frankie 'frodo' oades has very bad luck

originally a brokenwood blog, now general mysteries posting

[detectivefrodo]

the difference between bravery and stupidity is the flip of a coin

hi. first time ive posted in like five years on an account for brokenwood but dept. q on netflix gave me brainworms. whoops.

spoilers for ep 9!!! ~500 words, might be more parts later

If you asked Carl why he jumped in front of the barrel end of a gun on purpose, he would tell you he wasn't thinking.

This was not entirely untrue.

The motion to step between Akram and the gun was as instinctual as the time he suddenly braked and reached out across the passenger seat. It was a drive home from another conference regarding Jasper's absences at school when a prick cut out in front of him and Carl's instincts to brake and swear and stop Jasper from hitting the fucking windshield were simultaneous in their conception and execution. Of course, this was a time when he and Jasper were not getting along too well, so Jasper shrugged off the hand with a mutter about who Carl thought he was fooling and Carl muttered back about driving the car off the road if someone didn't watch their tone. Still, these two incidents—the prick with a gun and the prick with the car—were of the same nature, an instinctual protectiveness that if Carl had any semblance of self-reflection he would have recognised as well as we can.

There was, though, some thinking in the equation. To distill Carl down to a single thought, amongst the hundreds racing across his somehow still blank mind in that split second of a moment, it would be to not again. Carl was not about to stand by and let his investigative partner get shot, not right in fucking front of him, again. Of course, someone being in front of you didn't guarantee the bullet wouldn't hit you, as he and Hardy had well learned, but it vastly improves your chances of survival, as he and Hardy well fucking learned. If Carl could not retroactively save Hardy, he could at least try to save Akram.

And as much as the voice in his head told him that he was a coward for hiding behind Hardy, he never once considered stepping behind Akram.

Buckshot, as it turned out, felt very different than a bullet.

He was on the ground, back in Leith Park again, looking up into the swimming face of his shooter. But this face was Lyle Jennings, and Lyle Jennings hadn't been at Leith fucking Park let alone shot him there. Then Akram—Akram whose arm was cradling his head, fucks sake he might never live that down if the rest of them found out—did fucking something that made Lyle clutch his neck, and Carl had just enough sense to slam his boot into Lyle's stomach when he saw Akram get a hold of the barrel of the gun, and with another shot Lyle Jennings was dead.

[detectivefrodo]

Brokenwood Fic Week: Day 7: Boat! [Authors Choice]

Prompt by the great @brokenwoodfanpage!

//

Mike did not like boats. Perhaps it stemmed from his sea sickness or perhaps it stemmed from an unfortunate incident in the fourth grade involving a pool floatie and his sister flipping it.

But whatever the cause, his stomach flipped as he looked over the boat filled marina. Sam and Kirsten were busy doing something else and he could have sworn that they smothered giggles as he left.

And so Mike stood in front of a veritable navy of boats that needed to be searched for drugs as part of an investigation into a smuggling ring. Part of him wondered if him throwing up would be grounds for going home, and a different part of him wondered if having to throwing up would be worth it.

He reluctantly set foot on the first boat and immediately jumped back onto the dock when the boat jolted suddenly. One of the constables on the dock raised an eyebrow. Mike elected to ignore it, steeling his nerve again.

The second try went a lot better, although his hand remains in a white knuckled grip on a rope above deck. Once he got below deck and his stomach stopped rolling in sync with the waves, his policing instinct allowed for him to sink into a groove.

He methodically worked through the below decks, lifting mattresses and wrinkling his nose at the overwhelming smell of fish.

Once he returned above deck, his overwhelming nausea almost kicked in again, but he hurried to the dock in just enough time. The constable chose not to react, or they turned away just in time for him not to see.

“How many more boats are there?” He asked the constable. The constable looked at him with what may have been pity.

“There are at least 13 more sir.” Mike tried not to reveal the disappointment in his face. The constable took a breath.

“I can see if we can get more officers for this operation. Sir.” Mike nodded approvingly.

“Please do.”

“You may... have to do one more boat while we wait, sir.”

Mike, ever the professional boss he was, waited to groan and grimace until after he was alone on the boat.

//

all of these are short now, it’s out of my hands at this point lol. Regardless, i hope you enjoyed, like/comment if you did! ill be making a post later about the conclusion to brokenwood fic week 2020!

