Liz Sherman (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
open_flame) wrote2010-04-21 04:38 pm
open_flame) wrote2010-04-21 04:38 pm
Pay Attention - Fic for Bump in the Night Verse
Characters: Liz Sherman/Jack Harkness, a room full of black suited agents
Fandom: Hellboy/Torchwood (Bump in the Night Verse)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,200
Setting: Shortly after Jack and Liz are married, BPRD briefing room.
Prompt:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
scifi_muses vol2.week18
Men in Black: Will Smith - We're your first, last and only line of defense against the worst scum of the universe.
Liz stood in the hallway and stared at the clock as the newest agents filed into the briefing room. She silently cursed whatever it was that was making her husband late. She knew in her heart he didn’t do these things on purpose, but it annoyed her nonetheless. She’d hoped against hope that marriage was indeed a magical thing that meant men would be home when they said they would and Friday night date night actually would be for dates for once. She knew better than that of course, but she was a girl who liked to dream. She dreamed of the things that most would find boring and mundane because her days were filled with the stuff of most people’s nightmares.
“Miss…Mrs…” One of the more veteran agents approached her after nearly 30 more minutes had passed. They didn’t know exactly what to call her. Ever true to form, there were days Mrs. Elizabeth Sherman-Harkness insisted everyone use her full proper name and there were others, usually when she was annoyed with her husband,that she denied that it was her idea to take him last name in the first place, and insisted on being called by only her first name.
“Call me Liz, and I know. He’s late.” She sighed as she snatched the folder out of his hand. “ I’ll do it.” She was thankful she’d had a meeting with the Secretary of Defense earlier that morning and was dressed appropriately for this sort of thing. The meeting had gone horribly, but explaining to the United States Government that they might want to keep an eye out for giant spider monsters can’t exactly go well.
“You all know why you’re here.” She skipped the expected salutation and dove right in. Liz didn’t flinch when every single eye in the room met hers. She was a Harkness now, and damned if she was going to let a little something like being stared at her bug her.
“We are the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. We protect the world from the things that go bump on the night. And you are now a part of that.”
For now… she thought as her eyes scanned the room, wondering which of this batch would be the first to die. Probably that big guy in the back. He was cocky, already looking like the cool kid in the back of class, not paying attention to teacher. He was busy flirting with the blond woman who had her eyes front, paying close attention.
Liz stalked over to the man with the look on her face that those of them that survived the month would learn was the “Pay the fuck attention or I will make you pay attention” face.
“What’s your name?” She looked the big guy in the eyes. He looked her up and down, not at all intimidated by the petite form that stood before him. It put Liz in an even worse mood than she already was.
“Green.” He said confidently. She nearly laughed at him. It was such a fitting name for someone who would probably end up a greasy stain on the sewer wall on his first mission out.
“Well, Agent Green.” Liz raised her voice as she walked away from him, addressing the entire room more so than him. “You need to pay attention, or you’re going to die. Painfully, probably with your still bleeding intestines wrapped around a trolls club or used as part of some crazy old witches brew while you’re still alive to watch it. Unless of course something claws your eyes out, then you can’t watch.” She ignored the fact that every single eye in the room was wide and every single jaw had dropped. They needed to know the truth, and there was no point in sugar coating it. “If you’re lucky, you’ll get eaten by something nice and quick, but most aren’t.”
She sighed as she made her way to the front again. “There are things that go bump in the night. The things you thought were only in your nightmares; demons, monsters, devils and aliens.” She turned and faced the room, the soft part of her heart feeling guilty for her directness, but the part of her that was sick to death of calling next of kin was urging her to go on.
“We are the ones that bump back, and that bumping leads to frequent and violent casualties.” She nodded to the agent that had stumbled with her name a few minutes before. He passed forms and pens around the tables like he was prepping to proctor an exam. The papers sat before the new agents at their eyes stayed glued to Liz.
Liz had her head resting on her chest with a sour expression on her face. She was not good at this, and she knew it. Still it was better than sending Hellboy in to scare the hell out of them. “Make sure you fill those forms out completely. I’m getting sick of calling husbands and wives and not knowing their names when I have a box of remains to send home.” She picked her head up; a part of her shocked that no one had picked up a pen. The blond in the back looked like she wanted to cry, and Agent Green was as white as a sheet.
“What?” Liz addressed the room in an accusatory tone.
The sound of chairs frantically scraping the floor was so loud it made the tall man in the familiar wool coat stop dead in his tracks. As he watched with his icy blue eyes, the line of suited men and women practically run out of the room. He said nothing. He just watched.
Once the room had cleared out, Jack Harkness made his way to the desk his wife was now sitting on top of like she always did when she felt she screwed up.
“What exactly did you tell them?” he asked in a tone that was both comforting and stern all in one.
“The truth.” Liz groaned as she kept her chin on her chest. She was ashamed, and though she had gotten past the point where she felt she needed Jack’s approval and praise in everything she did about the same time she was able to legally drink, she still felt bad she’d sent a whole room of brand new agents packing because she was trying to prepare them for the worst.
“At least they won’t die, right?” She finally raised her eyes and looked at him with those big ‘I’m sorry’ eyes she knew would make him less angry, if he was angry. She couldn’t tell honestly.
