Close to Home - epilogue

[iesika]

Close to Home

Epilogue

Justine finished reading the article out loud and folded up the paper. She tucked it under the edge of Alex's lunch tray. "Poor kids," she said, her pretty face twisting into a frown. "Conner's so sweet. He came to check on you, and he was such a mess. He was trying to reassure me, though."

"He's a good kid," Alex agreed. They all were, really. He turned his head as far as the neck brace would allow and looked at the row of cards and vases that stretched along the window ledge. Funny thing, you never knew how popular you were until everybody thought you were dying. "I can't believe he's dating a celebrity," he said, and chuckled. "Small town boy made good, I guess."

"Hasn't sent a card, yet," Justine said. Lorelei tugged at her pant-leg, so she bent and lifted her up onto the bed to sit between Alex's feet. "There's one from that woman - his aunt, you said? She sent jam or something, too. Something in a jar."

Alex made a face. "Why didn't you tell me that before I ate that awful meatloaf? I'd have sent you down for extra rolls, or something."

"Hey."

Alex looked down the bed at the girl who was, for all intents and purposes, his stepdaughter. Her mother had pulled her hair back in a ponytail today, and it shone like copper in the sunlight. "Yes, sweetie?"

"Can I eat your jello?"

Justine snorted and pulled the rolling tray-table toward her daughter. "Have at, kid," she said, sticking a spork in her hand.

Lorelei's little face lit up, and she dug into the quivering green mass with great delight.

"You know what that's made of?" Alex said, smirking.

"Cow feet and pig bones," she said, sounding bored. "You told me already. But it still tastes good."

Alex chuckled, wincing a little at the pain in his ribs. "I find your pragmatism most admirable, young lady," he said.

Lorelei slurped jello through her teeth at him.

Someone knocked on the door, and then one of the nurses poked her head in. Alex hoped it wasn't a bad sign that he couldn't remember her name. "You've had another delivery," she said.

Justine exhaled and looked around. "I don't think there's room for more flowers. You think they're expecting bonus points in return, or what?"

"It's not flowers," the nurse said. She stepped into the room with a small, flat, brown box. "Little package."

"Maybe it's more cookies!" Lorelei said excitedly.

"You've already got jello," Justine said absently as she took the box. It was stamped 'FRAGILE', so she refrained from shaking it. "Want me to open it?"

Alex held up his hands, which were still loosely bandaged over his burns. "I think you'd better."

"No, me," Lorelei, said, reaching, but her mother pulled it out of her grasp.

"Honey, it says ‘fragile’. That means there's something in it that could break." She slid her nail under the packing tape, and then stopped, looking down at the box with a sardonic expression. "Alex? Have you been sending off letters to supermodels?"

To..."What?" he asked.

"The return address says ‘Kory Anders’."

Kory Anders? What? Alex tried to sit up, only to be fussed at by both his girlfriend and the nurse. Justine helped him raise the bed a little, and held the box out in front of him as she opened it. Inside, there was a card with a picture of a cartoon scientist on it, and a small, framed photo of Anders in a bikini under a waterfall, signed and bearing a lipstick print. Alex was already grinning at the thought of the comments he'd get from his students with that on his desk.

"Oh, that's tasteful," Justine said, dryly, and pulled the photo out to shove it under a blanket before Lorelei could see. The box rattled, and Dalton looked down to see there had been two little vials under the picture.

Justine lifted them out for his inspection. One was full of thick, dark, vibrantly orange liquid, and the other contained a curl of reddish-brown hair.

"Oh my god," Alex said, his breath coming quick. "They're samples."

"What?" Justine asked. "Hold on!" she scolded as he fumbled for the card with his painfully swollen fingers. "I'll read it!"

The card didn't have a printed message in it. Instead, it bore a few lines of delicate, loopy script in purple ink.

"’Dear Alex’," Justine read out. "’I've heard an awful lot about you from a friend of mine, and I just wanted to express my wishes for your speedy recovery. My friend thought you might have enough flowers, so he asked me to send along something a little more personal, with his regards. Best of luck, Kory Anders. PS, I'd love a copy of the paper when you're done with these. You can pass it on to Conner.’ And then she kissed the paper. You'd think the picture would have been enough."