[detectivefrodo]

Brokenwood Fic Week: Day 6: Home!

Prompt by the magnificent @brokenwoodfanpage!

//

Today was a long day.

-

Kristen unlocked her front door, and stepped inside, welcoming the familiar smell of home. She set her bag at the kitchen table and plugged in her work computer. As the house lit up slowly, she pulled together a quick pasta meal with pesto. She grabbed a fork, her phone and a half full bottle of wine.

She popped open the bottle of wine and poured herself a glass as she settled on her couch. Briefly setting her plate of pasta on an ottoman, she turned on the TV. Flipping to her favorite drama, she turned on the episode she was on. She grabbed her wine and her pasta and relaxed.

-

Sam parked his car in the driveway, turned it off, and grabbed his briefcase and the take out he grabbed on his way home. Locking his car from the porch, he pushed open the door that he knew was going to be unlocked. Roxy looked up from her phone at the kitchen table and smiled at him.

He returned the smile as he lifted the bag of takeout. Roxy clapped her hands together, relieved him of the bag and began digging through it. Sam set his briefcase on the counter on his way to the fridge, and pulled out two beers. He handed one to Roxy, who passed him his order of teriyaki chicken in exchange. They clicked their bottles together and sat down to tell each other about their day.

-

Mike draped his coat on the armrest of the couch, and set his bag on the closest section of it. He set his hands on his hips for a second, before walking over to his freezer to rummage through. Since he broke his leg, he began the habit of getting microwaveable food that wasn’t too intensive or had to be ordered.

He settled on a package of wings, which he popped in the oven, leaving the sauce packet out to warm up. Mike grabbed the TV remotes, flicking through the channels until he found a movie that he enjoyed, a classic dramatic rom-com. With that on in the background, he finished putting together the wings, perched on one of his countertop bar stools and enjoyed his movie.

-

Gina entered her home quietly, and set her lab reports at her desk. She turned on the radio, setting it to a classical station. With that, she turned to her stove, plucking a recipe from her meticulously organized shelf of recipes.

Tonight she was going to make borscht again, but she was going to try to add a special ingredient. As she cooked, methodically as she worked, the radio played its soft music and she stirred the borscht expertly.

-

Jared, full of energy and humming along to the music playing from his phone, entered his house He did a half dance as he entered the kitchen, glancing for a second to notice that Mikes lights were on. Usually he may pop over, but tonight he wanted to relax.

He grabbed a bag of chips from the pantry and a thing of guacamole from the fridge. Jared flopped into a chair and turned on a random sports channel, glad to be home. As he looked around his house and thought of Brokenwood, there was nowhere else he’d rather be.

//

A bit of a shorter one for today, and extremely late as well! I hope you enjoyed these brief windows on what I think these characters might do after a regular day! Like/comment if you did!

(let me know of any typos if you notice them! id really appreciate it!)

[detectivefrodo]

Brokenwood Fic Week: Day 5: The Station!

Prompt by the remarkable @brokenwoodfanpage!

//

The Brokenwood Police Station was full of life and full of noise, as was typical of Sam's morning 8am arrival.

Sam nodded first to those at the front desk, pleasantly surprised by the cup of coffee handed to him by Valerie. He thanked her and proceeded to his desk, leaning back to put his feet up on the desk as he greeted the other constables that entered the station after him.

As Kristen entered at 8:30 exactly, he quickly swung his legs down onto the ground, having had them pushed lightly to the ground before. Mike entered later, at his typical 8:45. the fifteen minutes allowed for Kristen and Sam to exchange some small talk and for Kristen to get settled in.

Fifteen minutes, apparently, is also the amount of time for a new murder to occur in Brokenwood. Sam repressed a sigh as a call came through for Brokenwood CIB to be journey out to a suspicious death

-

Upon return to the station, Sam had a helpful portfolio of various suspects head-shots on his desk. He sent a thank you text to Craig, who he had called on his way back to the station to get it set up. He took his place at the board, listing names of faces while pinning them to the board and labeling them. Sam finished his presentation and returned to his seat to watch Mike and Kristen debate amongst themselves.

“What if the mom did it?” He threw out, spinning idly in his chair and flipping a pen. They both turned to him curiously.

“What makes you say that?” Mike asked. Sam sat up in his chair and gestured to the board.

