{"@attributes":{"version":"2.0"},"channel":{"title":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/","description":"joelthecat - LiveJournal.com","lastBuildDate":"Tue, 09 Oct 2012 04:46:01 GMT","generator":"LiveJournal \/ LiveJournal.com","image":{"url":"https:\/\/l-userpic.livejournal.com\/114869540\/44601295","title":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/","width":"100","height":"100"},"item":[{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/35992.html","pubDate":"Tue, 09 Oct 2012 04:46:01 GMT","title":"I am FanGirl. Hear me squawk.","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/35992.html","description":"I have been telling myself I need to stop watching Major Crimes. It's entertaining, but it doesn't have the magnetic appeal that The Closer had. It's just another cop show, and I can think of a kazillion things Mary McDonnell could be doing that would delight me more than MC.

However, I'm usually hanging around the day room of the mental hospital when it comes on, and, out of habit, I usually watch with the others.

Yeah. Tonight? We discover that the mental hospital has apparently dropped TNT. We get blackness with a swirling logo on that channel.

I truly meant to give up the show, but I am quite peeved about being forced to do so.","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/35992.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/35589.html","pubDate":"Thu, 04 Oct 2012 15:05:43 GMT","title":"Was I watching the same debate as everyone else?","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/35589.html","description":"

Really, I was there, sitting on the sofa with three other patients in the mental hospital, watching Obama and Romney, and watching the CNN voter reaction thing. We were talking about it the debate as it happened.

We didn't like Romney's demeanor. We thought he came off as condescending, even patronizing.

We caught him in a number of outright lies.

And we thought Obama did pretty good, and we noted that undecided Colorado voters judged the two candidates about even.

Then the debate ended, and the pundits started telling us Romney had scored a clear victory.

He didn't put Afghanistan in South America, or anything, but I don't think this was a victory of any kind.

Granted, most mental patients fall well within the boundaries of the 47% of Americans that Romney doesn't care about, so we may have some degree of bias. However, I don't think it can be said that Romney \"won.\"

At least not the debate I was watching.

<\/a>

We also wondered how either of these guys can be trusted to run a country when they can't abide by agreed-upon rules and have no respect for the prestigious professional running the show.

\"I had five seconds before you interrupted.\"

Shame on you, Mr. President.","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/35589.html?view=comments#comments","category":["barack obama","mitt romney","politics","real life","presidential debate"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/35435.html","pubDate":"Sun, 02 Sep 2012 02:38:02 GMT","title":"\"Possession\" review","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/35435.html","description":"So instead of the kazillion things I was supposed to do today, I saw Possession.

First of all, not all that scary a movie. Psychologically real and penetrating, but not scary.

Also, after seven years of The Closer it feels very strange to be watching Kyra Sedgwick on screen and moaning \"turn on the light, you idiot!\"



I thought KS did a great job with limited material. The rivals for her affection were competent, the kids show a lot of promise for extended careers and the minor characters were unexpectedly delightful. I think the plot fell apart at the end, but then my attention span? Not so good.

Best scene: picking out the shards of glass.<\/a>

So if you have nothing to do, go see this. It's entertaining, and a lot of what's in theaters today is not.","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/35435.html?view=comments#comments","category":["movie review","kyra sedgwick","possession"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/35269.html","pubDate":"Thu, 30 Aug 2012 22:44:27 GMT","title":"The Ship Poll","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/35269.html","description":"Abducted from Tumblr because I don't want to stick it in anybody's Ask.


  1. Your favorite ship<\/b><\/li>
  2. A ship you fast-forward through<\/b><\/li>
  3. A ship that makes you happy<\/b><\/li>
  4. A ship that makes you cry<\/b><\/li>
  5. A ship that makes you roll your eyes<\/b><\/li>
  6. A ship you love writing ff for<\/b><\/li>
  7. A ship you love that everyone else hates<\/b><\/li>
  8. A ship you hate that everyone else loves<\/b><\/li>
  9. Your favorite M\/M ship<\/b><\/li>
  10. Your favorite F\/F ship<\/b><\/li>
  11. Your favorite crack!ship<\/b><\/li>
  12. Your favorite crack!ship between two character on two different shows<\/b><\/li>
  13. List three things that make you think of your OTP<\/b><\/li>
  14. Your OT3<\/b><\/li>
  15. A real-life ship you love<\/b><\/li><\/ol><\/a>","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/35269.html?view=comments#comments","category":["fandom","ship","meme"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/34576.html","pubDate":"Thu, 23 Aug 2012 23:53:30 GMT","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/34576.html","description":"Stolen from <\/a>fragrantwoods<\/b><\/a><\/span> et al:

