother’s plate and in the process spilled a large glass of ice tea into her Uncle Oliver’s lap. Nancy’s brother had cried out some absolutely vile things about Ella’s race and background. Most shockingly, if Kevin hadn’t been sitting right next to Oliver, he would have backhanded the child across her face. Sadly, the argument that erupted between the family members at that point proved to divide them, perhaps permanently, with Oliver and Nancy’s other brother Samuel showing their true and ugly colors. Nancy had scooped up Ella and ran to the bedroom before she could see her parents defend her and their family so strongly and beautifully.
Letting the memories fade from his mind, he wrapped his arms tighter around his wife and daughter, “I don’t know, Nance. I just don’t know.”
“I do,” Nancy’s mother, Evelyn, spoke from the doorway before moving into the room and crossing to sit at her daughter’s other side. “They’re cretins that’s why.”
“Mama,” Nancy started.
Evelyn shook her head as she smooth her hand over Nancy’s hair, “No, don’t defend them. Or think that I should defend them either. What they said and did was incomprehensibly wrong and I told them that they aren’t welcome here or in our home until they apologize.”
Nancy sighed, “You shouldn’t have done that, Mama. You need their help with Daddy and the house and things.”
“That is what Oliver said, but Kevin and Davey said that they’d be more than willing to help and frankly I think your dad likes Kevin better than Oliver. Besides, in case you haven’t noticed or realized, this little one,” Evelyn gently lifted the nearly asleep baby from Nancy’s arms, “is going to have a very hard time in this life. There are going to be people who hate her because she’s black, because she’s deaf, because she’s got white parents, because she’s got cop parents, even because she’s beautiful and smart. But, I will not allow those people to be members of my family. Hopefully, time, reason and enough coffee to kill the alcohol in their blood stream will bring them to their senses and we can be a family again, but until then I’m got two sons, two lovely daughters-in-law, a beautiful daughter, a wonderful son-in-law, and five completely amazing grandchildren. All of whom will be at our house for Christmas and there will be no tears. Right?”
Nancy smiled, “Right.”
“Good. Well, now that that is settled; Phil, could you help me get Lowell in the car? It has been a very long day and I think he’s probably worn out,” Evelyn smiled as her son-in-law as she laid a sleeping Ella back in Nancy’s arms and kissed both their foreheads.
Phil gave Nancy another quick kiss below the ear and crawled out of the bed, “Not a problem, Evelyn.”
Once he was gone, Evelyn sighed, “He is a good man. I’m sorry I didn’t see it earlier.”
“You and me both, Mama. I better good say good night to Daddy and Kevin and Davy,” Nancy started to get up, but found herself being gently pushed back to the mattress.
“No, you stay here and take care of what is really important. I’ll tell them all good night for you.”
With another couple of kisses Nancy’s mother left her laying there pondering the day’s events. Growing up, Nancy always believed that if her mother was forced to chose, she would chose to support any or all of her sons over Nancy. Today Evelyn Parris proved her daughter wrong. Very, very wrong. Evelyn Parris loved all her children, but she loved her grandchildren… her adopted, disabled, diverse grandchildren even more. Nancy was honestly amazed and more than a little happy about her mother’s reaction.
“Ma?”
Jack’s voice brought her out of her thoughts; she rolled her head to look at him standing in the doorway, “Hey, baby.”
Jack bit his lip as he looked at his mother, “Are you okay, Mama?”
“Come here,” Nancy patted the bed next to her. She had to smile as Jack eagerly scrambled onto the bed and snuggled down in her open arm, “I’m better. Everything is going to be okay. Those things that Uncle Oliver and Uncle Sam said were very mean and hurt me, but they aren’t true so they won’t hurt for long.”
Resting his chin on Nancy’s shoulder, he looked up at her, “Know what Grandpa said?”
“I can only imagine,” Nancy laughed as she carded her hand through her son’s thick red hair.
“He said, ‘Families are like fudge- mostly sweet but with a few nuts and we just bit into the nuts.’”
“That sounds like Grandpa,” Phil laughed as he came back into the bedroom in time to hear what Jack said.
Nancy smiled up at her husband over the top of their son’s head, “And, amazingly, he wasn’t talking about us.”
“Is there such a thing as a Thanksgiving miracle,” Phil winked at her as he crossed to the TV/VCR combo across from the bed. Putting a tape in the machine, he grabbed the remote and made his way back to the bed, “I thought we deserved a treat, so the dishes can wait. Right now, we just need to be a family.”
Nancy nodded in agreement as she adjusted the pillows so they were sitting up a little more and handed Ella to her big brother. Jack laid Ella out along his chest so that she was facing the TV and her feet rested on his raised legs. Sitting next to Jack, Phil wrapped a long arm around the boy and Nancy and pulled them as close as they could. By the time the closing credits ran they would all be fast asleep. Not that it would really matter, because they were together and no one, not even crazy mean family members, would ever pull them apart.