“Something about her.. She didn't seem surprised when I told her.”

“Shock?” Kristen offered and Sam shook his head

“Didn't look it. I'm calling it right now, mom did it.”

Mike gave him a look that implied that he shouldn't be ‘calling’ which suspect is  the murderer. But Sam got that look almost every investigation so he was used to it by now.

-

The interview room was a helpful room in the station, if not a bit claustrophobic. Sam was thankful that he could stand in the back, run the camera and watch. As Mike caught the mother in a lie concerning her alibi, Kristen glanced over her shoulder at him. They shared a look that for her said "okay you may be right", and for him said "I am 100% right."

The best part of the interview room was the ability to observe it from Mikes office. This was the case while he sat in Mikes chair, watching Mike do his thing, the second interrogation. Kristen sat on Mikes desk, similarly intrigued by the interrogation.

After a moment, the suspect cracked. She burst out sobbing, declaring she never met to do it. Sam smiled despite himself. He elbowed Kristen.

"I told you so."

"Oh shut up, we still have to arrest her."

She elbowed him back, but looked glad for the case to be over. Mike gestured to the window as the woman cried.

-

The cells were the part that Sam avoided most. The yelling of inmates was loud and often threatening. But when he led the mother into the cells, it was oddly quiet besides her sniffling. Sam locked the cell and left.

There’s another reason he avoided the cells. Besides the yelling, the cells just held an air of sadness. And he would rather get ice cream from Frodo with his team than hang around the cement and regret.

//

uhhh i took my time on this, and it’s shorter than the others: sorry bout that! but i hope you enjoyed this one! like/comment if you did! <3

[detectivefrodo]

Brokenwood Fic Week: Day 4: The Hospital!

Prompt by the distinguished @brokenwoodfanpage!

//

The bright lights and sterile smell make the hospital a surreal place; although of all the places in the world, it’s not the worst place to wake up (but it certainly is jarring).

Kristen blinked at the ceiling, the pristine white tiles and buzzing LED lights staring back at her. She tried to sit up, but a hand on her shoulder softly pushed her back down.

“Take it slow. Here” the nurse - Claire her name tag read- pressed a button connected to her bed that elevated the top half of the bed and handed her the remote.

“What happened?” Kristen asked, carefully sifting through her memories.

It was dark, nighttime. wet, sandy, the beach? Loud shouting, a knife? a gunshot? She was running; chasing, or being chased?

Her memories were, safe to stay, hazy. Her head throbbed.

“You had an accident. I’m going to do some tests now, okay?”

“Okay”

The nurse ran her through some exercises that she distantly recognized as concussion testing. Given the way that the nurse’s brow furrowed slightly, she definitely had a concussion.

“Alright. I will be right back. How are you feeling?”

“My head hurts.”

“I’ll grab some pain meds for you. Sit tight.”

All Kristen could think of was how she had no choice. She decided to focus on trying to recollect her memory.

She was running, definitely on the beach, She was following someone. Chasing someone. A suspect most likely. Her hand caught in clothing. she was on the ground, tussling with someone. She was on her back. Her shoulders came off the ground, then slammed back down painfully. There was shouting. What were they shouting? It sounded like her name.

“Kristen?”

Kristen opened her eyes. Mike and Sam were standing in the doorway.

“Oh, hey.” she tried to seem as casual as she could

“How are you?” Mike asked first, stepping into the room. Sam followed suit, allowing her to see a mixed bouquet of daisies and yellow roses. Her eyebrows shot up involuntarily, and he reddened slightly.

“Roxy picked them up.” He offered as an excuse. Kristen knew him well enough to know he wasn't going to take the credit for them

“Tell her I said thank you.” she said carefully, watching as set them at the foot of the bed he nodded to himself. She took a second to truly look at her boss and colleague, they looked. . . rattled.

“Are you two alright?” They shared a look. a silent discussion, Sam raised his eyebrows. Mike took a breath.

“You’ve been out for a day and a half.” He said, looking apologetic

“What?” Kristen exclaimed, then grimaced at the volume. "What happened?”

She had never seen the men look more nervous.

“We were following a suspect, and you managed to catch up to him, good job by the way.” Mike started

“You wrestled for a bit, then he slammed your head into the rocks.” Sam continued with a suppressed grimace. That explained a lot, actually

“An ambulance was called and we apprehended the suspect.” Mike finished.

