Fic: Crystal Rain Book I: Whatever Happened To Melvin Purvis? (14/19)
Title: Crystal Rain Book I: Whatever Happened To Melvin Purvis? (14/19)
Author: BradyGirl_12
Pairings/Characters (this chapter): Teddy/Chuck, Mel/Johnny (Johnny does not appear in this chapter), Trey Washington, Sam Drake
Series Notes: My notes grew too voluminous for the header, so you can find them in a separate entry here.
Fandoms: Public Enemies/Shutter Island
Genres: Angst, AU, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery
Rating (this chapter): PG-13
Warnings (this chapter): None
Spoilers: For Shutter Island, some scenes were tailored by me to fit this story. Nothing in this story references the major plot twist of the book or movie. I used the same settings and characters, but in a very AU way. For Public Enemies, nothing except for the ultimate fate of John Dillinger, and that’s historical fact, anyway.
General Summary: U.S. Marshals Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule are sent to Shutter Island on a unique assignment, and while there, discover shocking answers to a decades-old mystery.
Chapter Summary: Teddy and Chuck bring Mel back to Ward A and help out with hurricane clean-up.
Date Of Completion: April 16, 2010
Date Of Posting: June 23, 2010
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, Dennis Lehane, Paramount and Universal do, more’s the pity.
Word Count: 1338
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
Author’s Notes: This is a story that started running through my head as soon as I left the theater after my first viewing. Like the patients on Shutter Island, I can’t escape! ;)
The entire series can be found here.
XIV
ONCE A COP, ALWAYS A COP
Plotting,
Knotting,
Besotting...
Lady Eve Gore
"Whirlwinds"
1946 C.E.
Teddy reached the woods, glad that no one had taken any notice of him. He found Chuck and Mel quickly, and Mel immediately asked, “Can we get Johnny back to Ward A?”
“We’ll try. He doesn’t belong in there.”
Mel smiled.
He really should smile more.
“It’s going to be all right,” Chuck said softly.
Mel briefly closed his eyes. “Our prayers have been answered.” He opened his eyes and looked at both men with gratitude.
Teddy swallowed. It had been a long time since he’d been the answer to anyone’s prayers.
“Let’s get you back before someone misses you.”
The trio set off through the woods, Mel stumbling over a rock. He grabbed his right hip with a strangled cry.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Chuck grabbed his right arm, Teddy the other. “Here, sit on this rock.”
Mel eased down onto a large, smooth rock, biting his lip.
“Do you have a lot of pain?” Teddy asked.
“Sometimes. Mostly it’s just a dull ache.” Worry filled his eyes. “What about Johnny’s leg? He needs treatment.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll see to it.”
Chuck looked at his partner, then smiled down at Mel. “The U.S. Marshals are in Dodge now.”
Mel chuckled as he rubbed his hip. “Can we please get out of Dodge?”
“On the very next stage.”
Chuck and Teddy helped Mel up. “As long as it’s not Destination Tombstone,” Mel said.
“Clever, Special Agent.”
Mel looked at Chuck. “Thank you, Marshal.”
Teddy could see the pride in Mel’s eyes and hear it in his voice.
Once a cop, always a cop.
They reached the main buildings, orderlies cutting enormous tree limbs and picking up smaller ones. Trey was working a saw with Sam.
“Hey, Mel!” Trey paused, wiping his brow with a handkerchief.
“Hi, Trey.”
“Did you try to make one your famous escapes, Agent Purvis?”
Mel grinned. “’Fraid so.”
Trey laughed. “Did you try to rescue Johnny from the Dark Tower?”
“No one gets out of there, alas.”
Trey shook his head fondly. “I better get you back to your room.”
“It’s okay. We’ll do it. We’ll get a policeman to unlock the room,” Teddy said.
“Okay.” Trey returned to sawing.
Inside the building that housed Ward A, the Marshals escorted Mel back to his room, using their keys to open it. Mel hobbled inside, sitting on his cot with a sigh.
“Thank you.”
“Trey seems to know you well.” Teddy leaned against the doorjamb.
“He does. He’s been very kind to me.” Mel tilted his head. “Why didn’t you tell him that you had master keys?”
“Best to keep that to ourselves, Special Agent.”
Mel nodded with a small smile.
“Get some rest,” Chuck said with a smile.
Mel nodded, stretching out on the cot. Teddy locked the door behind them.
“We probably should go help out,” Chuck suggested.
Teddy smiled affectionately. “Sure.”
They walked downstairs and stepped out into the sunlight, Teddy glad that the air was cool. He disliked working in humid weather.
“Got any more saws?” he asked Trey.
“Back in the shed.” Trey pointed behind the main building.
