FIC Wiring for Abnormals
Title: Wiring for Abnormals
Characters: Henry Foss, Helen Magnus, Alfred (OC), Puck (OC)
Fandom: Sanctuary
Series: None
Written For: aethre
Prompt: Henry has to wire the Sanctuary
Summary: Henry’s gotta figure out how to update the Sanctuary for the new tech they’re getting. No one ever said this job would be easy.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me
Author's Note: So this is one of those…how did I end up writing this? I got into a discussion with aethre one day about how the Sanctuary ended up wired with all the cool tech they use. I figure Henry had to have done it and we got to talking about how he’d done it and the comment was made about him bribing someone to help him. She drew a picture and I thought I’d write a story to go along with it. Anyone catch my little geek tips? Thanks to illfindmyway and whogeek for their help with this like usual.
“You wanted to see me, Doc?” Henry asked as he poked his head into Magnus’s office. She had a sort of lax open door policy. If the door was open, you could generally just walk in, but it was better to announce yourself first or you risked getting your head snapped off. Not by Magnus herself, but possibly by whatever she was experimenting with that week.
Magnus looked up from the file she was reading, her blue eyes focusing after a minute on the young man standing cautiously in the doorway. “Oh. Henry. Yes. And there’s no need to be so formal. You’re not in trouble.” She set the folder aside and motioned him forward. “I have a job for you.”
“Ya know I’m not really sure…” Henry started.
“Nonsense. This is the perfect job for your skill set.” Magnus, in what Henry privately called her omniscient mode, picked up the folder she was obviously looking for and held it out to him. “I want the Sanctuary wired for security and surveillance, plus for the computer system you and Alfred were talking about at dinner the other night.”
Henry looked up from the pages he was reading. “The Internet? We’re getting the Internet?”
“A version of, yes,” she confirmed.
He turned his attention back to the folder. “What are you looking for me to do? Exactly.”
“I want to put you in charge of the wiring.”
His head jerked back up. “Magnus, I don’t know. Alfred normally…”
“Alfred is in agreement with me on this. He’s getting older and he’s ready to start turning his duties over to you. He says you’re quick and intelligent. He thinks you’ll be a fine successor. This is a good test of your skills. He can guide you where you need it and you can work, nominally, under his supervision. But it will be your project.”
Henry’s face had turned redder and redder during her speech, but it was a blush, not anger, so Magnus didn’t mention it. He straightened up in his seat and applied his attention to the notes for a moment, before nodding decisively. “I can do this, Magnus.”
“I have complete faith in you, Henry.”
“Okay. Thanks. I won’t let you down.” Henry got to his feet, his eyes still on the folder. “Don’t want wires visible in the main areas. We’ve got ducts and vents, but the cameras, those’ll be harder to…” he muttered half to himself as he headed out the door. Magnus smiled fondly after him as he almost walked into the chair just to the right of the door, but at the last moment dodged around it and went through the doorway. This project should keep him occupied for quite a few days if not weeks.
SANCTUARY SANCTUARY SANCTUARY SANCTUARY SANCTUARY SANCTUARY SANCTUARY
Henry stared at the blueprints spread out across the table. He’d been attempting to make plans for the last two days, but the issue of the size of the vents and ducts continued to stymie him. He could most likely fit into the larger ones himself, but there was no way he would make it through all of them. And stringing wire through all of the walls was something he was way too big for. There were a couple of places he could patch into the existing wiring, but he didn’t trust all of it, and he had been asking Alfred for years if they could just re-wire the whole Sanctuary. This was the perfect excuse to start.
He was going to need to enlist some help. And he knew the perfect Abnormals for the job.
Henry had spent his entire life thinking that everyone has the ability to go to specialists with the right skill set, until he went to college. That had opened his eyes in a whole new way, but thinking about that now would get him completely off track and he knew he would need all his wits about him to negotiate with the Aes Sidhe.
He made his way down to the habitat area, ducking around the boxes and crates left next to the various rooms. Stopping at one of the windows, he tapped lightly on the glass, calling, “Hey, Tinkerbell!”
The zipping shapes in the enclosure continued to dart around, although one peeled off from the main part of the pack and zoomed over to the glass. He hovered at eye level, hands on tiny hips as he glared at Henry. “I am not Tinkerbell! My name is Puck. As you well know.”
Henry tipped his head, grinning at the irate fairy as he studied him. “I’ll admit you aren’t blonde or busty, but well…if the rest of the shoe fits.”
Apparently deciding the argument wasn’t worth it, Puck replied, “What do you want, Big ‘Um?”
Henry rolled his eyes in response before explaining, “Doctor Magnus gave me an assignment and I need some assistance.”
“Why exactly would I want to work for you? It’s not like there’s anything in it for me.”
“Not just you.” Henry pointed at the other Aes Sidhe in the enclosure. “It’ll take more than one of you or we’ll be working for months.”