Kristen nodded, absorbing the information. Nurse Claire returned with needles and vials of medicine. Unlike the various other times the detectives had to be escorted from a hospital room, the nurse seemed to be apologetic whilst shooing them out of the room, reciting the visitor hours and how Kristen needed to rest.

Nurse Claire took notes on the medical devices then placed the bouquet into an empty vase on the bedside table.

“Get some rest.” She said in parting.

Then Kristen was alone in her hospital room, sterile white and clean. She decided to focus on the bright yellows and greens of the flowers; a memento of how much her team cared about her. Kristen smiled to herself despite the incoming throbbing headache.

//

Kristen’s turn in the hospital bed, how the tables turn. Hope you enjoyed this, like or comment if you did! :)

[detectivefrodo]

Brokenwood Fic Week: Day 3: The Carnival!

Prompt by the amazing @brokenwoodfanpage!

//

A sunny summer day in Brokenwood, and the carnival has come to town. The sun beat down on the carnival goers. Bright colors, laughter and funnel cake punctuate the sights, sounds, and smells of the occasion.

Gina had dragged Mike along with her to the carnival, determined to have some alone time with him that wasn’t concerning work. He had dug his heels in at first, but she managed to convince him. She had counted on everything, even going so far as to double check the different games that were going to be there.

What Gina did not count on, however, was the sheer amount of people that Mike knew and was willing to talk to.

First was the guy selling ice cream. Mike greeted him cheerfully and they talked for a few minutes. Gina recognized him from her occasional black coffee at eh coffee stand. But after a few moments, Mike purchased two “Frodo Fudges” for the two of them, so that wasn't a complete loss.

Next was Kristen and Kahu, holding hands and laughing with each other. Gina would admit some jealously to their carefree date, that at least they could admit was a date. She didn't want to trick Mike into a date, but she hoped that this could be a starting point.

They stopped for a polite comment, a recommendation of the Ferris Wheel and a stiff nod at Gina. She nodded back. The relationship between her and Kristen wasn't the most.... personal, but they could still be polite to one another. Kristen and Kahu excused themselves, eager to get back to their date.

Next after that was Sam, the redhead. This interaction ran shorter than the others, a brief hello, a mention of how creepy clowns are, and an exit based on a text based on the elusive Roxy. In this moment, Gina marveled on how Mike was able to keep his team under control and running smoothly. The clashing personalities of his direct team mates and his own differing personality may have led to disaster but he brought the best out of them.

Gina was okay with waiting through one or two polite conversations, but by the time, Mrs Marlowe approached, the sun was setting and Gina was ready to just give up. But this time, Mike excused the pair from the conversation swiftly and turned to her.

“I’m sorry Gina, we haven't gotten to do a lot, have we?”

“It is alright Mike. I would like to try some of the rides.”

“Of course, would you like to try the Ferris Wheel?”

“That would be nice.”

With a brief pit stop for Mike to grab some cotton candy for them both, they boarded the Ferris Wheel.

With the sunset behind them, a cool breeze and the crackle of some fireworks, Gina was grateful for the moment, even if not a date, an afternoon with a friend.

//

this one took a bit to write gotta be honest! So today’s may be a little shorter but I hope you enjoyed! comment/like if you did!

[detectivefrodo]

Brokenwood Fic Week: Day 2: Forest!

Prompt by the incredible @brokenwoodfanpage!

//

The forests of Brokenwood were old and musty. They smelled like secrets, campfire smoke and pine sap. The most advertised part of these forests were the illustrious campsites, which, like the rest of new Zealand, was luckily free of bears.

And in these campsites,around a roaring fire, we find four campers: Detective Senior Sargent Mike Shepard, Detective Kristen Sims, Detective Constable Sam Breen and Wine Aficionado Jared Morehu.

They came to be here after a particularly good case, and Mike’s friend in head office recommended they take a break. Kristen and Sam got roped in as part of his team and Jared was enthusiastic enough to join them when Mike asked for his advice.

The tents are to be attributed to Kristen, who set them up after Sam nearly knocked a tooth out trying to get the poles in place. She set it up cleanly, shrugging, saying

“My mom and I used to go camping.”

Jared worked to teach the Mike the fly-fishing that his uncle taught him. They actually managed to catch a few fish which they roasted over the fire Breen created, with maybe too much ease.

