Archaeology Professor

The Past Nate was happy once,he had a beautiful wife and an adorable son that he would give the world up for.However,like most happy fairy tales his turned into a nightmare,his son died at the tender age of a eleven after loosing his fight with cancer.His wife left him after he couldn't come to terms with is sons death and began to drink to ease the pain away. When she left it sealed his mind further into darkness and giving him the sense of insecurity that if he were to let anyone in again he would get hurt so he pushed everyone out of his life and drowned himself in bottle after bottle. The Present Now, in his fifth year teaching, Nate has become a beloved teacher with an eye for detail and an eye for the good in people. He teaches architecture with the best of his abilities, but he’s often hung over while teaching classes, or sometimes even still drunk.

[theaaronhotchner]

Special Delivery | Nate and Aaron

[theaaronhotchner]

Aaron sighed and looked over at the professor.  He didn’t really know much about him, only that he taught Architecture.  Aaron didn’t want to take a seat.  He wanted to go see what was going on.  He had this urge to figure out what was happening and stop it if necessary.  Aaron didn’t know why he was so curious and wanted to risk his life, but he was.  He bit the inside of his cheek and nodded, sitting down in the chair in front of the professor’s desk.  "I’m Aaron Hotchner.  I’m Professor Rossi’s assistant."  He replied, looking around the office. 

[artistic-drunk-blog]

He could tell that Aaron was curious as ever to see what was going on."Professor Ford."  He said looking towards the windows for any sign of activity outside but the campus was silent. "I'm thinking whatever this is,it isn't good,I'm just as curious as you are,Aaron." Nate said looking up to the younger man.He too wondered just what it was that was going on just beyond the now locked office door,the halls were quiet which meant everyone was obeying the lock down order,which was a good thing,if it was something dangerous he didn't want anyone trying to play hero.

[ask-eliot-spencer-blog]

Hospital Stay || Eliot and Nate

[ask-eliot-spencer-blog]

Eliot couldn’t speak, but instead nodded. His throat felt choked with the things he was feeling. Happiness, anger, regret, sorrow. It was all there and he didn’t know what else to do but let it out in uncharacteristic tears. He squeezed Nathan’s hand tighter and held back what would have come out a sob. He stayed like that for what felt like hours before speaking again to the man in front of him.

"Nate, thank you…" He sniffles and continued to hide his face, searching with the other hand for the box of tissues. Tough guys didn’t cry. At least that is what he told himself. He sat there and wiped at his swollen eyes before taking an unsteady breath and swallowing past the choking feeling still in his throat. He finally looked up at Nate, the raw nerve ending still open, unguarded.

"I guess we are both just a couple of saps… My unit chief would be laughing at us right now." He was slowly trying to put up those walls, but this time Nathan would be on the inside of them; inside the network of things he did to protect those closest to him.

[artistic-drunk-blog]

Nate stayed quiet letting him go through his emotions,he told himself he wouldn't leave him like this.He knew all to well what it was like to suffer from emotions running rampant and doing damage unseen by the naked eye.He's been hurt far to many times to know exactly what it felt like to feel trapped and broken,to feel lost and alone in a crowded room."Anytime Eliot,you and Sophie,even Maggie have been there for me and it's about time I start paying it back full."

He stayed quiet thinking about all the reasons he decided to stay here,in one of the places that hurt him more then anything.He didn't trust doctors,although he knew it wasn't their fault he still hated them for letting one of the only people he loved more then life itself perish."Eliot let people laugh,we can't keep holding on to what makes us weak,that brings us down." He should be taking his own advice but some how even that was hard for him to do. "You can't keep everything locked up,I can be your ear when you need it,but I can't help you unless you let me."

[artistic-drunk-blog]

[theaaronhotchner]

Special Delivery | Nate and Aaron

[theaaronhotchner]

Aaron watched him lock the door and suddenly felt a bit trapped.  Not that he was afraid of the professor or anything, he just didn’t like the idea of being stuck.  "We’re just supposed to sit here and twiddle our thumbs until they say we can leave?" Aaron asked, continuing to stand where he had been.  He then ran through his head what a university lock down could mean.  His mind jumped to other schools that he’d heard about that had school shootings.  Could it possibly be something like that?  Was there a student or a teacher that had gone off the deep end and was now walking around with a gun.  Could someone be hurt?  Aaron didn’t like not knowing anything.  Maybe he was over reacting.  Maybe it was something not so bad, but the school decided to lock down just so the students wouldn’t be stupid.