“Be right back.”
Chuck and Teddy found the saw they needed, and came back to the littered front lawn.
“Fancy that, U.S. Marshals gonna work up a sweat,” joked Sam.
“Hey, you should see some of the places we have to stake out. Some pretty sleazy.”
The orderlies laughed. “Guess so. Never thought of that,” Sam said.
Teddy and Chuck started sawing through a huge, thick log, Teddy glad to use his muscles for some hard work.
The saw went back-and-forth between him and Chuck, the two of them establishing a productive rhythm. Chuck smiled and Teddy felt a familiar feeling of warmth.
Chuck was a good-looking man, always smiling, and chocolate-brown eyes that were warm and welcoming.
Where the heck did that come from?
Oh, well, what the hell? Chuck was a good-looking man. No harm in thinking it.
“Hey, Boss,” Chuck teased. “Does this make us lumberjacks now?”
“You don’t have an urge to sing lumberjack songs, do you?”
“No.” Chuck’s eyes sparkled.
“Good.”
Sam and Trey laughed.
& & & & & &
During a break, Sam and Chuck talked about fishing while Trey sat with Teddy.
“You guys are all right,” Trey said, sipping his cup of water.
“Thanks.” Teddy leisurely smoked. “You seem to be a cut above the orderlies here.”
“Well, thanks, Marshal.”
“You seem pretty fond of Mel.”
“Yeah, he’s easy to like, I’ll admit at first I didn’t figure to, him bein’ a Southerner and all. We’ve had a few of those here and they haven’t been too kind to people like me.”
Teddy blew out a ring of smoke. “I’m sorry.”
Trey shrugged. “It’s the way of the world. Not just Southerners hate us, but they do it with real passion.”
“And Mel doesn’t?”
“Nah.”
“Have he or Jack been violent often?”
“Only if one of ‘em is bein’ hurt. Or when they make their escapes.”
“Do they escape a lot?”
“No, especially after Mel hurt his hip, but Jack seems to be an escape artist.”
Teddy’s lips quirked. “So, I guess the docs don’t like that.”
“No, they don’t. And they make sure they’re punished.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah.” Trey looked out over the grounds. “Dr. Cawley’s fair, but Dr. Clausen was pretty sadistic.”
“I heard about him. He seemed determined to ‘cure’ Mel and Jack of their homosexuality.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Electroshock therapy?"
Trey nodded. “And ice baths.”
“Ice baths?”
“Yeah.” Trey shivered. “I heard from one of the orderlies who was around back then that he put Mel in an ice bath and it nearly killed him.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah.”
Teddy and Trey stood up, and Sam and Chuck joined them. As they got back to work, Teddy handled the saw with a ferocious passion, Chuck nearly yanked off his feet.
“Whoa, Boss, what’s up?”
“Sorry.” Teddy stopped, breathing had. Trey smiled sympathetically. Chuck frowned but didn’t inquire further.
& & & & & &
Later that day, both men showered to get ready for dinner. Chuck sat on their bed in light-brown pants and an undershirt, reading the Purvis book. His hair was wet and extremely wavy as he ran his fingers through it.
“Hey, better get dressed, buddy. Punctuality, you know,” said Teddy as he entered their room.
Chuck looked up. “Hey, you shaved.”
“What, a guy can’t shave?” Teddy dried his hair with a towel.
“You haven’t shaved in all the time I’ve known you except for command performances with the brass.”
“Gotta start sometime.” Teddy watched as Chuck’s muscles rippled as he stretched. “We’ve got to work on Cawley and see if he will bring Johnny back from Ward C. The guy doesn’t belong there.”
“They don’t belong here at all.”
“Yeah, but Ward C is the worst. If Johnny wasn’t nuts before they stuck him in there, he soon will be.”
“Really.”
Teddy laid the towel on a chair. “How the hell we gonna get these two off this island, Chuck?”
Chuck rubbed his face. “I dunno. We’re just a couple working stiffs. We don’t have any juice in Washington, at least not of the kind that can take on a monolith like Hoover.”
“Yeah, I…hold on!” Teddy snapped his fingers.
“What?”
“We’ve got a contact.”
“Who?”
Teddy grinned and winked. “The Hyannisport connection.”
Comprehension lit Chuck’s eyes. “You think he’ll help?”
“We can only ask. Though he might not be able to take on Hoover right now. He’s been pretty sick lately and is scheduled for back surgery soon, I hear.”
“Well, as you say, we can only ask. We might have a shot to get Mel and Johnny off this rock.”
“Which is more than they’ve had for the last twenty years.”
Determination filled Chuck’s expression. “We’re going to get them out.”