They sat around the fire with paper plates and occasionally flicking fish bones into the blaze.

“I am once again asking” All eyes turned to Sam “why we only packed 2 tents.”

“Only Kristen and I had tents and nobody wanted to buy a new tent?” Jared offered. Mike nodded his agreement.

“Frankly Breen, I figured that you would have a different complaint. I mean, because of your whole thing.” Kristen chimed in.

“I do not have a thing!”

“Mhm. By the way, there's one on your shoulder.” She pointed a finger to show exactly where

“I’m not falling for that again.” She pursued her lips and Sam turned his head to reveal that there was indeed a spider on his shoulder. It was about the size of a 10 cent piece, which was 100% too big for Sam’s comfort and approximately 100% too close to his face. So he reacted in the way that someone with absolutely no “thing” about spiders would.

He slapped his shoulder repeatedly and flailed, tipping backwards off the log he was sitting on in the process amid the stifled (and not so stifled) laughter of his friends. Sam soon gathered his wits, rejoined the group on his log and and straightened himself in a way to appear dignified.

“How did you even see that?” He redirected the conversation to Kristen’s hawk vision.

“I have a sense.” She wiggled her fingers.

“Haha, very funny.” He absently brushed his shoulder again. They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, punctuated by the occasional snicker concealed in coughs. The fire grew dimmed ever so slightly.

“I think now is the appropriate time for these.” Mike turned and began digging through his backpack, piquing the curiosity of the other three. He pulled out a bag of marshmallows, a pack of chocolate bars and a box of graham crackers. He also pulled out 4 extendable marshmallow stakes. He looked especially proud of that.

Quickly, the group finished their fish, grabbed new plates and set about roasting their marshmallows perfectly. For Mike and Kristen, this meant carefully toasting their marshmallow until it was golden brown. For Jared and Sam, this meant shoving their marshmallows directly into the blaze and waiting patiently until their marshmallows caught on fire.

The arguments on which way to cook a marshmallow was correct lasted throughout the night, made even better when Jared pulled out the bottle of wine he had brought up.

But soon enough, the fire dulled to embers, then stamped out by flung dirt. The four retired to their tents, Kristen and Sam to one, Jared and Mike to the other. Boundaries where drawn by bag placement, and the night passed peacefully, the stars shining bright above them.

//

number two knocked out! today's stayed more solidly in the theme, didnt it haha. RIP Breen, there's so many spiders outside. I hope you had fun reading this! like/comment if you did!

[detectivefrodo]

Brokenwood Fic Week: Day 1: Beach!

Prompt by the wonderful @brokenwoodfanpage!

//

The beach is usually peaceful. Usually.

Today, it was not.

Brokenwood was having its semi annual surfing competition, and the community was excited, buzzing with energy.

Kristen and Sam have dragged Mike down to the beach, where they now sit under a big umbrella. Sam is busy explaining the rules to Mike when Kristen returns with three snow cones, covered with saccharine cherry and blue raspberry syrup.

They each take a cone and settle on the sand as the first surfer takes to the waves. Mike doesn’t quite understand the thrill, but can appreciate the ability to stay on top of the water. The surfer swims to shore, and the judges call out her score.

The second surfer ignores what appears to be a sportsmans handshake and Kristen furrows her brow. Still, it’s hard not to flinch when the second surfer wipes out and disappears beneath the waves. Its even harder not to worry when he doesnt resurface right away. He stays under, and stays, and stays.....

The detectives hurry to their feet as the lifeguards begin to rush into the water amid hushed whispers of the crowd. The lifeguards start shouting for the crowd to clear the beach, and they drag something back to shore.

The form of a man is laid in the sand, someone presses their hand to his neck, and shakes their head. He’s dead. They whisper “Call the police!” One shouts

“I am the police.” Mike gently pushes his way to the front of the crowd, Kristen and Sam only a few steps behind him, Kristen already pulling a small notepad from her purse.

-

The mans name is Devin Baker, 34, acclaimed surf legend, and by all accounts suffered an accidental drowning. As more of a obligation, Mike, Kristen, and Sam attend the postmortem report. When they arrived, Gina has a glint in her eye that she usually reserves for murder investigations.

“What have you Gina?” Mike tucked his hands into his pockets as he surveyed the body. “Classic drowning?”