    Comment below with one nice thing I can do for you, then re-post this to your own journal and pass the kindness on.","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/34576.html?view=comments#comments","category":"meme"},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/34411.html","pubDate":"Tue, 21 Aug 2012 18:42:20 GMT","title":"The things you have to go through to be a butterfly","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/34411.html","description":"Grrrrrr.



    So I'm in the West LA VA hospital, and they have an employment program. Most of this employment program is really good. However, they do make everyone drag down to the groddiest part of Santa Monica, a forty-five minute bus ride away, to this silly Salvation Army program called Chrysalis, which is apparently designed for homeless teenagers who don't know what a job is. Chrysalis offers absolutely zero resources that the VA itself does not provide better and in a less draconian environment, and their classes are certainly not aimed at the typical patient in our program, who is a veteran with job skills. However, everyone is required to go, so I've been trying to jump through all the hoops as quickly as possible.

    I've been having even more scheduling problems with them than VA types usually do, though, and today, when I finally got in to see the counselor, he tells me \"You don't need an appointment. You can just drop in any time.\"

    Excuse me? You want me to pay bus far that I can't afford and drag to the ends of the earth with no appointment and you'll see me if it's convenient for you?????

    I'm sorry. I'm going to be unreasonable, here. For these last two meetings to which I am required to go, he needs to give me an appointment, and he needs to be there so we can get this nonsense over with.    <\/a>

    End of rant. We now return you to your regularly scheduled entertainment.","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/34411.html?view=comments#comments","category":["veterans administration","salvation army","real life","chrysalis"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/34218.html","pubDate":"Tue, 21 Aug 2012 02:05:51 GMT","title":"How pitiful is it....","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/34218.html","description":"...that I watch Major Crimes, walk to the computer and want to cry?

    I thought for a minute at the beginning, at the bit with the social worker, that there might be hope.

    From then on, I felt like I was watching a train wreck.

    Please, oh powers that be, let it get better!","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/34218.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/33989.html","pubDate":"Sun, 19 Aug 2012 19:41:54 GMT","title":"Dr. Who 1.3--The Unquiet Dead","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/33989.html","description":"Ah, Rose!

    \"I haven't even been born yet! How can I die?\"

    These early eps had some magnificent female characters: Jabe, Gwyneth.

    This is fun.","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/33989.html?view=comments#comments","category":"dr. who"},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/33653.html","pubDate":"Sat, 18 Aug 2012 04:07:17 GMT","title":"The End of the World","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/33653.html","description":"How pitiful is it that Dr. Who 1.2 is so pitiful that I couldn't even find a line to quote? Okay, I guess the direct descendent of the tropical rainforest was a cool concept and well played, but I am underimpressed by the ep as a whole.","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/33653.html?view=comments#comments","category":"dr. who"},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/33480.html","pubDate":"Thu, 16 Aug 2012 04:05:11 GMT","title":"Fate chasing me with a sledgehammer","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/33480.html","description":"Where I am? Largest Veterans' Hospital in the United States. Big place, both sides of Wilshire Boulevard. Enormous. Lots of patients been banged up due to military service in lots of ways. 300 just in my facility, and there are more than half a dozen buildings.

    The main hospital is running on emergency power. A transformer died on them last weekend. Veterans who would know say it looks like a fifty caliber machine gun was involved--there's a hole right through it. No actual foul play is suspected; the damage is said to be due to an electrical flaw. The security desk has been moved outside the front doors, and only the minimum of lighting is available--the place is dark. The elevators are need-only, and every so often an announcement comes over the loudspeaker reminding us that electrical equipment should be used only for medical necessities.

