Advent fic #1 - No Postcards From the Edge (Riley/Sam - PG13)

[estepheia]

I know I'm kinda late for this, and I can't promise I'll end up with 24 pieces of fic this month, but I'll try. I scribbled a longish CSI fic into my notebook yesterday. That should be good for several postings...
I am still looking for a few prompts, btw. Just go back one post...

Let's start with request number #1:

Advent fic #1 - requested by ludditerobot

TITLE: No Postcards From the Edge (250 words)
CHARACTERS: Riley/Sam
WARNINGS: PG13 - character death
TIMELINE: post-As You Were
Sorry, ludditerobot, this turned out a lot more depressing than I intended. I hope you like it anyway.


No Postcards From the Edge

Buffy: So, are you and Sam headed back to Central America? Or is that classified?
Riley: Nepal.
Buffy: Sounds fun.
Riley: I'll send you a postcard.
(S6 - As You Were)

Riley never sends the promised postcard.

What would he write? That the Nepal mission went south from the word go? That they lost the first squad in Kathmandu, the second en route to the Kali Gandaki River Gorge, and the third in the gorge itself? That after getting pummeled by a magic hailstorm of stones, Sam's chopper crashed into the rock face of the gorge?

No time to grieve. They went in and took out the Dhenuka-demon's nest.

Riley can't remember the firefight or how many demons he killed. But he remembers cleaning up afterwards: stacking up blue skinned bodies to build a pyre. And he remembers the oily stench as demon flesh is consumed by diesel fire.

Back home, they bury empty coffins.

His CO gives him a folded flag, a medal, and light duty, until Riley's "back on his feet". And he tells Riley to see a therapist.

Riley is a good soldier. Does what he's told.

At first he hears it every night: the whup-whup-whup of the rotor blades, just before they slice into the unyielding rock, just before the trundling chopper, and everyone in it, is torn apart.

He hangs in there. Heals.

But he never sleeps in rooms that have ceiling fans.

When Buffy contacts him almost a year later, to enlist his help for her vampire, Riley watches her from the shadows, but he doesn't talk to her.

After all, she might ask why he never sent that postcard. Or whether Nepal was fun.

END

Comments

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

Excellent, just excellent stuff love.

Poor, poor Riley.

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

Thank you, love.
I'm just glad I haven't entirely lost the ability to write.

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

Oh never fear love. You still have the ability to get to the emotional heart of your stories very quickly.

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

*hug*

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Gee, you actually made me feel bad for the pair of them "iz amazed". Good job.

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

Thank you.
I must admit I thought Sam was too much of a Mary Sue , a Lara Croft type male fantasy. I couldn't actually picture her alive, so when ludditerobot requested the pairing I had to kill her to make it work.

*hangs head in shame*

[ludditerobot.livejournal.com]

That's a good one. Very good. And you know me. I'm down with the depressive.

I need someone to write good ol' Nick and Nora Fury, but I guess not today.

Thanks!

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

Whee, I'm glad you like it.

Who are Nick and Nora Fury? The only Nick and Nora that I know have a terrier dog and appear in b/w movies....

[ludditerobot.livejournal.com]

1) Xander's name for the pair.

2a) Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Marvel Universe's cross between James Bond and Brigadier Lefbridge-Stewart. Dosed with Super-Soldier serum, just like Captain America. (And like a certain marine.B) )

2b) Nora, as in Nick and Nora Charles, by analogy. They don't have a super-terrier, but they do seem to have plenty of marines on call.

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

Oh right! *smacks forehead*
I'd forgotten that Xander made that reference. My memory is riddled with holes. Bah.

[brandil.livejournal.com]

Very nice!

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :-)

[timeofchange.livejournal.com]

This is just perfect.

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *beams*

[mahaliem.livejournal.com]

Poor Riley.

I really liked this!

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!
I can't tell you how relieved I am that I am writing again.

[shapinglight]

Terrific work - sparse and grim and totally gutwrenching.

Wonderful to see you writing fic again too.

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *beams*

Unfortunately everything I write turns out grim. I hope that some of the fics I'm planning to write will become more cheerful... :-)

[shapinglight]

Well, don't force them. They'll do what they'll do.

[kitty-poker1.livejournal.com]

I never thought I'd empathise with Riley, of all people. You cut straight to the heart with this one. Terrific.

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I always felt a little sorry for the guy, not when he stabbed Spike, and certainly not during his sexfest with Buffy, but Riley did have his moments.

:-)

[ezagaaikwe.livejournal.com]

Whoa. Powerful. I don't really like the pair, especially Riley, but I actually felt sorry for the git.

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

Thank you. That makes me proud. *beams*

[yourlibrarian]

Isn't Nepal where Willow was during Angel's call for help in AtS? It just made me think maybe the storylines were connected :>

Given their line of work this wouldn't be too surprising. They were one of the few couples who seemed to get a happy ending in the series but that's probably only because we just saw them once!

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

I think you're right, it was Nepal. But would it fit the timeline?
Oh well...

And yeah, if Joss had written them after As You Were, I'm sure he would have taken the happy ending away.

Thank you for commenting. :-)

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

I just found this and it was very powerful. In such a few short sentences, you beautifully conveyed Riley's overwhelming emptiness.

[estepheia.livejournal.com]

Thank you, dear.
I'm just sad I didn't get to write over these past few weeks. I've been itching to write, but I no longer have a room where I can write without interruptions, and in the evenings I'm too tapped out. :-(

Oh well, a little bit of writing is better than nothing. :-)

Oh, and Happy New Year!!!