Teddy nodded. “First, let’s see if we can get Johnny out of that black hole known as Ward C.”
Author: BradyGirl_12
Pairings/Characters (this chapter): Teddy/Chuck, Mel/Johnny (Johnny does not appear in this chapter), Trey Washington, Sam Drake
Series Notes: My notes grew too voluminous for the header, so you can find them in a separate entry here.
Fandoms: Public Enemies/Shutter Island
Genres: Angst, AU, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery
Rating (this chapter): PG-13
Warnings (this chapter): None
Spoilers: For Shutter Island, some scenes were tailored by me to fit this story. Nothing in this story references the major plot twist of the book or movie. I used the same settings and characters, but in a very AU way. For Public Enemies, nothing except for the ultimate fate of John Dillinger, and that’s historical fact, anyway.
General Summary: U.S. Marshals Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule are sent to Shutter Island on a unique assignment, and while there, discover shocking answers to a decades-old mystery.
Chapter Summary: Teddy and Chuck bring Mel back to Ward A and help out with hurricane clean-up.
Date Of Completion: April 16, 2010
Date Of Posting: June 23, 2010
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, Dennis Lehane, Paramount and Universal do, more’s the pity.
Word Count: 1338
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
Author’s Notes: This is a story that started running through my head as soon as I left the theater after my first viewing. Like the patients on Shutter Island, I can’t escape! ;)
The entire series can be found here.
XIV
ONCE A COP, ALWAYS A COP
Plotting,
Knotting,
Besotting...
Lady Eve Gore
"Whirlwinds"
1946 C.E.
Teddy reached the woods, glad that no one had taken any notice of him. He found Chuck and Mel quickly, and Mel immediately asked, “Can we get Johnny back to Ward A?”
“We’ll try. He doesn’t belong in there.”
Mel smiled.
He really should smile more.
“It’s going to be all right,” Chuck said softly.
Mel briefly closed his eyes. “Our prayers have been answered.” He opened his eyes and looked at both men with gratitude.
Teddy swallowed. It had been a long time since he’d been the answer to anyone’s prayers.
“Let’s get you back before someone misses you.”
The trio set off through the woods, Mel stumbling over a rock. He grabbed his right hip with a strangled cry.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Chuck grabbed his right arm, Teddy the other. “Here, sit on this rock.”
Mel eased down onto a large, smooth rock, biting his lip.
“Do you have a lot of pain?” Teddy asked.
“Sometimes. Mostly it’s just a dull ache.” Worry filled his eyes. “What about Johnny’s leg? He needs treatment.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll see to it.”
Chuck looked at his partner, then smiled down at Mel. “The U.S. Marshals are in Dodge now.”
Mel chuckled as he rubbed his hip. “Can we please get out of Dodge?”
“On the very next stage.”
Chuck and Teddy helped Mel up. “As long as it’s not Destination Tombstone,” Mel said.
“Clever, Special Agent.”
Mel looked at Chuck. “Thank you, Marshal.”
Teddy could see the pride in Mel’s eyes and hear it in his voice.
Once a cop, always a cop.
They reached the main buildings, orderlies cutting enormous tree limbs and picking up smaller ones. Trey was working a saw with Sam.
“Hey, Mel!” Trey paused, wiping his brow with a handkerchief.
“Hi, Trey.”
“Did you try to make one your famous escapes, Agent Purvis?”
Mel grinned. “’Fraid so.”
Trey laughed. “Did you try to rescue Johnny from the Dark Tower?”
“No one gets out of there, alas.”
Trey shook his head fondly. “I better get you back to your room.”
“It’s okay. We’ll do it. We’ll get a policeman to unlock the room,” Teddy said.
“Okay.” Trey returned to sawing.
Inside the building that housed Ward A, the Marshals escorted Mel back to his room, using their keys to open it. Mel hobbled inside, sitting on his cot with a sigh.
“Thank you.”
“Trey seems to know you well.” Teddy leaned against the doorjamb.
“He does. He’s been very kind to me.” Mel tilted his head. “Why didn’t you tell him that you had master keys?”
“Best to keep that to ourselves, Special Agent.”
Mel nodded with a small smile.
“Get some rest,” Chuck said with a smile.
Mel nodded, stretching out on the cot. Teddy locked the door behind them.
“We probably should go help out,” Chuck suggested.
Teddy smiled affectionately. “Sure.”
They walked downstairs and stepped out into the sunlight, Teddy glad that the air was cool. He disliked working in humid weather.
“Got any more saws?” he asked Trey.
“Back in the shed.” Trey pointed behind the main building.
“Be right back.”
Chuck and Teddy found the saw they needed, and came back to the littered front lawn.