    Only the VA has an interesting definition of medical necessity. One woman here has cancer. She's here for radiation. They told her to take a week off.

    Could be worse. At least we have health care, or we will as soon as the power comes back on.","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/33480.html?view=comments#comments","category":"va hospital"},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/33187.html","pubDate":"Wed, 15 Aug 2012 03:45:01 GMT","title":"Dr. Who, season 1 ep 1","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/33187.html","description":"Now sitting in the computer room of a mental hospital, rewatching the new Dr. Who from the beginning.

    Rating: 4.5 of 5

    Best line: \"Lots of planets have a North!\"","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/33187.html?view=comments#comments","category":"dr. who"},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/32887.html","pubDate":"Tue, 14 Aug 2012 03:17:36 GMT","title":"Well, I have seen it","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/32887.html","description":"Major Crimes? Not so much. The whole concept of running the division to get plea bargains may be close to reality, but it is not what viewers want to see. We want to see crooks get caught, or tricked into confession. We don't want them to get deals.

    And Sharon only came to life once, and it was at absolutely the worst time for the show. The ensemble thing becomes confusing, too. Also, what happened to Taylor's demonstrable lack of brains established in the first show?

    Oh, that's right. He's the one who wants to push for plea bargains.

    Really sad: Sharon drinks white wine. It's meant, I'm sure, as a way to contrast the character to Brenda, who guzzled the red stuff, but all it does is remind us--okay, me--of the life the show had when it focused on brilliant Brenda rather than colorless Sharon.

    So, does anyone think the show will get better?","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/32887.html?view=comments#comments","category":"major crimes"},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/32640.html","pubDate":"Sun, 12 Aug 2012 20:25:05 GMT","title":"Yowsah! Movies!","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/32640.html","description":"The next building to mine in the VA Hospital where I am has a computer room. Word went around that they had wi-fi.

    Now, George the laptop and I do very well with the wi-fi hotspot, except for streaming media. T-Mobile throttles folks who use to much bandwidth, and even one movie a month is too much.

    So George goes into his alligator leather briefcase, and I carry him next door.

    They do not have wi-fi.

    They have a wired connection!!!!!!!! Much faster!!!!!!!

    See me sign up for Netflix. See me watch Stargate: Continuum for my required recreation (yes, we are required to do recreation). I had never seen the film, and it was brilliant.

    SQUEEEEEEEEEE!!!

    I may have to do a Firefly rewatch, here. Signing off, now.","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/32640.html?view=comments#comments","category":["netflix","stargate: continuum","va"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/32261.html","pubDate":"Sun, 12 Aug 2012 02:18:51 GMT","title":"Confession: I've been reblogging pics","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/32261.html","description":"My     tumblr blog<\/a> has pictures posted in anticipation of the Major Crimes premiere. They're tagged \"Major Crimes countdown\".

    Not a fan of the idea of the kid. Why couldn't it have been one of her grandchildren in a situation similar to the one we almost had with Charlie Jackson?

    Who I still say was actually Brenda and Will's daughter, but never mind the last hopeless flailings of my sick shippiness. Just go enjoy the pictures.","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/32261.html?view=comments#comments","category":["tumblr","major crimes"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/32112.html","pubDate":"Sat, 11 Aug 2012 04:47:38 GMT","title":"If you can't tell what's wrong with this picture...","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/32112.html","description":"    And I thought I was bad<\/a>","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/32112.html?view=comments#comments","category":"olympics"},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/31762.html","pubDate":"Sat, 11 Aug 2012 04:30:35 GMT","title":"I'm worried about Major Crimes","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/31762.html","description":"Seriously. I'm worried the show isn't going to make it.

    Oh, I'll watch, and loads of diehard fans will. I'm just not sure that's enough.

    Now, Mary McDonnell is genius incarnate. Hands down, no question, put her on film reading incantations to Tlaloc in Mayan and many of us will still watch. She carried Battlestar: Galactica in a bucket. Major Crimes, however, is going to be a different story.

    I'm not worried about Mary. I'm worried about Raydor. I'm worried whether this is a character that the average viewer (not fan) will get behind, because if the channel surfers don't stop and identify with this anal-retentive sexagenarian with her fashion faux pas and her awkward hand gestures, the show is doomed.