[artistic-drunk-blog]

Taking a seat back behind his desk he looked over the letter he received in the mail and rolled his eyes tossing it in a drawer to deal with it later.Hearing the younger mans question his blue eyes looked over to him as he nodded."That's usually the plan,take a seat,we might be in here for a while." He could tell he was uncomfortable so he pushed the papers he was grading to the side and decided to engage him in basic conversation to try and ease the annoyance of the situation. "You got a name?" He asked with a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.No one liked locked downs,that wasn't a lie.The school hadn't had one since his first year back and that was a drill this time,this was real and whatever it was had to be serious otherwise they wouldn't put the order in.

[theaaronhotchner]

Special Delivery | Nate and Aaron

Professor Rossi had gotten a piece of male for Nathan Ford, a fellow professor.  Aaron, not having much to do at the moment, was tasked with taking said male to the rightful owner.  He walked through campus and made his way to the office of the Architecture Professor.  Aaron entered the office.  "Sorry to interrupt, Professor, but Professor Rossi received a bit or your mail by accident."  He said, sitting the mail on the corner of his desk.  He suddenly heard the alarms and the announcement over the speaker system.  "Lockdown?  Why would there be a lockdown?" He asked, frowning.

[artistic-drunk-blog]

Nate sat in his office going over his Archaeology students papers they turned in late,as always he promised to give them the benefit of the doubt.Hearing the voice he looked up and smiled taking the mail from him. "Not a problem,tell him I said thanks for getting it to me."  After the alarms and the announcement he had a puzzled look on his face but moved to lock his office door. "I don't .....I don't know it's been years since there has been a lock down here.Nonetheless you should get comfortable,no one in or out of here until we are told other wise." The situation puzzled Nate,he wondered  what it was that was causing this but he was sure in due time he would find out along with everyone else.

[scienceandvoodoo-abby-blog]

Read the Signs || Nate + Abby

[scienceandvoodoo-abby-blog]

Even though she had technically just gotten in trouble, Abby was still determined to make the best out of the situation, and maybe even make a new friend. There was no rule saying she couldn’t be friends with teachers after all. “Yeah. My brother and I learnt to sign before we could speak. It always drove our teachers insane when we’d teach our friends, and then sign through class." She could see the signs of a headache on him, so refrained from laughing, although she did turn on her full Abby smile. If this smile didn’t win him over, nothing would. “So, what do you teach? I’m studying Forensic Sciences."

[artistic-drunk-blog]

Rubbing his hand across his forehead hoping to ease the pain just slightly her smile caught him off guard,it was extremely friendly,and it wasn't often that students wanted to have a conversation with one of the adults at the school."A rebel,I see." He said with a smile of his own.At her question he gave a slight nod. "Forensic science huh,well I teach the study of Archaeology.I tend to dabble in history as well,but I'm here to teach the study of human history,ancient Greece and so on." He loved what he did,teaching in a way gave him a new wind to ride,however working at a school with his ex-wife made things difficult.

[artistic-drunk-blog]

Egypt || Nate and Alec

[hardyhacker]

Alec was in the middle of thinking about how much lighter that big ass block of a book would be if it were a PDF when his mind actually registered the words coming out of P. Ford’s mouth. “A… a tent?" he asked, his eyebrows shooting up, forgetting all about the death tank he was on that was currently taxing to the runway. “Like, a tent out in the middle o’ nowhere, kinda tent? Strung up between two trees with a cot, kinda tent? Like a tent…" he swallowed thickly, casting a desperate glance down at his bag, “Without electricity, kinda tent?" Dear Lord, let it not be true. He wasn’t prepared for this. Between the two laptops he maybe had ten hours of battery, and if he didn’t have anywhere to recharge them… “But my computers," he whined, the picture of a child being denied a lollipop. “What about my computers? What about yer computers?" he added, hoping that angle would get P. Ford invested too. 

