FK Fanfic: "Time Out for the Living"

[brightknightie]

And now this retrospective comes to my first story solely from Natalie's point of view.  "Time Out for the Living" was a nominee in the 2000 FK Fanfiction Awards, an honor that still surprises and delights me.

	•	Title:	"Time Out for the Living"
	•	Length:	~6,700 words
	•	Date:	Posted to FKFic-L in March 2000
	•	Rating:	PG
	•	Summary:	Unsettling phone calls, uncanny dreams and an unexpected day off push Natalie to examine her life outside the lab.
	•	Setting:	Between first season and second
	•	Characters:	Natalie, Richard, Grace, Sidney, Sara, Amy
	•	Quotation:	"Since Richie died, she had kept herself busy, and busier, until all the times in which these thoughts might have caught up with her had been squeezed out and away."

Comments

[amilyn.livejournal.com]

I never expected it to be a telemarketer! Great twist.

Great wording here: "The sound of her phone's ring had always been an invitation. These prank calls were twisting it into a jeer."

My favorite sentence is this one: "Natalie felt a crashing wave of guilt, as if she had done something unconscionable in growing up -- in consuming those precious years, as if it were a zero-sum equation." So perfect.

This section of reflection is also especially powerful: " She had been someone else, before her parents had died and Nana had had to take in Natalie and her brother. The wide, safe world had narrowed, thundered and struck, and the child Natalie had changed to survive. But Richie, only Richie, had come through both worlds with her."

I love her dragging Nick out to the store, her chatting with Sydney. You've got a nice balance of action and introspection to keep the story moving and this is just hilarious: "Even Roger had noticed that she needed to get out more. And he was psychotic."

This was just really excellent. You give very good Nat.

[brightknightie.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for reading "Time Out for the Living," and for letting me know. I'm glad the telemarketer bit works for you; the scope of the story is so tiny, and I wanted to give Natalie a concrete victory inside it.

>"I love her dragging Nick out to the store"

Oh, I'd forgotten that bit! Thank you for the reminder. :-)

>"This was just really excellent. You give very good Nat."

Thank you! You've been extremely generous with your reading and responses this week; I'm honored and grateful. Thank you very much for the encouragement and reassurance.

[amilyn.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm honored and grateful. Thank you very much for the encouragement and reassurance.

I'm grateful that I finally got the impetus to go and find your stuff; I just didn't know how much wonderful Natalie you had...and I'm far enough removed that I can ENJOY FK stuff again instead of just being sad about it.

Thank you again for my WONDERFUL ficathon story. I'm visiting with friends, but will be making more comments soon.