    Without the right character, Mary couldn't carry High Society. Even I gave up after a couple of episodes. I'm very afraid that Major Crimes is going to meet a similar fate.

    Anybody think the spinoff would have worked with Provenza in charge? He'd have had a challenge going in: no one in canon would have believed he could do it. Challenges are popular with viewers. The character would have sucked us in. Raydor could have hung around and been his nemesis\/mentor\/pain in the ass\/maybe love interest.

    Nobody doubts that Raydor will succeed in command of Major Crimes, but I have some doubt that the show will succeed. Time will tell, I guess.

    ** buys popcorn for Monday night **","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/31762.html?view=comments#comments","category":["louis provenza","mary mcdonnell","sharon raydor","the closer","gw bailey."]},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/31708.html","pubDate":"Wed, 08 Aug 2012 02:19:56 GMT","title":"I dare you!","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/31708.html","description":"To make fanfiction out of     my Musemuggers entry<\/a> for this week. Who's on the table? Who wants the procedure to happen? Who doesn't? What does the argument sound like?

    Fandom of your choice, but extra points for The Closer since there's only one more episode to go.

    Edited because having a college degree does not mean I can spell simple words.<\/i>","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/31708.html?view=comments#comments","category":"fanfic challenge"},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/31459.html","pubDate":"Thu, 02 Aug 2012 06:15:32 GMT","title":"Fake movie meme stolen from Tumblr","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/31459.html","description":"Comment with the names of 3-5 actors and the title of a song. I'll reply with the synopsis of a fake movie, and ask you to do one in return. Who's game?","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/31459.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/31038.html","pubDate":"Thu, 02 Aug 2012 03:45:10 GMT","title":"OC Smut Story Exchange.","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/31038.html","description":"Y'all come write something.

    Smutfest signup<\/a>","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/31038.html?view=comments#comments","category":"smutfest"},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/30813.html","pubDate":"Thu, 02 Aug 2012 03:40:27 GMT","title":"Bad, nasty real life that doesn't turn out so bad","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/30813.html","description":"I have had my female appointment.

    The doctor thinks I have nerve damage.

    Down there?

    Uh-huh.

    INSIDE?

    Uh-huh.

    The good thing is, it can probably be fixed. The bad thing is, it will involve injections into my abdomen. For someone who has never had children (and for all I know, for the rest of you) this is not a pleasant thought.

    But, hooray! Health looms!    <\/a>","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/30813.html?view=comments#comments","category":["real life","health"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/30502.html","pubDate":"Tue, 10 Jul 2012 03:35:44 GMT","title":"Good Intelligence (26\/?, PG-13, NCIS\/The Closer, Jenny\/Brenda,Gibbs\/Sharon) ","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/30502.html","description":"Title: Good Intelligence
    Author: JoelTheCat
    Rating: PG for flying bullets and references to long-ago child abuse
    Character(s)\/Pairing(s): Jenny Shepard\/Brenda Leigh Johnson, Jethro Gibbs\/Sharon Raydor
    Genre: f\/f, m\/f, trying to think of a good m\/m pairing
    Warning: I think we're done with the squicky stuff
    Spoilers: NCIS through season 5. Whole run of The Closer, which may well have aired by the time I'm done :-)
    Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
    Author Notes: Timelines totally skewed in the quest for quality femslash and because Gibbs likes redheads.
    Summary: The danger from Brenda's past may not have nearly the impact on her life as the old friend who shows up to protect her.
    Word Count: 765

    When Will Pope was a boy, his mother had set him a chapter of the Bible to learn by heart every day, and made him repeat it at the dinner table. If he missed a word or hesitated, she had cracked him across the knuckles. He knew the story of King David and Bathsheba quite well, how the king had loved the girl and sent her husband Uriah to death in the forefront of battle so that he could marry her.

    He didn't remember the story until Fritz Howard was face down in the mud behind a sheltering log where Will had pushed him at the sound of the first gunshot.

    \"Get down!\" Howard hissed.

    \"Sorry,\" said Will, and slid off the other man's back. Fritz grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him all the way down.