Alex's fingers twitched under the bandages. "Oh my god," he said again. He turned to the nurse quickly. "Was the package at the desk for long? I need to know how old that blood sample is." His heart sank. "The mail must have come hours ago."

"Didn't come with the mail," the nurse said, taking the card from Justine to look it over. "This kid delivered it to the station just now. I barely even saw him, he disappeared so fast."

"Can you get me some ice? Dry ice, I mean. And an insulated box. You've got to have them in the phlebotomy and histology labs-"

"Mr. Dalton," the nurse said suddenly. "Calm down. You're sending your monitor haywire."

Alex took a deep breath and forced himself back against the pillows. "But can you get the ice?"

"I've got a friend downstairs," she said. She stepped forward and adjusted his IV. "I'll go call him, but you've got to stay calm, okay?"

"Right," Alex said, trying very hard to control his breathing. "Calm. Okay. Honey, can you call Charles? Tell him he can co-author if he'll let me use his lab. Oh, fuck. I can't even use my hands."

"Alex!" Justine snapped, clapping her hands over her daughter's ears.

He fell silent, feeling suddenly sheepish.

Justine sighed and gave him a fondly exasperated look. "They won't let you out of here if you give yourself a heart attack. I'll call Charles. Just calm down, okay?"

"Yes, dear," Alex said, but his mind was racing.

Alien DNA. Alex grinned. Oh, that was much better than another potted mum. What a thoughtful boy!

Index

Comments

[larsinger29.livejournal.com]

I've had this saved and have been meaning to read it for so long now. I knew that when I did start it, I'd read it start to finish--which I did in a matter of one evening! This story promised to be riveting and captivating, and it certainly lived up to that!

Let me start of by saying this was truly fantastic! I loved the story you told here, your interweaving of politics, social issues, feelings, detective work, and characters. You did a remarkable job bringing new characters to life and giving them unique, distinctive personalities. At the same time, I really enjoyed your characterizations of the characters we've all come to know and love. Your Tim was spot on in my book, and I enjoyed the way you tackled Kon and had him grow and develop as a character. I also really enjoyed your interactions between characters: Kon and Clark's relationship had friction and growth; the loving relationship between Ma and her boys was so real and beautiful; and Kon and Tim's deepening relationship was awesomely realistic.

Aside from characterization, you tackled some very powerful issues and did so with grace and skill. I appreciated the way you handled the harassment of gays and lesbians in this. You did a great job covering so much of the spectrum, and really captured the essence of a small town as they deal with this. Having grown up in a small town, I could see so many of the characters and their reactions as real people (both for good and for bad). As an ally I've seen the hurt and dehumanization that can be inflicted on others, and you captured not only that but the strength that comes when groups and friends band together. I applaud your decision to tackle these issues, and the research you must have done into some of the technical areas involved here.

One final note, I would love to see more of this verse. I want to find out what happens to Jake, and Lilah and Clarence. I'd love to see more of the fall out and developing relationship between Kon and Clark. And, of course, I want to watch and see what happens between Tim and Kon! And what happens when Dick, Bruce, and the whole bat-clan find out about this all! I'm really excited to see comments that you intend to continue this verse, and I look forward to reading and following wherever you take us!

[iesika.livejournal.com]

This comment made me grin so hard. You really made my day. I'm sorry I took so long to respond, but I wanted to make sure I had a moment to sit down and really thank you for all your kind words.

When I got the idea for this story, my primary goal was to get Tim undercover as Kon's date, somehow. It grew from there, and developed a plot and a bunch of secondary characters that I kind of fell in love with, and it just turned into this great big monster thing, with themes and issues. It's not quite like anything else I've ever written. I'm glad it all came together so well for you. ^_^

I'm so glad you liked the characterization, both original and otherwise. Kon's growth was really the center of this story, to me, even more so than the plot or the romance. He's been in limbo for so long, and when I started writing this we were all pumped for his upcoming return without much of any idea where his character would be going. I wanted to show him growing up and changing without changing at his core, if that makes any sense.