Puck crossed his arms, his gossamer wings beating hard to keep him aloof and in place. “What’s in it for us?”
“You’ll be out of the enclosure while you’re working. And have free reign of the ducts and vents; provided you don’t cause mischief. And a cookie per fairy per week.” Henry knew the quickest way to get them to agree was to appeal to their sweet tooth. Since they could go into shock if they ate too much, their intake was strictly limited and could be used as a bribe when needed.
Puck shook his head. “No deal. Five cookies per day per week and a half-cup of honey.”
Henry winced at the amount of sugar that would put into the fairies’ systems. He knew that part of the game was to haggle though, so he considered his options and responded, “One cookie every other day and an eighth of a cup of honey.”
“Four cookies per fairy each day for a week and a quarter cup of honey,” Puck responded.
“Yeah. Right. Cause I wanna explain sugar shocked fairies to the doc. One cookie.”
“Three.”
“All right. Look. I’ll give you two cookies. But no honey. This continues for three weeks.” He was pretty sure that was how long the job would take them, but just in case, “If the job takes longer than that, we’ll renegotiate.”
Puck considered this for a minute, then nodded. “Deal. But we want chocolate chip.”
Henry wanted to bang his head on the wall. Great just what he needed. Sugar high and caffeinated fairies. Still he needed their help and it was a fair exchange. “Deal,” he responded.
Puck turned, spinning in midair and calling out to the other Aes Sidhe in Gaelic. Within moments, twenty Aes Sidhe were lined up behind Puck; wings fluttering madly as they hovered in the air. Puck saluted Henry and barked out, “Fairies reporting for duty, Mr. Foss.”
“No tricks. No games.” Henry pointed a finger at Puck. “Or you forfeit the deal.”
“Aye,” Puck agreed.
Henry tapped the code into the keypad, opening the door to release the fairies, carefully counting how many came out. They weren’t dangerous per se, but they were crafty, and they needed to be watched closely. Once they gave their word, they couldn’t break it, so he knew they were safe to release now. Once the twenty-one that had agreed to the deal were out, he locked the enclosure again and motioned towards the table where he’d laid out the blueprints. Leaning over it, he began to trace out where the wires would go and explain exactly what he wanted them to do. The Aes Sidhe were quick studies and within minutes they’d mapped out a plan of action and were headed down to the storage room to fetch their supplies. Henry was confident that they’d finish the job well-within his time frame.
Picture by aethre
Characters: Henry Foss, Helen Magnus, Alfred (OC), Puck (OC)
Fandom: Sanctuary
Series: None
Written For: aethre
Prompt: Henry has to wire the Sanctuary
Summary: Henry’s gotta figure out how to update the Sanctuary for the new tech they’re getting. No one ever said this job would be easy.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me
Author's Note: So this is one of those…how did I end up writing this? I got into a discussion with aethre one day about how the Sanctuary ended up wired with all the cool tech they use. I figure Henry had to have done it and we got to talking about how he’d done it and the comment was made about him bribing someone to help him. She drew a picture and I thought I’d write a story to go along with it. Anyone catch my little geek tips? Thanks to illfindmyway and whogeek for their help with this like usual.
“You wanted to see me, Doc?” Henry asked as he poked his head into Magnus’s office. She had a sort of lax open door policy. If the door was open, you could generally just walk in, but it was better to announce yourself first or you risked getting your head snapped off. Not by Magnus herself, but possibly by whatever she was experimenting with that week.
Magnus looked up from the file she was reading, her blue eyes focusing after a minute on the young man standing cautiously in the doorway. “Oh. Henry. Yes. And there’s no need to be so formal. You’re not in trouble.” She set the folder aside and motioned him forward. “I have a job for you.”
“Ya know I’m not really sure…” Henry started.
“Nonsense. This is the perfect job for your skill set.” Magnus, in what Henry privately called her omniscient mode, picked up the folder she was obviously looking for and held it out to him. “I want the Sanctuary wired for security and surveillance, plus for the computer system you and Alfred were talking about at dinner the other night.”
Henry looked up from the pages he was reading. “The Internet? We’re getting the Internet?”
“A version of, yes,” she confirmed.
He turned his attention back to the folder. “What are you looking for me to do? Exactly.”
“I want to put you in charge of the wiring.”
His head jerked back up. “Magnus, I don’t know. Alfred normally…”
“Alfred is in agreement with me on this. He’s getting older and he’s ready to start turning his duties over to you. He says you’re quick and intelligent. He thinks you’ll be a fine successor. This is a good test of your skills. He can guide you where you need it and you can work, nominally, under his supervision. But it will be your project.”
Henry’s face had turned redder and redder during her speech, but it was a blush, not anger, so Magnus didn’t mention it. He straightened up in his seat and applied his attention to the notes for a moment, before nodding decisively. “I can do this, Magnus.”