    \"Stay down!\"

    \"Excuse me, but who is the Chief of Police here?\"

    \"Is this LA?\"

    \"Uh....\"

    \"Then unless there are sailors or Marines out there, I'm the only one with jurisdiction. Besides, that shiny head might as well have a target painted on it. I'll deal with the shooters. You find Brenda and keep her from doing anything stupid.\"

    Will peeked over the log. There were no bodies bleeding out where Brenda and Director Shepard had been sitting. Given the womens' qualifications, that probably meant they were okay, at least until Brenda decided she needed to be in the line of fire again. Then three bullets hit the log in front of him, and Will ducked. Fritz shook his head.

    \"Shines like a beacon,\" he said.

    \"At least three shooters,\" Will told him. \"You seriously going to try to do this alone?\"

    \"Not exactly,\" said Fritz. \"Cover me, okay? Then get to Brenda.\"



    Ziva found that she regretted the necessity of her duty. Still, she dodged from tree to tree until she got to the redheaded captain. Raydor had hunkered down where she was, eyes wide, obviously disoriented. Ziva took her hand.

    \"Sharon,\" she said, \"it's time to go.\"

    Across the clearing a volley of shots rang out; someone on their side was returning fire, and Agent Howard was sprinting toward the motor home. Ziva took the opportunity to pull Captain Raydor to her feet and into the woods.

    \"Where are we going?\" Sharon asked.

    \"Somewhere out of the way,\" said Ziva.

    \"My friends are out there.\"

    Ziva put an arm around her shoulders.

    \"Do you think you could do anything to help them, right now?\"

    \"I could try.\"

    \"The best thing you can do,\" Ziva told them, \"is be out of the way. Come on.\"

    The walked together deeper and deeper into the woods.

    \"What's that?\" asked Sharon.

    A wide band of paleness stretched across their path, obvious against the dark trees above and the pool of shadows underneath.

    \"Some sort of tension structure, a tent.\"

    \"Yes,\" Raydor said, \"but what is it doing here?\"

    Ziva did not know, but the concealment the structure provided might be quite convenient.

    \"Inside,\" she said. Sharon followed her in.

    \"Why are they growing plants in here?\" asked Ziva. \"Are they sensitive to the sun?\" She had seen such sun shields in gardens in the Israeli desert, but never in a forest.

    \"Oh, God,\" said Sharon. \"Don't you smell it?\"

    Ziva sniffed, and understood.

    \"Marijuana,\" she said. \"The tent is to conceal the plants from aerial surveillance.\"

    \"Just our luck,\" said Sharon. \"Come on.\"

    \"How so?\" asked Ziva.

    \"You can't do what you need to do here. The local authorities will investigate all that gunfire, and they will find this plot.\"

    Ziva looked up at her.

    \"You knew?\" she said.

    \"Of course. If we're on foot, I'll slow you down, and I know far too much. The police would probably get us all killed trying to avoid the necessity. I'm glad you're here.\"

    \"If the local authorities respond, we will be discovered anyway. There will be no reason for... any precipitous action.\"

    \"Assuming they get here in time,\" said Sharon. Her voice was firm, but she shivered in the cool night and swayed slightly with every breath.

    \"Sit down,\" said Ziva. \"Just... just sit down for a minute.\" Sharon shook her head, but then her knees went out and she slid down Ziva's body to the ground. Ziva sat beside her, one hand clasped between both of Sharon's and the other holding her pistol.

    That left her with no way to wipe the tears that rolled down her cheeks.    <\/a>","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/30502.html?view=comments#comments","category":["ncis","brenda leigh johnson","m\/f","crossover","jethro gibbs","sharon raydor","f\/f","jenny shepard","closer"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/30339.html","pubDate":"Mon, 09 Jul 2012 01:21:49 GMT","title":"Good Intelligence (25\/?, PG-13, NCIS\/The Closer, Jenny\/Brenda,Gibbs\/Sharon)","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/30339.html","description":"Title: Good Intelligence
    Author: JoelTheCat
    Rating: PG-13 for light cuddling
    Character(s)\/Pairing(s): Jenny Shepard\/Brenda Leigh Johnson, Jethro Gibbs\/Sharon Raydor
    Genre: f\/f, m\/f, trying to think of a good m\/m pairing
    Warning: I think we're done with the squicky stuff
    Spoilers: NCIS through season 5. Whole run of The Closer, which may well have aired by the time I'm done :-)
    Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
    Author Notes: Timelines totally skewed in the quest for quality femslash and because Gibbs likes redheads. Also, not really sure where this new development came from....
    Summary: The danger from Brenda's past may not have nearly the impact on her life as the old friend who shows up to protect her.
    Word Count: 781