“Well, cause of death was indeed drowning. But!” She passed over the clipboard with the file. “This man, was drugged!”

“Oh?” Kristen asked. Gina elected to ignore her.

“What do you mean?” Mike asked. Gina smiles at him.

“I do not quite know, Mike. But this was definitely not a freak drowning. Devin Baker would not drown.”

“You knew him?” Kristen asked, brow raised. Gina scoffed

“Of course I know Devin Baker, he was a fantastic surfer. You’d be a fool to not know of Devin Baker.”

“Well.” Kristen muttered under her breath as Gina returned her attention to Mike. Sam tried to suppress a laugh but ended up elbowed by Kristen regardless.

-

“So.” Sam started as he pinned a picture of Devin Baker he stole from his Instagram to the whiteboard. “This guy did not die accidentally” he raised his brows “we thinking murder?”

“It appears most likely.” Mike leaned against the table. “Who’s on the roster?”

“Jessica Perkins, the first surfer, maintains a rivalry with Devin Baker-“ Sam pinned a picture of a young woman to the board. “-Jacob Baker, the younger brother-“ A young man. “-Fiona Ryder, his fiancée-“ A smiling blond. “-Gavin Brooke, his coach-“ an older man. He turned to face the others.

“-All would have had opportunity to give him sedatives.”

“Did he have life insurance? A will?” Kristen offered.

“No life insurance, will went to his fiancée”

“Alright check her out.”

-

“The will would have provided nothing substantial. I think we can cross her off”

-

“The sedative wasn’t in his drink. It was found in his medication.”

“So the plan was to spike his meds, have him fall off his board and drown?”

“It appears so.”

-

“His heart medications were filled earlier this week by his coach.”

-

“Jacob Baker had access to needles?

“He was a nurse. Until his family forced him to move to support his brothers career.”

“A bitter abandoned brother. See if he’s been to the pharmacy lately.”

-

“You took needles and sedative from your old work. You instructed his coach to pick up his meds early and injected the sedatives into his medications.”

“I did not!”

“We checked with the hospital. The cameras show you stealing from your old station. Breen?”

“Jacob Baker, you are under arrest for the murder of Devin Baker. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say may be used as evidence against you in the court of law.”

//

So. I got a little off topic from beach,,,,, and a little distracted from actually writing a plot. But I hope the snippets were fairly entertaining to read regardless! Enjoy! Comment if you did!

[brokenwoodfanpage]

Brokenwood Fic Week 2020: Prompts

So this is… later than I meant it to be, nevertheless! Here are the prompts for this year’s fic week; remember to tag any posts with ‘brokenwood fic week 2020′ so everyone can find them! <3

25th May: The Beach 26th May: The Forest 27th May: The Carnival 28th May: The Hospital 29th May: The Station 30th May: Home 31st May: Author’s choice

Stay safe, stay healthy, and also remember you can participate as much or as little as you want! I’m looking forward to seeing what you all come up with!

[detectivefrodo]

hello everyone! i am looking for inspiration! if you have any prompts, please send them in! you can even pop into the notes of this post and request there, anything that make you feel comfortable!

Some ground rules:

-AUs are allowed

-content from any season is allowed

-NSFW is NOT allowed

-i prefer non-romantic prompts, although i may make an exception

-i will use my discretion to pick prompts, and i am allowed to nix prompts even though they fit the guidelines

[detectivefrodo]

Hey yall! If i were to post a “full length” (aka episode length ish) brokenwood fic, would you read it?

[detectivefrodo]

Sam Breen and the Bear

Aka Breens adventure in S2E4 trying to find Choosie, and their interactions because they were super wholesome in the background. (this is not super canon compliant with the dialogue lol)

-

Sam Breen took the sopping bear from his fellow constable, a rock settling in his stomach. It was still there when he pulled the still soggy bear from the evidence bag.

He held it in front of the fiddle player that he had been toting around a couple days prior, feeling slightly nauseous. It was obvious she loved her daughter and if this was Freddy, she would be devastated She inspected it closely, then sighed

“It’s not hers. It’s close, but not hers” Sam felt himself relax as she did. Then she and his coworkers started disagreeing, so he stepped in

“I’m checking progress. Do you want to come with me?” He offered. Lucy looked thankful and followed him out the door.