“Fancy that, U.S. Marshals gonna work up a sweat,” joked Sam.
“Hey, you should see some of the places we have to stake out. Some pretty sleazy.”
The orderlies laughed. “Guess so. Never thought of that,” Sam said.
Teddy and Chuck started sawing through a huge, thick log, Teddy glad to use his muscles for some hard work.
The saw went back-and-forth between him and Chuck, the two of them establishing a productive rhythm. Chuck smiled and Teddy felt a familiar feeling of warmth.
Chuck was a good-looking man, always smiling, and chocolate-brown eyes that were warm and welcoming.
Where the heck did that come from?
Oh, well, what the hell? Chuck was a good-looking man. No harm in thinking it.
“Hey, Boss,” Chuck teased. “Does this make us lumberjacks now?”
“You don’t have an urge to sing lumberjack songs, do you?”
“No.” Chuck’s eyes sparkled.
“Good.”
Sam and Trey laughed.
& & & & & &
During a break, Sam and Chuck talked about fishing while Trey sat with Teddy.
“You guys are all right,” Trey said, sipping his cup of water.
“Thanks.” Teddy leisurely smoked. “You seem to be a cut above the orderlies here.”
“Well, thanks, Marshal.”
“You seem pretty fond of Mel.”
“Yeah, he’s easy to like, I’ll admit at first I didn’t figure to, him bein’ a Southerner and all. We’ve had a few of those here and they haven’t been too kind to people like me.”
Teddy blew out a ring of smoke. “I’m sorry.”
Trey shrugged. “It’s the way of the world. Not just Southerners hate us, but they do it with real passion.”
“And Mel doesn’t?”
“Nah.”
“Have he or Jack been violent often?”
“Only if one of ‘em is bein’ hurt. Or when they make their escapes.”
“Do they escape a lot?”
“No, especially after Mel hurt his hip, but Jack seems to be an escape artist.”
Teddy’s lips quirked. “So, I guess the docs don’t like that.”
“No, they don’t. And they make sure they’re punished.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah.” Trey looked out over the grounds. “Dr. Cawley’s fair, but Dr. Clausen was pretty sadistic.”
“I heard about him. He seemed determined to ‘cure’ Mel and Jack of their homosexuality.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Electroshock therapy?"
Trey nodded. “And ice baths.”
“Ice baths?”
“Yeah.” Trey shivered. “I heard from one of the orderlies who was around back then that he put Mel in an ice bath and it nearly killed him.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah.”
Teddy and Trey stood up, and Sam and Chuck joined them. As they got back to work, Teddy handled the saw with a ferocious passion, Chuck nearly yanked off his feet.
“Whoa, Boss, what’s up?”
“Sorry.” Teddy stopped, breathing had. Trey smiled sympathetically. Chuck frowned but didn’t inquire further.
& & & & & &
Later that day, both men showered to get ready for dinner. Chuck sat on their bed in light-brown pants and an undershirt, reading the Purvis book. His hair was wet and extremely wavy as he ran his fingers through it.
“Hey, better get dressed, buddy. Punctuality, you know,” said Teddy as he entered their room.
Chuck looked up. “Hey, you shaved.”
“What, a guy can’t shave?” Teddy dried his hair with a towel.
“You haven’t shaved in all the time I’ve known you except for command performances with the brass.”
“Gotta start sometime.” Teddy watched as Chuck’s muscles rippled as he stretched. “We’ve got to work on Cawley and see if he will bring Johnny back from Ward C. The guy doesn’t belong there.”
“They don’t belong here at all.”
“Yeah, but Ward C is the worst. If Johnny wasn’t nuts before they stuck him in there, he soon will be.”
“Really.”
Teddy laid the towel on a chair. “How the hell we gonna get these two off this island, Chuck?”
Chuck rubbed his face. “I dunno. We’re just a couple working stiffs. We don’t have any juice in Washington, at least not of the kind that can take on a monolith like Hoover.”
“Yeah, I…hold on!” Teddy snapped his fingers.
“What?”
“We’ve got a contact.”
“Who?”
Teddy grinned and winked. “The Hyannisport connection.”
Comprehension lit Chuck’s eyes. “You think he’ll help?”
“We can only ask. Though he might not be able to take on Hoover right now. He’s been pretty sick lately and is scheduled for back surgery soon, I hear.”
“Well, as you say, we can only ask. We might have a shot to get Mel and Johnny off this rock.”
“Which is more than they’ve had for the last twenty years.”
Determination filled Chuck’s expression. “We’re going to get them out.”
Teddy nodded. “First, let’s see if we can get Johnny out of that black hole known as Ward C.”