"Fun’s good," Alec said weakly, swallowing nervously as the plane started to power up it’s engines, getting enough power so that it could use the kickback to get it into the air. “Fun’s real good. It’s great - real great." Right now probably wasn’t the best time to mention his little case of claustrophobia - it wasn’t that bad really, as long as he wasn’t shoved into a closet, or anything. 

He looked up at Nate as the pressure built and the plane released its brakes, the sudden release causing it to rocket forward. Gawd, at least if he was going to die right now, he wouldn’t have to suffer through the withdrawal of not having his computers and electricity and internet. How the Prof could be so relaxed, Alec didn’t know, but he tried his best to take comfort in it. 

[artistic-drunk-blog]

"Yes  Alec,a tent.However it's not what you think you will have internet access through a wireless satellite linked to a network." Nate could definitely see the fright in the teen as the plan began to take off.He placed his hand on Alec's shoulder and smiled. "Relax,the best way to get past the fear of flying is to imagine yourself some where else,or even think about all your computers and technology and how much it makes you happy." This wasn't Nate's first flight,with his previous job he had been all over the world,four times over at least. He learned how to deal with the long hours and the take off and landings that came with it. This flight to Egypt was like a walk in the park to say the least.

"The tents aren't two trees with a tarp." He said with a laugh. "They are pretty decent.You might come to admire them once you get settled in but as I said previously,you will get to have fun as well,not every day will be spent at the dig." Opening his book again he had a small smile displayed across his face,he was going to enjoy this,and he knew that Alec would as well.Plus this trip would keep him away from the bottle for a week or two. "Don't worry to much." He said glancing away from his book,"Just trust me you will enjoy it."

[artistic-drunk-blog]

A Shoulder To Lean On|| Nate and Maeve

[petals-and-pills]

It was an easy enough thing to get lost in the proverbial darkness when life turns sour - they say when it tosses you lemons that you should make lemonade but metaphors were, in reality, useless when things just turned out so dark. What good is lemonade when you’re all alone in a world of pain, regret and fear? Nothing. Maeve was completely sick of playing the victim, tired of being that lost and lonely little girl that people looked upon with nothing short of pity. She wasn’t that person and she never had been until someone rendered her so afraid of the world around her that she quite literally shut everyone out and shut the person she had once been out. Make no mistake, she was never the most popular girl in school or the sort who boys scrambled to ask out. Instead she was smart girl who spent more time with books than people because she was always searching for new things to learn and some might even call her weird but she never really saw it.

Maeve admired Professor Ford, she could sense the crushing sadness in him and yet he was trying his best to come back from whatever tragedy had rendered him in the state he now was. It took a very strong person to realize when they were too far gone and yet willing to do what they could to come back from it. During their tutoring sessions she silently offered her own willingness to be there for him in the same way he had been for her, just someone to listen so he wasn’t carrying the burden alone, but he had yet to take it. She was a student, he was a professor and boundaries had to be set but she wasn’t just any kid and often found herself teaching him during their sessions rather than the other way around. Making her way towards his office as quickly as she usually did, smiling upon entrance as she offered him a subtle wave, clutching her books close as she always did. “Hey, professor."

[artistic-drunk-blog]

Nate knew that the offer was there for him to talk about his past,to drain all his emotions and lay them down on another person but he couldn't do that.Talking about his son would just tear him up and re open old wounds he was easily hiding and drowning out. "Maeve,come on in and just start where it's needed" He said smiling putting aside the book he had been reading.He'd had a stressful day with his students arguing over who was right when it came to the origins of Cleopatra so needless to say he wanted a drink but he had made this deal with her and it was benefiting the both of them. "So what is the subject today? I would say you are improving significantly,your professors should be impressed with the results of our tutor session after classes."

Nate was glad she had decided to open up a little more and keeping good on his promise he made sure he was there when she needed him to be."Last week I remember it was the Roman Empire." He was going over their last few tutor sessions trying to figure out where she would be time period wise."I'm going to take a guess and say that by now you should be studying Ancient Aztec History?" He asked laughing softly over how he would have been able to figure out,if she needed to talk as always he had an open ear for her,or if something else was bothering her he would still be there to hear it.