    \"My life,\" said Brenda, \"is going to hell.\"

    \"I'm sorry,\" Jenny told her. She pulled Brenda closer to her, nuzzling into the mass of blond hair. Brenda giggled.

    \"You like that,\" she said, \"don't you?\"

    \"I always did like that,\" Jenny reminded her. She combed through the curls with her hands, smiling at the tickling sensation against the sensitive skin between her fingers.

    \"What am I going to do?\" Brenda asked. \"What am I going to do now?\"

    \"Sweetie,\" said Jenny, \"you have more people who love you than almost anyone on earth. You've got a Round Table of loyal knights all your own, and a couple of guys in the trees over there negotiating over who's Arthur and who's Lancelot. If you wanted to, Brenda, you could take over the world.\"

    \"You ever read the Lord of the Rings?\"

    \"'And I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel?'\"

    \"Like she said, if I ran the world I'd start out fixing things, but it wouldn't end like that. Besides, what are you putting me up to? If you shook that idea real hard, treason might fall out.\"

    Jenny kissed her hair again.

    \"Maybe,\" she said, \"the only people who can build what they need to do it are the ones who never will.\"

    \"Let's hope so. So who are you?\"

    \"I beg your pardon?\"

    \"If Fritz and Will are going to be Arthur and Lancelot, who are you? Because I love you, too, you know, and if I were going to take over the world, I'd need your resources, too.\"

    \"You know you'll have them as long as I do.\"

    Brenda looked up at her.

    \"What's that supposed to mean?\" she asked.

    Jenny took a deep breath. She had not meant to talk about this. How could she talk about this when she didn't know what there was to talk about? But this was Brenda Leigh Johnson, who could get answers from anyone, much less the woman who loved her, and so Jenny had to say something.

    \"I'm not sure yet,\" she said. \"I have some... some symptoms.\"

    \"Symptoms of what?\"

    \"I don't know yet. They're still doing tests.\"

    \"Well, what symptoms?\"

    \"Brenda, unless you plan to diagnose and treat me out here in the middle of nowhere, there's no point in talking about it!\"

    \"What symptoms?\"

    \"Headaches, just headaches. That, and I... I feel weak, sometimes, and sleepier than normal, and... and I'm all thumbs. It could be anything.\"

    \"The girl who could shoot a flying crow in the eye at 400 yards is all thumbs?\"

    \"I would never do that to a bird,\" Jenny protested, glad of the chance to change the subject. \"Birds are innocent creatures.\"

    \"Including the one that left that mess all over your Harley? You made a mess of that one. All we ever found was a few feathers.\"

    \"Probably a cat got it, Brenda. Besides, I don't ride a Harley anymore.\"

    \"Because of your symptoms?\"

    \"No, because I'm the Director of NCIS, and I'm expected to behave with a tittle kedorum.\"

    \"What?\"

    \"Decorum. A little decorum. You know, class?\"

    Brenda's eyes were full of horror. Her hand rose, slowly, and stroked Jenny's cheek.

    \"What's wrong?\" Jenny asked.

    \"Does it scramble your speech centers, too?\"

    \"In order to know that, we would have to know what 'it' is, wouldn't we? Honestly, Brenda, if you feel like playing nurse, take care of your friend over there. She looks like she needs someone to take charge.\"

    \"Who's going to take care of you?\" Brenda asked.

    \"No one is going to take care of me. No one is going to have to.\"

    \"Jenny....\"

    \"What? You and partner #1 run the LAPD, and you have a good marriage with partner #2. What would you do with #3?\"

    \"Love you.\"

    Jenny started to pull away, but Brenda stopped her.

