Lost fic: Good With Kids

[sedauny]

Title: Good with Kids
Author: sedauny
Rating: PG for child ghosts (but no one we know)
Characters: Miles, Daniel
Summary: That was one of the ones that hadn’t survived the crash, and he’d have to go out and deal with it.
Disclaimer: Not mine this time, either
Word count: 1275

A baby’s wail interrupted Miles’ dream. Why is it that every time you fly on an

Comments

[hey_a_newday]

Wow, this brought tears to my eyes, seriously!
Cuddling the kids, that's just so pretty, something tells me there's an actual side to Miles like that that we've never seen!

And Daniel/Miles??? Makes the story even better!
Really loved it!

[sedauny]

Thank you! I really wasn't trying to be too angsty--that could be dangerous with Miles. He claims to be good with kids, but doesn't seem like a family man, so I thought what sentiment he had would come out among young ghosts. No one alive would see him being soft, and the ghosts won't talk (especially after he's sent them on), so it's a win-win for him.

I want to see more of Daniel and Miles together. They play off each other so well, with Miles' street smarts and Dan's lab smarts.

[gemjam]

I really liked this softer side of Miles, and yet he still had his snark and his little bit of resistance that stopped him from going out of character. Good job there. And I loved the bit with Daniel at the end. Very cute. This line in particular - “Out. Working. Being useful. Turning myself into a ghost-powered portable icepack for you.” - seemed very Miles to me. Nice little fic :)

[sedauny]

I'm glad Miles didn't seem out of character, since I did worry about that. I figured, of course Miles has his soft spot--it's smaller than a bicycle parking space and surrounded by a 10-foot privacy fence and three layers of barbed wire, but it's there.;) Dan is nearly as oblivious as Miles to the finer points of human interaction, so I could see them getting along, each making allowances for the other and not really expecting to understand. Thanks for reading.

[gemjam]

Dan is nearly as oblivious as Miles to the finer points of human interaction, so I could see them getting along

That is just a perfect description of those two, and may be the push I needed to write them again. Very insightful. Thanks for that :)

[sedauny]

You're welcome; I'll look forward to seeing what comes from the "push." The world (or at least the Lost fanfic world) needs more Dan/Miles.

[elliotsmelliot]

It was interesting to see a different side of Miles in the scenes with both the kids and Dan. I really liked the little personalities you gave to the junior ghosts and the age related rules for hauntings. Great work!

[sedauny]

Thanks! I keep trying to figure out the rules of Miles' abilities. I have half-a-dozen different scenarios, each with somewhat-incompatible plotbunnies, and it's driving me crazy not to have more canon to direct me. I enjoyed stretching myself getting the voices of the ghosts. I don't deal with kids much in RL, so it's a challenge trying to make them realistic. I'm glad you liked them.

[dustyirish2003]

*waves like a spaz* Hi! I'm over here via the feedback challenge at lostsquee, but how in the name of god I coulda missed this fic to begin with is beyond me!!! This was sheer brilliance!

You made me absolutely adore Miles, which I sorta do anyway ; ) , but you gave him a soft side here that I both loved and think could very well be a canon side to him, even if he keeps it extremely well hidden. His needing to see the kids through to the other side - when you really think about it, Miles's 'gift' must be horrific in some ways. And utterly heartbreaking. Him calling the little one 'love' just about melted me.

And I probably don't need to tell you what those fleeting, but oh-so-replete-with-possibility Daniel scenes did to me!! You may not have meant it this way, but I was totally making up after-the-fic scenarios in my head ... what happens after they get a bit of sleep, etc. etc. ... ; ) Mmmmm.

And this :

"You feel good on my sunburn."has to be one of the greatest and most Faraday-ish lines I've ever read in fic!! Hee!

[sedauny]

Thank you! Miles is my new favorite, since Charlie died, and I like trying to figure out how he works. I had in my fanon file for him that he liked children, and then when he had that line about being 'good with kids' I was cheering. While I enjoy the unexpectedness of the idea, I think he might feel comfortable among children too young to question his ability to hear ghosts, and we've already seen that he can be quite protective of people: trying to guard Dan from the Losties, wanting to find Charlotte and Frank, like a sheepdog trying to get the herd together. But he likes to have an alternative reason for things, so no one can use his softer side against him. He could plausibly claim that he's going after the ghosts because the crying is keeping him awake

[alemyrddin]

awww. this was so sweet and moving, I loved seeing a softer side of Miles.
And you are right - if he sees ghost, he must care, in some way, about they problems.
I liked a lot the images of the children clinging to him and the quiet way he had to give them advice.

This was very interesting and it gave me a new perspective on a character that amused me only at a superficial level, while I now see there's more to him. Great job!

[sedauny]

Thank you! It's ironic, that of the four new characters Miles has had the least "mileage," but I have been enjoying exploring his side of things with no canon to tell me I'm wrong. I had pictures in my mind of him standing in the water with the toddler and then sitting on the beach with the two ghosts, and they got me curious enough to start writing and see what he was up to.