[ask-eliot-spencer-blog]

Hospital Stay || Eliot and Nate

[ask-eliot-spencer-blog]

Eliot left his hand in the man’s grasp and did something totally out of character. He put his opposite hand up to his face and hid it as tears filled his eyes. He wasn’t sure what to say and he felt there were so many things that needed to be said. Nate was there for him and all he wanted in return was for Eliot to watch his back. It was what Eliot did and he got himself hurt. It went against everything he felt about those around him.

"Nate… I’m so sorry… I wasn’t thinking…" He let a few tears fall while trying to rein in the surge of over-whelming sadness.

[artistic-drunk-blog]

Nate was in a state of shock at Eliot's response but instead of saying anything he gave the younger mans hand a gentle squeeze telling him it was okay to cry,and okay to be upset over things. Nate pressed his lips together in a fine thin line."Eliot....I've been here before,been beaten down and broken ten times over in places like this.I...." He stopped looking down for a moment,his heart was now taking over telling his mind to shut up and let it feel the emotions he's been hiding,the ones he's been drowning down in a bottle for so long. He had to get it out,he had to let Eliot know that it was alright to feel hurt,and to feel upset. His ice blue eyes lifted to the other man,the one laying hurt and emotionally broken in the bed. The scars on the outside were nothing to what was being held within his outer shell. Eliot had scar that ran deep and Nate knew all to well about it."You can cry,because it takes a real man to cry,and to show it." His eyes never leaving or moving as he spoke

"Eliot,places like these bring out the worst in us,because they hold pain,and memories. It's okay to be upset,and you don't need to say sorry,you were doing your job." Yes,being in this hospital was tugging at the tiny threads of his heard that he left untouched by the black thick ice he'd formed around it over the years to keep it from breaking but Eliot was melting that ice slowly.The strings and threads that were exposed were being stretched to their limit. "You never have to apologize for doing what you do.That's what you need to do, I know you are trying to be the protector and be the one to keep a watchful eye but please.....let me do that,let me take the weight of the world and hold it just for a little while,just long enough for you to heal."

[artistic-drunk-blog]

Egypt || Nate and Alec

[hardyhacker]

“Oh, thank God,” Alec huffed, taking just another second to break the news to his jelly-legs that they had to keep moving. Readjusting the ratty book bag across his shoulder, he made sure that his laptop(s) hadn’t managed to sneak out of there somehow, and squared his shoulders. At least the Prof didn’t seem upset – that was reassuring. The flight attendant, however, looked like she wanted to take him on a ride on the murder train – he caught the look P. Ford gave her, and that made him feel all sorts of awesome. “Sorry,” he muttered anyone, ‘cause his Nana had taught him to be polite, and he went through the motions of boarding, not quite believing it.

He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be excited or nervous anymore. The tarmac seemed a lot far away, and even though there was a lot more space on the plane than he’d thought there would be, it was still a huge metal tube that they wouldn’t be able to get out of.

“Got my laptops an’ some music,” he told Nate, but his attention was focused out through the window of the plan, his fingers griping the armrest so hard they were starting to pale. He was trying desperately not to think that the world hated him and he was gonna die the second the plane got up in the air. “More people died from vending machines last year, than from commercial flights,” he told Nate, thinking out loud.

[artistic-drunk-blog]

Nate nodded and gave him a brief smile. "Alec,I forgot to mention one tiny little detail about our stay." He began pulling a book out of his bag,it was a book on the study of the great pyramids,he figured it'd be a great read for the long flight. "We will be staying in a tent near the dig,now before you get depressed I will be taking you into Cairo and all over Egypt to make sure you have a little fun as well." Nate knew the teen wasn't going to like that idea but there wasn't much he could do about it,he was technically an Archaeologist on reserve and he was called on to give a helping hand.

He sighed Opening his to an ear marked page.He was going to be tired by the time they would actually arrive and once they reach the dig it will be late and they would want to take the night to get rid of the their jet lag."I will tell you this much Alec,the first night will be the most difficult,other then that when we will have fun,I will make sure of it.We won't be at the dig the whole time but when we are there you will have to be very careful,anything could happen while underground." Nate gave him a smile knowing that alone would get his mind going."That and the curse of the mummy is very real." Now he was just teasing the kid to have a little fun.

