A Heart of Faith (AIO Fic) is now up on AO3 and being actively updated!
Description:
Time. Some think it’s something of which they have lots. But we never can know how much we do have, until it becomes jeopardized. That’s a lesson the Meltsner learnt the hard way, when just that happens to Eugene Meltsner.
All of a sudden, time seems to be slipping away for him, quicker than anyone could have expected. Will the situation be able to be turned around before time is completely gone for good? Only time and faith will reveal what God could possibly have planned for them—of what use the situation could be. And maybe, as the saying goes, “One man’s loss, is another man’s gain.”
Although the events prove to be a fright for the family, and even their close friends, they are all able to find that they can have Hearts of Faith that God will take care of them and their every need.
Characters: Richard Maxwell, Jason Whittaker, Jack Allen, Tom Riley, Connie Kendall, Eugene Meltsner, Lucy Cunningham-Schultz, Dr. Morton.
Additional Tags: Flashbacks, hurt/comfort I think, some light soul-searching, general softness.
Summary: Richard is living with Jack and Jason while recovering from his injuries both physical and emotional.
Notes: This takes place after the Darkness Before Dawn album but the timeline is like, definitely off (just like time in Odyssey) and I’m ignoring that Whit’s End was closed after the explosion in the tunnel. Also like, I’m not even close to being a medical expert but I’m assuming that since Richard was in a coma he probably had a pretty serious concussion and other than that I kept the injuries pretty vague.
Comments welcome (especially nice ones 😜)
(btw for folks who don’t know, i don’t remember my ao3 password and can’t get into the email account i used to set it up atm so i’m just sharing this in a google doc)
So... I’ve already finished that first Richard Maxwell fic. I was on a roll last night, and it was lovely.
And thank you, @agent1132 and @amerraka, for your feedback and excitement about the excerpt!
Title: Where to Go From Here
Timeline: post-Darkness before Dawn
Word Count: 890
Summary: Jack Allen visits Richard in the hospital after Blackgaard’s death.
Richard was flipping through channels on his room’s TV when Jack Allen entered, looking a little bit the worse for wear. “Mr. Allen, hi,” Richard greeted with a voice that was still pretty weak from his ordeal.
“Hello, Richard. I’m sorry I haven’t been back sooner to check in on you.”
“Nah, it’s okay. Connie came yesterday by to fill me in. Honestly, I’m surprised to see you so soon and doing so well, after getting caught up in an explosion.”
“Oh, a few shrapnels cuts, a lot of soreness—nowhere near as bad as it could have been.”
“I’ll say. I can’t believe you survived the explosion that killed Dr. Blackgaard.”
“Only by the grace of God.” Jack actually looked sad at the mention of the death of the man who’d caused them all so much grief and pain.
Richard gingerly shook his head. “You did everything you could do, and more than most people would do.” Poor Jack, feeling cut-up over the death of a monster like Regis Blackgaard. “You can only save somebody who wants to be saved.”
“I know you’re right, but I can’t help feeling…”
“Disappointed. I get it.”
Jack looked sheepish. “I’m sorry, Richard; I must sound terribly insensitive. I’m sure you must feel, well, relieved.”
Richard mirrored the older man’s sheepish expression. “Kinda, yeah. I mean, he can’t hurt anyone anymore.” He hesitated, trying to ignore the dark whispers at the edge of his mind. No, this was what he’d been working towards for the past four years: the defeat of Regis Blackgaard once and for all. He was relieved the man was dead…
“Richard?”
“Huh?”
Jack frowned slightly. “If you’ll excuse my saying so, you look a bit… confused.”
Richard could really see how Whit and Jack were friends—in fact, he was starting to wonder if they weren’t fraternal twins or something. “I guess I am,” he said slowly. “I’ve spent the last few years—literally my adult life thus far—trying to bring Blackgaard down. And now that that’s done…”
“You feel directionless.”
“Yeah. I don’t know where to go from here. I mean, I’m a convicted criminal—I served a prison sentence! I’ve had a hard time getting the few bad jobs I’ve had over the past few years.”
“Richard, I get the sense that you’re worried about more than just your career choices.”
How could a voice that mild and kind be that sharply penetrating? Richard would really have given a lot now to have seen Blackgaard confronted by this soft-spoken, 5’10” beacon of light. “I guess I am. Sort of.”
Jack pulled a chair up to the edge of the bed and sank into it. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“I’m not sure what there is to talk about. I just… I’d like some peace of mind, y’know?”
Jack nodded slowly. “Not just of mind, though, is it? You want peace in your heart.”
Richard sighed. “Yeah.” He knew where this was going—and it was where his own thoughts had been leading him for the past two years, ever since that one conversation with Whit. “Mind if I stick with mere mortals for now?” “It’s up to you.”
“Richard.” Jack was smiling gently. “Something tells me I don’t need to tell you what to do about that.”
“No,” Richard said softly. “Not exactly. And, if you don’t mind my asking, are you sure you can’t read minds or something? You keep saying exactly what I’m thinking.”
Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, like I’ve told others before, I’ve been known as having keen insight into the obvious.”
Richard snorted. “That bad, huh?” He sighed again. “I’ve never been a church-goer, but I remember, a long time ago, someone saying that you could see Jesus shine through His followers. I think that stuck with me because I must have been little and it sounded weird, you know?” Jack nodded, smiling. “And, honestly? I get it now.” The words began to tumble out of Richard, as if the world would end if he paused for just one second. “I have seen Jesus shine through people around here. I mean, Tom Riley just forgave me—that was a small miracle in and of itself! Whit saved my life and helped me out when he didn’t owe me a thing. Connie was excited to forgive me.” His voice quieted as he recalled a moment that always made his heart swell to think of it. “Lucy forgave me—and she arguably had even more reason to hate me than Mr. Riley did.
“And there’s you, Mr. Allen. Like Whit, you helped me out when you didn’t have to. Not only that, but you confronted the most evil man probably any of us will ever meet, and you tried to save his soul.” Richard shook his head. “Do you have any idea how huge that is?”
Jack looked down shyly. “I can’t claim any credit for it.”
“I know. My point is, I’ve seen what you have inside of you, and… I want that for me.” It was Richard’s turn to feel a little shy. “The only problem is, I don’t know enough to go from here. I don’t know a lot about the Bible. So, Mr. Allen… would you… would you tell me about Jesus?”
Jack’s eyes were glistening. “Richard, it would be my privilege.”
Okay, so the first Richard fic I started working on is actually a post-“The Final Conflict” scene between Jack and Richard, because that conversation had to be interesting.
So... excerpt beneath the cut. :)
Richard gingerly shook his head. “You did everything you could do, and more than most people would do.” Poor Jack, feeling cut-up over the death of a monster like Blackgaard. “You can only save somebody who wants to be saved.”
“I know you’re right, but I can’t help feeling…”
“Disappointed. I get it.”
Jack looked sheepish. “I’m sorry, Richard; I must sound terribly insensitive. I’m sure you must feel, well, relieved.”
Richard mirrored the older man’s sheepish expression. “Kinda, yeah. I mean, he can’t hurt anyone anymore.”
