Reading Time: 3 Minutes
Series Title: A Symptom of Being Human
Author: Jilly James
Fandom: 9-1-1
Genre: Contemporary, Drama, Family, Kid!fic, Pre-Relationship, Romance
Relationship(s): Gen, Evan Buckley/Tommy Kinard (in book 3)
Content Rating: R
Warnings: *No Mandatory Warnings Apply. Attempted Murder. Canon-typical: violence, situations, and angst. Discussions of: sexual assault, rape by coercion, and child abuse. Mild character bashing. Procedural inaccuracies
Author Note: See tabs for complete notes. Buck is a bit of an unreliable narrator due to his actions being driven by fears of what might happen, rather than the reality of what will happen. Inspired by the song of the same title by Shinedown.
Beta: Ladyholder (Thank you!)
Word Count: 99,000
Summary: A past rescue shows up at Evan Buckley’s door and offers him something entirely unexpected and completely, wonderfully life changing.
Artist: Nightsong21133
Artist Appreciation: It’s always a delight to work with you, and I was so honored to work with you again this year. I love your interpretation of the story. It makes me smile every time I look at it. Thank you.
Story
Notes
Inspiration: As soon as I heard A Symptom of Being Human by Shinedown for the first time, I started plotting stories. There were a couple, but the one where Buck winds up with a baby was the one that stuck. This has been in the works for a while, and I’m pleased to have gotten the first three books out finally. There are two more planned to finish it out.
Setting: In season 1, we see Buck’s house a few times. It seems like a nice house, even if the roommate situation is clearly more like a frat house. I wanted to play with the idea of that being more stable and functional for him in the short term. Definitely no frat house vibes here, though.
The Canon: This is set primarily in the very early part of season 1. I tweaked a few details, and perhaps the order some things occurred in, but who’s to say exactly what order some events happened??
The Romantic Partner Prospects: The first two books are absolutely gen. The third book, we have a romantic pairing, but I introduce what could be many possible partners. I like the vibe of Tommy, but I caution you that I might change it in the future for the last two books.l I have a few directions, though two are definitely with Tommy. Still, there a lot of vibes. 😉
The Characters: This is pre-Eddie, and for reasons that make obvious sense in the story, the cast is largely OCs. I introduce them gradually and as sparingly as possible. I re-use my own OCs whenever possible. (Greetings, Engineer Marcus DeKay, glad to have you with us for another story).
Minor notes: I tweaked some things about how things work at the LAFD, including hierarchy and when the Academy is in session (yes, I do know it’s not in session on Wednesdays, but it is in this story). Also, Dr. Welles name is spelled with the extra “e” because of an OC character of mine who is named Wells out of necessity (Easter egg!)
A comment about CPS: I had a bad encounter with CPS in the last many months trying to get help for a child very much in need near me, and they just wouldn’t assist. It was bad. I channeled a lot of my frustration about that into some plot changes and how the editing and later parts of this series went. This is no reflection of what I generally think of CPS/DCFS/Whatever. I know they’re generally overworked and trying their best. This is a work of fiction and not intended to be an indictment on an entire group of people.
Procedural Inaccuracies: Expect em! I’m not a lawyer, a firefighter, a CPS caseworker, a judge, a cop or anything that this story would require to be factually accurate. Suspend your disbelief or move on. I’ve had a commenter lately who simply sends me nothing but corrections. I’m not interested. I already know I’m out of my league on the procedure front. I accept it. If you can’t, don’t read. Thanks for respecting that limit in advance.
Cast Pictures
Oliver Stark, stock photo baby, Alex Landi, Aisha Tyler, Rashida Jones, Aldis Hodge, DB Woodside, Lou Ferrigno Jr., Maddie Nichols, CCH Pounder, Morgan Freeman, Taika Waititi, Josh Duhamel, Olivia Wilde, Nico Greetham, Jamie Lee Curtis
*cast Charlotte and younger Charlotte on other art are all stock photo images. This version is about 6-8 months old, which is reflective of the overall series. In the current parts available for this QB, she’s younger, as reflected on the art for those stories.
Blueberry Tea
- 4 oz hot tea (plain black tea or Earl Grey)
- 1 oz orange liqueur like Grand Marnier
- 1 oz Amaretto
- Let orange slice soak in hot tea
Do I know why this tastes like blueberries? No, I do not, but it does, and it’s amazing.
Inspiration
despite having listened to the song a lot, I’ve never watched the video… something new!
Marcus DeKay might be my favorite of anyone’s OCs. So, I am thrilled to see him again. This looks fascinating, and I look forward to getting to read it. Also, I love this song. I am so glad to see it inspired someone.
I am so sorry you have had a bad experience with CPS recently. We had two instances of the other problem. False reports were filed about my family when I was a kid and they came after us. It took awhile and was terrifying but it was all resolved. More recently a therapist several states away that my younger sister spoke with sent CPS after my parents. She decided they should not be allowed near my other sister’s child based on stories of our childhood. Our childhood wasn’t perfect but also not abusive. It was weird. Also worked out. It’s hard when nothing happens in hard situations and there seems to be over the top responses in others.
Oh god Jilly, I just watched that video & now I’m in floods! Bit close to home, atm, I think.
Fabulous song and a band that’s totally new to me.
Looking forward enormously to the stories.
Definitely want to try the Blueberry Tea. As far as there being no blueberries in it…
I spent several years making chocolate cake shots. They have zero chocolate in them but taste exactly like a bite of chocolate cake. It was mind boggling.
1/2 ounce citron vodka
1/2 ounce Frangelico
In a shot glass.
Dredge a lemon wedge in sugar and then use your teeth to get the juice from the wedge and the sugar. Hold it in your mouth and do the shot. Chocolate Cake. It’s flabbergasting. But delicious.
Thank you for the drink recipe. I love Amaretto.
This is all over amazing! And I’m looking forward to seeing it continue to develop.
I loved this story and didn’t want it to end. I hope you write more in this series!