[artistic-drunk-blog]

Forgive and Forget || Nate and Sophie

[fashionistagrifter-blog]

Sophie smiled at Nate as his eyes locked with hers, she got completely lost in his amazing, stunning blue eyes, when she felt Nate’s hand on hers she was sure that she felt gossebumps all over her skin, the feeling of his skin on her own, the way that their eyes were locked, the man really knew how to drive her insane that was for sure. As he had taken his hand in her own she smiled and walked with him, she knew that Nate would be true to his words and would indeed make her enjoy her weekend, not that she thought it wouldn’t be worth it, after all with Nate anytime that she could spend with him was more than worth it. Of course that Sophie had to control herself that moment when his eyes had fallen on hers, how she had wanted to kiss him and feel his lips against her own but at the moment he was a bit too broken for anything to happen.

When they reached the rails, Sophie missed the contact of his hand on hers right away, she looked at him and then at the water, simply enjoying this time together, it was almost like they were knowing each other all over again. She couldn’t stop grinning at him and when he mentioned his place and of course where she would be staying the ex grifter chuckled. “Oh now I really can’t wait to see what you did to the place, I’m just simply curious about it.”

[artistic-drunk-blog]

Laughing he smiled taking her hand again in his pulling her a little closer so he could place and arm around her.He stared at her for a while before looking back at the water,listening to the sound of it crashing against the pillars beneath supporting the pier."You will love it." He said softly staring back at her once again."Sophie....I"  He began but stopped himself and just laughed softly at how childish he felt.  Pushing himself off the railing he kept his arm around her as he began to walk back towards the car knowing that they both have work in the morning and would need their rest.

"So what do you want to do on our little weekend away from everything? Aside from the pier there is a lot of things we can do in Santa Monica." He glanced at her raising his brow slightly. "I mean there is the beach,The shops,you know touristy stuff." Feeling a cool breeze blowing he pulled her just a slight bit closer to him. "It's getting a bit cold out here." He said quietly to explain his actions. "We should have brought our jackets with us." Once they reached the car he opened her door for her closing it then going around to the drivers side turning the heater on low to warm them up before pulling out and heading for the freeway.

[artistic-drunk-blog]

Egypt || Nate and Alec

[hardyhacker]

Alec was more excited about his trip to Egypt than he’d ever admit to anyone. His Nana had gotten an earful the night that Professor Ford had offered to take him along, and even though he hadn’t ever used the words ‘I’m so excited to go’… it was probably obvious to even the people who weren’tlistening. 

Only, he was also pretty nervous too. First time being on a plane and all, and if that wasn’t enough, he was going to be on another continent to boot. 

And then they wouldn’t let his orange soda through security. And then they questioned him on why a kid like him (black kid, Hardison thought as he glared), needed two laptops. Heaven forbid he actually be smart. 

Anyway, they were announcing the last call over the PA system, and Alec was tearing through the airport like his ass was on fire. No way he was going to be missing this flight, and his trip, and his chance, and let Professor Ford down. No way in hell. 

"WAIT!" he shouted as he rounded the corner, nearly bowling over a young child with a popsicle stick. The mother of said child glared at him, but he was already halfway to the terminal and waving his ticket in the air - he had a ticket, he was here with thirty seconds to spare, and from the looks of it, there were two passengers still unaccounted for - himself, and Professor Ford. “‘m here!" he shouted as he skidded to a stop, breathless, still waving his ticket even as he doubled over his legs, trying to catch his breath. “Dun leave," he gasped, standing up a little so he could clutch his chest - his lungs were gonna leave him, crawl straight up his throat and just leave him. “‘m here. We’re good - it’s all good." He nodded, waving away the flight attendants, mistaking their attention for concern. “I made it…. right? Right? I made it, yeah?!" It suddenly occurred to him that maybe Professor Ford just hadn’t gotten on the flight. That he’d taken too long to get here, and that the plane full of people going to Egypt was already on its way to Egypt. “Right?" he asked one last time, looking at Prof in panic. 

[artistic-drunk-blog]

He continued his pace back in forth in front of the gate,every few seconds a flight attendant would tap on her watch to let him know time was ticking away quicker then anything,he ignored this knowing that Alec would show up before the flight would take off. Hearing the ruckus coming down the and through the airport a smile tugged at the corner of his lips hearing the yells to wait. Looking up,Nate figured he'd never seen someone running so fast before,it told him that he was definitely determined to get things underway. He noticed the panic right away and stood with his smile until Alec stopped talking to confirm that he made it just in the nick of time.

