Disclaimer: Without Prejudice. The names of all characters contained here-in are the property of John Watson, MGM, Trilogy, etc., no infringements of these copyrights are intended, and are used here without permission.
Challenge: Fan Fic Challenge - One or more of the boys is writing fanfiction and one or more of the others finds out.
Note: This response is broken into two different parts "Caught..." and "In The Act". They go together and reference each other, therefore I've put them together here.
Universe: ATF
Rating: FRC
Feedback: To MMW

Caught... In The Act
By MMW

Caught...

Vin sat on the couch of Chris’ livingroom and threw the magazine he’d been reading to the floor. He was bored and he didn’t want to be inside. It was a gorgeous Sunday outside and he couldn’t enjoy it.

Earlier in the week Buck had come into the office sneezing and coughing. Chris had sent him home, but not before Wilmington had managed to infect Vin, Nathan, Josiah and JD. Along with the sniffles, coughing and congestion, the bug was accompanied by aches and dizziness. Because of those last two symptoms, it had been decided that those who were ill wouldn’t be left alone. Buck had recovered in time to tend to JD, Raine was taking care of Nathan, Ezra was tending Josiah, leaving Chris to deal with Vin.

Vin had not been happy when his teammates insisted he go home with Chris, in fact, they had to physically force Vin into the black Ram. Had it not been for a combination of a particularly fierce sneezing fit and a wave of dizziness, the sharpshooter might have succeeded in escaping his determined friends. Instead, manhandling their reeling friend into the truck, the group sentenced Vin to Chris’ care for the weekend.

Vin hadn’t been pleased. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate their concern and it wasn’t that he didn’t see their point, but he just felt more comfortable at his own apartment. He would heal faster if he was at home. Instead he was at Chris’ ranch being fussed over and not left alone. He felt bad about the fight he and Chris had that morning, but at least he had gotten the man to leave him alone for a while.

Of course, once he had left Vin alone, Larabee had sequestered himself in the den and had been typing constantly on the computer there. Vin had no idea what the man was working on so hard, They were all caught up on their paperwork. Maybe Chris would let him surf the web for a while. Larabee had said he could use the computer whenever he wanted.

Struggling to sit up, Vin leaned his head back against the couch and waited for the room to stop spinning. As the room began to settle, he heard the phone ring and Chris answer. For several minutes he heard the murmur of Chris voice. Soon after, he heard Chris’ hurried footsteps coming down the hall.

"Gotta go to Buck and JD’s," the blond explained.

"What happened?" Vin asked, concern lancing through him.

"JD spilled some soup," Chris said as he grabbed his keys off the hall table. "Buck slipped on it and hurt his ankle. I’m going to drive him to the hospital."

"Drive safe," Vin said as he heard the door open. "Hey! Can I use the PC?" he called out, hoping to catch Chris.

"Sure," came Chris’ muffled reply as the door closed.

Vin cautiously stood and headed toward the computer room. Finally achieving the doorway, he slowly crossed to the desk and settled in the chair. Moving the mouse to deactivate the screen saver, he was about to click on the internet connection when the words on the screen caught his attention

Surveying the scene around him, he squinted against the glare of the sun. There were four wrecked cars, none in danger of burning, three broken windows in the building across the street, one lamppost knocked over, a fire hydrant spewing water and ten very groggy, slightly injured, bad guys. A grin split his face as he lit one of his trademark cigars. His eyes twinkling, he couldn’t help but say, "I love it when a plan comes together."

Vin blinked, stunned by what he was reading. Scrolling upward, he reached the top. Staring in disbelief, he read aloud, "Title: Ranching On The Run. Author: CAL. Disclaimer: The A-Team is the property of..." his reading was cut off by a gasp in the doorway. Turning his head quickly, he closed his eyes as the wave of dizziness passed. Opening his eyes, he blinked at the sight of Chris standing, mouth agape, a blush coloring his features.

Green eyes locked with puzzled blue. Dropping his head, Chris sighed and made his way to the chair on the other side of the desk. He had gone for so long without anyone knowing. If he’d only remembered to save and close before leaving, Vin would never have known...

Looking from his friend to the computer screen, Vin just wanted an answer. "What..." he began unable to think of how to phrase his question.

With another sigh, Chris slouched in the chair. "It’s called fan fiction," he began. "It’s when you take an existing set of character and write your own stories about them."

Vin looked a little puzzled, but nodded his understanding. "So you write stories about the A-Team?" he asked.

Chris nodded. "It’s a way to relieve stress," he admitted, with a shrug.

Vin nodded slightly still blinking. He’d heard of some strange hobbies before, but this one sure seemed unique. Accepting this as just another part of his friend, a playful smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, "Some of this looks a little familiar," he observed, thinking of what he’d read. "You takin’ examples from real life?"

Chris let out a breath of relief. He’d been worried what Vin would think, terrified of people finding out. It was a relief to see that Vin accepted it. A smile curved the blond’s lips. "Gotta admit, a lot of what we do is pretty hard to believe," he observed.

Vin nodded, thinking over some of their more interesting exploits. He had to admit, if he hadn’t lived through them or witnessed them, he would be hard pressed to believe them as well. His brow furrowed slightly. "What are you doing back here? I thought you were going to bring Bucklin to the hospital?"

Chris sat up straight and started standing. "I forgot my wallet," he admitted reaching over to take the black leather object. He slipped the wallet into his pocket and started to leave. As he reached the door he paused and turned back, his face displaying his discomfiture and worry. "Vin?" he asked, waiting for the Texan’s eyes to meet his own. "Don’t tell anyone, ok? No one knows, not Buck... even Sarah didn’t know," he finished quietly.