“I have complete faith in you, Henry.”
“Okay. Thanks. I won’t let you down.” Henry got to his feet, his eyes still on the folder. “Don’t want wires visible in the main areas. We’ve got ducts and vents, but the cameras, those’ll be harder to…” he muttered half to himself as he headed out the door. Magnus smiled fondly after him as he almost walked into the chair just to the right of the door, but at the last moment dodged around it and went through the doorway. This project should keep him occupied for quite a few days if not weeks.
SANCTUARY SANCTUARY SANCTUARY SANCTUARY SANCTUARY SANCTUARY SANCTUARY
Henry stared at the blueprints spread out across the table. He’d been attempting to make plans for the last two days, but the issue of the size of the vents and ducts continued to stymie him. He could most likely fit into the larger ones himself, but there was no way he would make it through all of them. And stringing wire through all of the walls was something he was way too big for. There were a couple of places he could patch into the existing wiring, but he didn’t trust all of it, and he had been asking Alfred for years if they could just re-wire the whole Sanctuary. This was the perfect excuse to start.
He was going to need to enlist some help. And he knew the perfect Abnormals for the job.
Henry had spent his entire life thinking that everyone has the ability to go to specialists with the right skill set, until he went to college. That had opened his eyes in a whole new way, but thinking about that now would get him completely off track and he knew he would need all his wits about him to negotiate with the Aes Sidhe.
He made his way down to the habitat area, ducking around the boxes and crates left next to the various rooms. Stopping at one of the windows, he tapped lightly on the glass, calling, “Hey, Tinkerbell!”
The zipping shapes in the enclosure continued to dart around, although one peeled off from the main part of the pack and zoomed over to the glass. He hovered at eye level, hands on tiny hips as he glared at Henry. “I am not Tinkerbell! My name is Puck. As you well know.”
Henry tipped his head, grinning at the irate fairy as he studied him. “I’ll admit you aren’t blonde or busty, but well…if the rest of the shoe fits.”
Apparently deciding the argument wasn’t worth it, Puck replied, “What do you want, Big ‘Um?”
Henry rolled his eyes in response before explaining, “Doctor Magnus gave me an assignment and I need some assistance.”
“Why exactly would I want to work for you? It’s not like there’s anything in it for me.”
“Not just you.” Henry pointed at the other Aes Sidhe in the enclosure. “It’ll take more than one of you or we’ll be working for months.”
Puck crossed his arms, his gossamer wings beating hard to keep him aloof and in place. “What’s in it for us?”
“You’ll be out of the enclosure while you’re working. And have free reign of the ducts and vents; provided you don’t cause mischief. And a cookie per fairy per week.” Henry knew the quickest way to get them to agree was to appeal to their sweet tooth. Since they could go into shock if they ate too much, their intake was strictly limited and could be used as a bribe when needed.
Puck shook his head. “No deal. Five cookies per day per week and a half-cup of honey.”
Henry winced at the amount of sugar that would put into the fairies’ systems. He knew that part of the game was to haggle though, so he considered his options and responded, “One cookie every other day and an eighth of a cup of honey.”
“Four cookies per fairy each day for a week and a quarter cup of honey,” Puck responded.
“Yeah. Right. Cause I wanna explain sugar shocked fairies to the doc. One cookie.”
“Three.”
“All right. Look. I’ll give you two cookies. But no honey. This continues for three weeks.” He was pretty sure that was how long the job would take them, but just in case, “If the job takes longer than that, we’ll renegotiate.”
Puck considered this for a minute, then nodded. “Deal. But we want chocolate chip.”
Henry wanted to bang his head on the wall. Great just what he needed. Sugar high and caffeinated fairies. Still he needed their help and it was a fair exchange. “Deal,” he responded.
Puck turned, spinning in midair and calling out to the other Aes Sidhe in Gaelic. Within moments, twenty Aes Sidhe were lined up behind Puck; wings fluttering madly as they hovered in the air. Puck saluted Henry and barked out, “Fairies reporting for duty, Mr. Foss.”
“No tricks. No games.” Henry pointed a finger at Puck. “Or you forfeit the deal.”
“Aye,” Puck agreed.
Henry tapped the code into the keypad, opening the door to release the fairies, carefully counting how many came out. They weren’t dangerous per se, but they were crafty, and they needed to be watched closely. Once they gave their word, they couldn’t break it, so he knew they were safe to release now. Once the twenty-one that had agreed to the deal were out, he locked the enclosure again and motioned towards the table where he’d laid out the blueprints. Leaning over it, he began to trace out where the wires would go and explain exactly what he wanted them to do. The Aes Sidhe were quick studies and within minutes they’d mapped out a plan of action and were headed down to the storage room to fetch their supplies. Henry was confident that they’d finish the job well-within his time frame.
Picture by aethre