/

When Sam heard the gunshot, he assumed the worst. He and Johnson (from the dog department) hurried down the hill. At one point Johnson had to pick up Donald (the dog) to cross a river but they quickly reached their destination

Jared was standing with a gun, an apologetic look on his face and a small child in a bear onesie.

“She wouldn’t tell me her name”

“It’s Choosie, right? We’ve been looking all over for you.”

He crouched before the kid, dirty as a child could be expected to be after tramping around the bush for over 24 hours. She clutched a bear that reminded him of his own childhood bear. If it was lying at home right now, that was nobodies business but his own. The bear had an eye missing.

“I bet I know where his eye is.” He smiles at the kid, who looked neutrally back at him. Jared gave an amused yet confused look, and bent to let Donald (the dog) sniff his fingers.

/

Sam had stayed hovering by the hospital until Lucy arrived to greet her child. She gave Breen a thankful smile and a hearty handshake.

“Thank you” She smiled for the first time since he met her.

She gently awoke Choosie from her nap. They hugged and Choosie eyed Sam over her moms shoulder.

“This is Sam, he helped find you. He’s a detective.”

“What’s that?”

“He helps catch bad guys.”

“Am I a bad guy”

“No” Sam crouched beside the bed “you’re a good kid. And-“ he turned and pulled a washed, dried and repaired Freddy the bear from a bag handed to him by Mrs Marlowe earlier. “I have a gift for you.”

Choosie squealed and pulled it from his hands, hugging the bear tight. She bounced happily on her bed, grinning up at her mom.

Mike knocked on the doorframe and entered.

“Glad to see you’re doing better. May I ask her a few questions?”

“Sure.” Mike crouched near the bed.

“Hello, I’m Mike Shephard. I’m a detective, you know what that is?”

“You catch baddies” Choosie replied matter of factly. A smile tugged at his mouth, but he resisted it.

He watched with vague interest as Mike asked Choosie a few questions, then the demonstration of the guitar. He watched Mike entered thinking mode.

“You helped me solve a mystery”

Choosie glowed with the praise, grinning and looking at her mother, then up at Sam. He didn’t resist that smile. Mike pulled Lucy aside and Choosie beckoned Sam to her bedside.

She tossed her bear to him and wiggled her fingers for him to pass it back. He held it up his face and wiggled it to imitate Freddy talking, then lightly tossed it back. They passed the bear back and forth a few times before Mike entered phase two of thinking mode. Mike left in a hurry. Sam gave Choosie her bear, a light head pat and an apology to Lucy.

He exited the hospital to see his boss dive out of the way of a speeding car

[detectivefrodo]

Hello! I realized I should do an intro for this blog. You can call me Key, any pronouns work tbh. I made this blog to make more content for the Brokenwood fandom.

I take prompts and requests, but I reserve the right to use my own discretion on which ones I actually do. I’m all caught up (through season 6) so dont worry about spoilers!

[detectivefrodo]

Dinner with a Doctor

based on season 6 ep 1, presumably in a scenario in which the doctor still allowed for Kristen to come over.

-

After apologizing to both the doctor and the injured man multiple times and helping him get back into his bed, Kristen felt that her invitation to dinner was most likely rescinded. To her surprise, the doctor scribbled a name and number on a piece of paper and handed it to her

“There’s my number, I’m free tonight if you need something other than soup.” The doctor still looked frustrated at the results of Kristen's interrogation, but handed the note over politely. She began to check all the machines surrounding the unconscious man and Kristen took the cue to leave.

Before she headed back to the station, she put the doctor - Cynthia- in her contacts and shot her a quick message

Hey this is Kristen.

Tucking her phone away, she returned to the station.

//

Kristen sat in her chair, staring at the board across the room, watching as Mike wrote something on it. Her phone lit up with a text message

👍

She nodded at her phone unconsciously, and set it back down.

“Who’s that?”

“Someone who invited me over for dinner. because someone-” she gave a pointed look at one Sam Breen “-was spreading rumors I was eating only soup.”

He put his hands up 

“Am I wrong?”

“I’m not eating only soup!”

“Kristen” Mike interjected, gesturing to the board. “Did you get anything from him?” she sighed

“Unfortunately not.”

//

After a long day of bouncing ideas off each other and chasing down suspects, Kristen bid her co-workers adieu and drove home. It was an early 6:00 and she wandered into her kitchen to see what she had for dinner. She opened her pantry and oh god it was mostly soup. Kristen had never felt betrayed by her own pantry, but she was now. Glancing around the kitchen she saw a variety of ingredients, but felt too tired to actually make something.