Placing his hand on the teens shoulder he smiled. "Relax,you made it,Alec." He said calmly handing his ticket to the flight attendant then she took Alec's rather quickly,this made Nate raise a brow at her with a slight warning look,letting her know that he wouldn't stand for rude behavior towards the teen. Walking towards the gate he let him go first following behind him as they reached the inside of the plane he found their seats and gave Alec the window seat figuring he'd like the view he'd e getting from it,"I hope you brought things to do,this is a ten hour flight." He hadn't mentioned that they would be staying in a tent in the middle of no where yet,but none the less he would make sure the teen would get to see all of Egypt.

[artistic-drunk-blog]

Egypt || Nate and Alec

It was about a week ago that Nate had gotten the call about a dig out in Egypt. He hadn't been on a dig in a while,not since his divorce anyway,but this one would be different. Alec Hardison had took up his Archaeology class after he had a talk with him and the teen had been one of his more promising students. He enjoyed watching his passion and enthusiasm for all things that came with the course so it was only Natural that Nate would invite him to have the experience of a life time. He was happy to have the company too,to teach someone something he learned a long time ago.

He just had to wait for the kid to make it to the airport on time. He looked up at the board,their flight would be leaving soon so he began his nervous pace waiting for the teen. He already called ahead and made plans for them to stay at the dig sight as well but of course he would let the teen see Egypt as a tourist as well,from being a father once before he knew not to keep kids locked up or on one task for to long without them getting bored. He eyed his watch and kept his eyes on the doors waiting for any sign that they wouldn't miss their flight.

[artistic-drunk-blog]

Forgive and Forget || Nate and Sophie

[fashionistagrifter-blog]

A grin crossed her lips as she listened to him mentioning about returning that weekend during the day and spending the day in there, honestly Sophie loved the idea, been able to have fun and spend more time with Nate was the best thing ever, she nodded at him. “It’s a deal then, this weekend we do just that, we come back here and just have fun and forget about everything else.” Thanking him she got out of the car and walked alongside him, the night was great and the view was indeed beautiful even more with the lights reflecting on the water, as she glanced at Nate and saw that boyish grin she couldn’t help but to grin back at him.

But the moment that he started to say sorry about been late and how that wasn’t the best idea she stopped walking and placed her hand on his arm. “Stop it, this was a great idea and I am loving it so don’t start thinking that it wasn’t a great idea. Listen Nate I know that the stores are closed but I am here to enjoy some time with you, to just have this little time with you, we have the weekend to have fun and do stuff but right now I just want to enjoy this with you.” Her brown eyes meeting with his blue hues, locking like they always did when they were together.

[artistic-drunk-blog]

When she stopped walking so did he,a million and one thoughts danced across his mind,but when she placed her hand on his arm,those thoughts vanished,as if they never existed in the first place. Her words were something he didn't expect to hear,she was there to spend time with him.He looked up to catch those beautiful brown eyes of her as his lips tugged into a smile. "I don't know what to say Sophie,honestly." He said softly It had been a long time since he has felt the way he was feeling,not since his ex-wife,These feelings were new to him again. Taking her hand from his arm he took it in his own with care as his blue eyes lifted back to hers."Don't think that I'm not enjoying myself,I really am,and I promise to make your weekend worth your while."

If he wasn't holding himself back he would have brought his lips to hers,to feel her lips against his but,it wasn't the time for that yet,he would wait for it,take his time in getting to know her and spending more time with her.He kept her hand in his,her skin was so soft and warm it felt comfortable to have at least that little bit of contact,he began walking again,until he reached the edge of the pier before letting her hand go to lean on the railing staring down at the dark water. "By the time we get back to my place it will be maybe three. " He smiled casually glancing at her.  "I have just redid the guest room too,so you will be very comfortable  in there."

[hidex007]

[ladyleverage]

You guys are the most honorable people I have ever met in my life. You’ve become my family. My only family. I won’t forget that.

-Nathan Ford

(via ladyleverage)

[artistic-drunk-blog]