Vin grew serious and nodded. If this was a secret Chris would keep from his wife... "I won’t tell a soul," he promised, meaning every word and somehow honored that Chris would admit this to him even if he had found out by accident. As Chris turned, Vin asked, "Do you mind if I read this?"

Chris heard his friend’s question and turned back, stunned. A smile appeared on his face reflecting the warmth he felt at his friend’s acceptance and willingness to share his secret. "Sure thing," he said.

"Thanks, Cowboy," Vin smiled back. "Maybe when you come back we can talk about it some more.

Chris’ grin widened and he nodded his agreement. It would be nice to be able to discuss his hobby face to face with someone instead of on a list.

... In The Act

Buck listened to JD coughing in the other room and winced. He felt guilty about having made half the team sick, and he was taking out his guilt on JD by lavishing attention on his roommate. The only problem was that JD had finally objected to the constant hovering and kicked Buck out.

Now Buck was seated at JD’s computer typing. His own computer had crashed and was currently in pieces on the kitchen table. He could only hope that JD could fix it; all of his best stories were on that harddrive and he hadn’t backed them up.

Trying to ignore his roommate’s coughing and sneezing, he started typing again. He wanted to get this fic finished, or at least his part. Of course, he also wanted to get it done because he knew JD would be out to use his computer before too long and the last thing he wanted to happen was for the young man to find out about his hobby.

It wasn’t that he was embarrassed by the fact he read and wrote fan fiction, but his writing was a very private thing. That and he was... well... he was scared that JD would make fun of his hobby or worse - of his writing. It was hard enough to post his stories, to allow himself to be that vulnerable, to open himself to that sort of criticism, he wasn’t sure he could handle it if his friend...

He shook his head, trying to rid himself of those thoughts. It wouldn’t happen. JD wouldn’t find out, his secret would be safe. Beside, he and AngelsMan had been writing back and forth on this fic. It was now his turn to add the next chapter and he was already three days late posting it. He just had to finish this and then he could surrender the computer.

He was able to type about another half-page before JD’s coughing fit drove him to the brunette’s room. "You OK, JD?" he asked, concerned.

JD nodded and motioned to his empty teacup.

Seeing that JD was out of all liquids, Buck grabbed the glasses and told JD he’d be right back with some soup. Seeing JD nod his understanding as he tried to catch his breath, Buck left the room and headed toward the kitchen. It would only take a few minutes to heat up the soup.

Arriving in the kitchen, he opened the cupboard and debated what sort of soup to make his friend. Not sure which one the kid would like, he finally settled on Chicken Noodle, figuring it was good for what ailed you. Taking a can of ready to serve down, he quickly opened it and poured it into a microwave safe bowl. Setting the cooking time according to the directions on the can, he waited impatiently for the soup to finish.

Before it was done, the sagging, coughing, sniffling form of his roommate appeared in the doorway.

"JD, what are you doing in here?" he demanded walking over to the shivering form.

"Tired of being in my room," JD said.

Buck smiled indulgently and guided the younger man to the living room. Settling him on the couch, he picked up the throw and covered the shivering shoulders. "You rest here," he said. "I’ll be back in a few minutes."

Heading back to the kitchen, he waited until the microwave beeped. Then, taking the soup from the microwave, he placed the bowl on a small plate and then that plate on a tray. Heading out to the livingroom, he smiled at the sight of the young man laying on the couch, sound asleep. Settling the tray on the coffee-table in front of his friend, he lifted JD’s legs onto the couch to make the young man more comfortable. Adjusting the afghan, he smiled, shook his head and headed back to the computer where he settled in and once more started working on his portion of the story.

It was about an hour later when Buck was distracted from his story by the sound of a bowl dropping in the ground. Turning around quickly, he was in time to see JD lose his balance as he tried to grab the bowl.

"JD!" he called out as the young man’s knees hit the floor. As he approached his friend, he failed to see the spill pattern of the soup. His inattention to the spill-pattern resulted in his foot coming into contact with some of the spilled liquid. When said foot came into contact with the soup, Buck lost his footing and started falling. Unfortunately, though one foot and his body moved, his other foot maintained its traction causing the ankle to bend in new and unusual ways. As he hit the floor, a cry of pain escaped him.

"Buck!" JD cried, moving to his friend’s side. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

Buck groaned slightly. "Hurt my ankle JD. Better call Chris to see if he can come out and take me to the hospital."

"‘K," JD said, suppressing a cough as he headed for the computer desk where the nearest phone rested. As he grabbed the receiver, he glanced at the screen and read the title on the document. He froze and turned to look at his roommate. "You’re CallMeCharlie?" he asked, his voice raising several notes at the end of the question.

Buck closed his eyes. He had forgotten about the fic still being up on the screen. "Yes," he admitted quietly, turning to face his roommate.

"I’m AngelsMan!" JD said excitedly.

Buck’s jaw dropped open as he looked at the young man. "You’re AngelsMan?" he asked, shocked.

Both men just looked at each other in disbelief for a few seconds before Buck started laughing. JD soon joined him.

Epilogue

Two weeks later, Team Seven finished a complicated bust successfully and without injury. Everyone was gathering around Chris. Vin was the last to arrive.

"Great job everyone," Chris congratulated. "We got the dealers and no one was injured. Now we need to secure the scene. Buck, Nathan, you two take the east side, Josiah, JD, the west. Ezra, you see to the center area and Vin and I will take the perimeter. Got it?" Seeing nods, he ordered, "Let’s move."

As everyone headed off to complete their various tasks, Vin clapped Chris on the shoulder and said softly, so only Larabee could hear, "Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?"

End

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