I've lived in cities all my life, but growing up, I spent a lot of time in small towns and on farms, visiting relatives. I tried to bring some of that experience into the story. As for technical research - I actually didn't have to do all that much, because the most political parts of the story are semi-autobiographical. I wasn't in Kon's or Clarence's role, exactly, and no one died at my school, but the general sense of being under siege was something I started living with at 14, when Matthew Shepherd was killed. I ended up involved in a district-wide youth-based movement of sorts, as a friend in another school literally fought all the way to the supreme court for his right to found a GSA at his school. The whole sub-story of the kids at school came about because I couldn't imagine any other reaction to a hate crime on campus that made any sense to me. When we (my high school friends and I) felt threatened, we reacted by banding together. I watched the same thing play out here recently with the Jena Six. Getting mad doesn't do any good unless you get organized, and teenagers can make a difference.

Thanks so much again for taking the time to leave such a lovely note. ^_^ I can't tell you how happy I am that you got so much out of my story.

[iesika.livejournal.com]

This comment is full of love right back. ♥

Also, your icon made me snort diet coke.

[iesika.livejournal.com]

This wasn't out of the blue at all! I only just posted the story a few weeks ago, and I'm thrilled that people are still finding it.

Thanks so much for taking the time to tell me you enjoyed it! I'm glad the characterization worked for you!

[iesika.livejournal.com]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you! I think I missed the notification for this comment in all of LJ's asshattery.

I'm glad you liked the story! And the epilogue! (The epilogue is the best part because Sam drew me Tim and Kon making out. No secret there!)

I hope you're feeling better now!

[snowrose.livejournal.com]

This was excellent! Loved it! <3

[iesika.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm glad you liked it!

[dela-sonrisa.livejournal.com]

The pining! Jake was adorable, and so were Tim and Kon's fumbled attempts at a relationship. But Kon totally deserves all of Tim Wayne's personality directed at him for the crap he's put Cassie through. Loved the fic!

[iesika.livejournal.com]

Pining! You hit it on the head - this story is so full of pining!

I do feel bad for Cassie in this verse. The boys are all too busy being crazy, horny, and/or stupid to stop and think about what they're doing.

[turnonmyheels.livejournal.com]

This is fantastic fic. I loved every single bit of it and I'm making a point to read you other work.

[omens.livejournal.com]

Amazing fic! I cackled madly when Tim showed up as Tim Wayne... :D :D Your Kon is just lovely, and I really liked Jake. The story really holds up well to re-reads, too. <3<3<3

[snake-easing.livejournal.com]

You know, I hadn't expected him to survive.

I appreciate the art there.

Good job on the story! The plot's developed well.

[alexiel-neesan.livejournal.com]

I read everything in one go - could barely let go of it. You had me hooked, and invested into the characters (the original characters are fantastic) and laughing out loud (many, many times) and facepalming a bit at Kon's obliviousness and oh. It's just brilliant.

[glammetalkitten.livejournal.com]

I've had this open in a tab for the longest time waiting for the right moment to read it, and have done so today in (pretty much) one sitting. And I loved. Your Kon was fabulous, and I loved seeing his relationship with Martha, and seeing him just hanging out with the other Titans. Will there be more? I feel like there are some issues which need working out!

[iesika.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you liked it! Kon and Martha are some of my favorite characters to write interacting with each other - Martha, in particular, is fun to put with *anyone* in a scene.

I am planning to write more. I'm trying to work out some of the major events toward the end before I start writing it, but it's definitely coming.

[iesika.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm so glad you liked it so much!

[redbird1983.livejournal.com]

I have to disagree with you about Tim seeing Cassie and Zoanne at the same time.

First because time between the TEEN TITANS book and ROBIN book, were never on the same page, so to speak. It was never clear when one incident was happening compared to another.