Jack laughed a little and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her head down on his chest. He kissed her forehead, making a mental note to leave a set of queue cards with his wife just in case she was ever in this position again. “ Why don’t you save the truth for the second day next time?”
Fandom: Hellboy/Torchwood (Bump in the Night Verse)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,200
Setting: Shortly after Jack and Liz are married, BPRD briefing room.
Prompt:
scifi_muses vol2.week18Men in Black: Will Smith - We're your first, last and only line of defense against the worst scum of the universe.
Liz stood in the hallway and stared at the clock as the newest agents filed into the briefing room. She silently cursed whatever it was that was making her husband late. She knew in her heart he didn’t do these things on purpose, but it annoyed her nonetheless. She’d hoped against hope that marriage was indeed a magical thing that meant men would be home when they said they would and Friday night date night actually would be for dates for once. She knew better than that of course, but she was a girl who liked to dream. She dreamed of the things that most would find boring and mundane because her days were filled with the stuff of most people’s nightmares.
“Miss…Mrs…” One of the more veteran agents approached her after nearly 30 more minutes had passed. They didn’t know exactly what to call her. Ever true to form, there were days Mrs. Elizabeth Sherman-Harkness insisted everyone use her full proper name and there were others, usually when she was annoyed with her husband,that she denied that it was her idea to take him last name in the first place, and insisted on being called by only her first name.
“Call me Liz, and I know. He’s late.” She sighed as she snatched the folder out of his hand. “ I’ll do it.” She was thankful she’d had a meeting with the Secretary of Defense earlier that morning and was dressed appropriately for this sort of thing. The meeting had gone horribly, but explaining to the United States Government that they might want to keep an eye out for giant spider monsters can’t exactly go well.
“You all know why you’re here.” She skipped the expected salutation and dove right in. Liz didn’t flinch when every single eye in the room met hers. She was a Harkness now, and damned if she was going to let a little something like being stared at her bug her.
“We are the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. We protect the world from the things that go bump on the night. And you are now a part of that.”
For now… she thought as her eyes scanned the room, wondering which of this batch would be the first to die. Probably that big guy in the back. He was cocky, already looking like the cool kid in the back of class, not paying attention to teacher. He was busy flirting with the blond woman who had her eyes front, paying close attention.
Liz stalked over to the man with the look on her face that those of them that survived the month would learn was the “Pay the fuck attention or I will make you pay attention” face.
“What’s your name?” She looked the big guy in the eyes. He looked her up and down, not at all intimidated by the petite form that stood before him. It put Liz in an even worse mood than she already was.
“Green.” He said confidently. She nearly laughed at him. It was such a fitting name for someone who would probably end up a greasy stain on the sewer wall on his first mission out.
“Well, Agent Green.” Liz raised her voice as she walked away from him, addressing the entire room more so than him. “You need to pay attention, or you’re going to die. Painfully, probably with your still bleeding intestines wrapped around a trolls club or used as part of some crazy old witches brew while you’re still alive to watch it. Unless of course something claws your eyes out, then you can’t watch.” She ignored the fact that every single eye in the room was wide and every single jaw had dropped. They needed to know the truth, and there was no point in sugar coating it. “If you’re lucky, you’ll get eaten by something nice and quick, but most aren’t.”
She sighed as she made her way to the front again. “There are things that go bump in the night. The things you thought were only in your nightmares; demons, monsters, devils and aliens.” She turned and faced the room, the soft part of her heart feeling guilty for her directness, but the part of her that was sick to death of calling next of kin was urging her to go on.
“We are the ones that bump back, and that bumping leads to frequent and violent casualties.” She nodded to the agent that had stumbled with her name a few minutes before. He passed forms and pens around the tables like he was prepping to proctor an exam. The papers sat before the new agents at their eyes stayed glued to Liz.
Liz had her head resting on her chest with a sour expression on her face. She was not good at this, and she knew it. Still it was better than sending Hellboy in to scare the hell out of them. “Make sure you fill those forms out completely. I’m getting sick of calling husbands and wives and not knowing their names when I have a box of remains to send home.” She picked her head up; a part of her shocked that no one had picked up a pen. The blond in the back looked like she wanted to cry, and Agent Green was as white as a sheet.
“What?” Liz addressed the room in an accusatory tone.
The sound of chairs frantically scraping the floor was so loud it made the tall man in the familiar wool coat stop dead in his tracks. As he watched with his icy blue eyes, the line of suited men and women practically run out of the room. He said nothing. He just watched.
Once the room had cleared out, Jack Harkness made his way to the desk his wife was now sitting on top of like she always did when she felt she screwed up.
“What exactly did you tell them?” he asked in a tone that was both comforting and stern all in one.
“The truth.” Liz groaned as she kept her chin on her chest. She was ashamed, and though she had gotten past the point where she felt she needed Jack’s approval and praise in everything she did about the same time she was able to legally drink, she still felt bad she’d sent a whole room of brand new agents packing because she was trying to prepare them for the worst.
“At least they won’t die, right?” She finally raised her eyes and looked at him with those big ‘I’m sorry’ eyes she knew would make him less angry, if he was angry. She couldn’t tell honestly.
Jack laughed a little and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her head down on his chest. He kissed her forehead, making a mental note to leave a set of queue cards with his wife just in case she was ever in this position again. “ Why don’t you save the truth for the second day next time?”