Kristen pulled out her phone in defeat and was about to order a pizza when she noticed a new text.

Just wanted to check, did you want to come over tonight or do a rain check?

Kristen responded quickly

Tonight works for me. What time should i come over?

Whenever you feel, im just starting dinner now. my address is XXXX

//

Kristen ended up walking to Cynthia’s house, holding a bottle of wine Mike had given her. She knocked and after a couple of tense seconds, Cynthia opened the door. Kristen was a little surprised to see her in anything but scrubs, but pushed it out of her head.

After a few minutes of small talk, the timer on the oven went off and the pasta Cynthia was making was done. They popped open the wine bottle, poured a couple of glasses and ate.

“So Cynthia, where did you hear the soup thing from?” she laughed

“One of the nurses has a cousin that’s a constable, its the grape vine, you know?” Kristen was still convinced Breen came up with that.

“Yeah, makes sense. This is really good spaghetti by the way.”

“Thanks, I’ve found pasta is good break up food.” Kristen nodded, swirling her glass

“Yeah, yeah it is.”

-

there it is!

[detectivefrodo]

 The Languages of Kristen Sims

uhhh i love Kristen and shes super smart. only one of these is canon as far as i know

-

Kristen learned NZSL (New Zealand sign language) when she was little. Her cousin was losing her hearing and Kristen was eager to learn something. she picked it up fairly quick, and was delighted when she was able to communicate with her favorite cousin easier.

The first time she used it in her job, a witness to a robbery was giving a statement. Breen was frustrated, as was typical of him. Kristen was bored of doing paperwork, and figured that helping Breen would still count as doing work.

She walked up and tapped gently on the table. The man looked up, a little frustrated as well. Do you sign? she asked, mentally kicking herself a bit for asking that question first. The man looked relieved and signed back. yes. Kristen smiled as Breen looked at her with confusion.

“Where did you learn that?” she ignored him to sign back to the man

You can give me your statement this way if that's easier

thank you. so i was walking down the street and this man ran up....

//

Kristen took German in high school, mostly because her best friend was in the class, partially because it was a small class and sounded fun. Turns out it was pretty hard, but the sheer amount of consonants almost made up for it.

The first time she used it in her job was helping a lost child who spoke German. Kristen was fairly rusty, but she got the child back to her thankful parents, so all’s well that ends well.

The first time Breen and Mike found out about it, it was late and they were closing another case. She scanned her desk, her phone was suddenly lost.

“Wheres my phone?” she barely realized her substitution in her search, picking up papers.

“Your what?” Breen asked, and it was when she looked up that she realized her two co-workers were looking at her.

“My phone. I cant find it.” Mike and Breen share a look

“You did not say phone.”

“well what did i say?”

“telly-fawn?” Mike guessed

“Ah. Telefon. German.” she found her phone under her bag and bid them adieu. Mike and Breen looked to each other with the same lost expression.

“Where did she learn that?” Breen exclaimed

//

Kristen knew some Spanish, basic phrases from an online friend who could speak it. She stared at the poem in Spanish taped to the board - this was the clue to figuring out the murder, she was sure of it. She glared at it, before finally picking up a marker and writing on the board, attempting to translate the parts she could.

Kristen tapped the marker against her chin. This wasnt bringing her any closer. She pulled out her phone to translate and paused. something caught her eye. Along the edge of the poem was a phrase, spelled by the first letters of the left hand words.

En el rio - in the river? Kristen set down the marker and frowned. What did that mean?

“Hey Mike?”

he exited from his office after a second

“Yes?”

“What does ‘in the river’ mean to you?”

Mike repeated it back, before getting an expression on his face that was well familiar to her. He was piecing it together.

“Where’d you find that?” Kristen drew the pen down the side of the poem

“en el rio; its ‘in the river’ in Spanish.”

“Good job Kristen.” he muttered absentmindedly before nodding his head and heading back to his office to, from what she could guess, piece together the rest of the clues.

-

let me know what you thought!

[detectivefrodo]

hey all! this is a new sideblog for Brokenwood Mysteries! Feel free to look around and talk to me about it! Im all caught up through season 6 so dont worry about spoilers!