Second, Cassie and Tim never REALLY dated. Yes, they kissed on several occassions, but the first few times, it ended with them doing the whole "It's a mistake" stuff, and trying to refuse to aknowledge it. Finally, after the whole Titans of the Future thing, they had ONE offical date, and Cassie immediately broke it off.

Meanwhile, Tim and Zoanne dated roughly during the time that Tim and Cassie were refusing to talk about their kiss and being emo and weird. She then broke it off with him. They kept TRYING to date off and on during that time, but Tim's life as Robin interfered constantly, and then Steph came back, and things got even more complicated.

Tim primarily had sexual tension with both Cassie and Zoanne, but their is nothing to say that he was seeing them both officially at the same time.

I just hope that while Tim is doing his own version of "Brucie", he's still the moral character deep down that he always was in the comics.

[iesika.livejournal.com]

We're going to have to agree to disagree, I think. My reading was completely different.

The thing about comics is they can't keep *facts* straight, let alone characterization, so I feel like multiple interpretations are equally valid. I've had this discussion with a few people (about Tim and fidelity) and the first few people mostly agreed with me, so I went with it.

And I'm not suggesting Tim date Conner and Steph and Tam Fox and who knows who else all at the same time... I just think he wouldn't be quite as upset at the idea of making out with Cassie's boyfriend if he could justify it to himself as being for a case.

[redbird1983.livejournal.com]

I suppose agreeing to disagree is a good idea, as I've had the same discussion with people, who mostly agreed with me. There are many characters who I could see doing what Tim did in your story, but Tim himself is the only one who I have trouble seeing. Not at the risk of hurting not only one friend, but two, both of who were his only lifelines at dark points in his life.

Yeah, I will concede that he would allow himself to be COMPLETELY in character during the initial case. Kon asked him, and he agreed to it, and Bruce did teach him proper undercover work. But Tim wouldn't milk it.

The guilt of it would be too much for a guy who already carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. I mean, that pretty much the reason Bruce never makes good on his 'Brucie' act and why so many of his bimbos splash drinks in his face. He hams it up, and then 'conveniently' flakes out.

I keep thinking about how horrible Tim always felt about having to lie and manipulate his dad and Dana, and how the only reason he never said the truth, was because of Batman and the others.

Tim over-thinks EVERYTHING. Its both his biggest asset and failing as Robin, something that has been acknowledged by off and on screen by the character and writers. And for the longest time, Cassie was his only friend left alive. I just can't see him risking that, even if he could justify it to himself.

I guess I just want to see the motivation for Tim for his actions, which clearly Kon wants to understand as well in your story.

[lishel_fracrium.livejournal.com]

OMG!! yes!! this was so awesome!! *adds to memories* please write more in this verse please?

[japanimecrazed.livejournal.com]

I love this. I'm so excited their will be sequels!

[shinigrace.livejournal.com]

OMG. I know I'm a bit late getting on the love train but I just swung by to read this after catching up with my sammage art back on DA. I love this so much. I can't thank you enough it's been so long since I've read a great fic! Am I right to hear there's going to be a squeal? I can't wait for that/waits on the edge of her seat/. Between this and waiting for Red Robin 10 to come out my brain may explode. Great writing! Fantastic Characterization! Best Tim Wayne ever! I seriously died everytime he said Darling. oh and your Ma Kent = so much love <3

[chalcopyrite.livejournal.com]

I really really liked this. Mr. Dalton sort of stole the show for me -- my mom teaches bio, and pretty much every year she gets one or two kid who'll get all up in arms about "We're not animals! How can you say that!" (She tells them fine, if they insist, they can be slime molds instead.) So that was kind of awesome.

But apart from that -- the plot! The tension! The extreme Timness (how Bats show love, omg)! It was really fun and absorbing to read, and I predict many rereads (and am looking at your comment about "more in this verse" and possibly making very small eeping noises).

Thank you!

[amalthia]

I could not stop reading your story once I started! I loved the plot, the character voices, and the details were top notch. :)

[coffeebased.livejournal.com]

I love this fic so much. The continuity nods... the excellent Kon voice. Thank you so much!