    \"Jenny, I love you. I'm always going to love you. I can't lose you now.\"

    \"You didn't have me for nearly twenty years.\"

    \"But I didn't stop loving you.\"

    \"You're the one people are shooting at!\"

    \"Yeah, and when that happened, look who came running. Promise me, Jenny. Promise me that you'll let me help if I can, when I can.\"

    Well, that was easy enough.

    \"I promise,\" Jenny assured her, and kissed her hair again. Brenda drew her into a fierce hug.

    \"All right,\" she said. \"All right. I'm going to hold you to that, but right now, we're going to have to find someone to put Sharon to bed. She's fallen asleep hunched over that old root.\"

    Brenda stood and pulled Jenny to her feet, then knocked her to the ground as a shot rang out.    <\/a>","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/30339.html?view=comments#comments","category":["ncis","brenda leigh johnson","m\/f","crossover","jethro gibbs","sharon raydor","f\/f","jenny shepard","closer"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/30119.html","pubDate":"Sun, 08 Jul 2012 03:03:08 GMT","title":"Good Intelligence (24\/?, NC-17, NCIS\/The Closer, Jenny\/Brenda,Gibbs\/Sharon) ","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/30119.html","description":"Title: Good Intelligence
    Author: JoelTheCat
    Rating: R for references to slashy concepts
    Character(s)\/Pairing(s): Jenny Shepard\/Brenda Leigh Johnson
    Genre: f\/f, m\/m playacting
    Warning: seriously escaping from canon with the m\/m stuff
    Spoilers: NCIS through season 5. Whole run of The Closer, which may well have aired by the time I'm done :-)
    Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
    Author Notes: Timelines totally skewed in the quest for quality femslash and because Gibbs likes redheads.
    Summary: The danger from Brenda's past may not have nearly the impact on her life as the old friend who shows up to protect her.
    Word Count: 528


    They spent the night in a hunter's camp in the National Forest. The men agreed to sleep outside and leave the motor home to the women, but none of the ladies evinced any urge to retreat from the campfire. Fritz watched from the shadows as Brenda sat huddled with the director, Sciuto conferred with Tao and the boyish geek from NCIS over the guts of a cell phone and the Israeli girl sat very quietly and identified the source of every sound within seconds of hearing it. Sharon huddled against a tree with a blanket wrapped around her.

    \"She's not doing all that well.\"

    Fritz glanced to one side and found Will Pope standing near him.

    \"How did you do that?\" he asked.

    \"Years of practice not waking my kids,\" Pope replied. \"Really, though, she does not look good.\"

    \"The director seems to think she looks good enough.\"

    \"I meant Sharon.\"

    \"She should be in a hospital,\" said Fritz. \"Poison at her age is nothing to play with, and we don't really even have enough water to flush her system the way we should.\"

    \"It won't be long. Taylor had an address on the Agapoff boy when I called. There was a team on the way to pick him up.\"

    \"I don't like putting Brenda's life in Taylor's hands.\"

    \"My own stupidity. If I had left Sharon in place, she could be doing this.\"

    \"And if the FBI hadn't sent me to Washington, you'd still be there and you could be doing it.\"

    \"Would that be any better, from your point of view?\"

    Fritz looked back at Brenda and the director, who were whispering urgently.

    \"You,\" he said, \"I would know how to fight. I mean, how can she... how would she feel if I did something like that with a man?\"

    \"Doesn't bother her,\" Pope said. \"She likes to watch. There's not a lot that's too kinky for Brenda. I think that's a part of the PTSD, too.\" He looked up and saw Fritz's open-mouthed stare. \"Oh,\" he said. \"You... I guess you didn't know?\"

    Fritz swallowed and shook his head.

    \"Never occurred to me,\" he said. \"You... you?\"

    \"Sometimes.\"

    The two men looked at each other for a moment, firelight flickering across their faces, and then suddenly, simultaneously, both looked away.

    \"About the case....\" said Fritz, and then found he had nothing else to say.

    \"Yeah,\" said Will. \"The rubies have to be in the States, or the son would not know about them. The US government cannot have known anything about them, or they would have been reclaimed by now.\"

    Fritz found that the analysis process calmed him. His brain settled and focused.

    \"Unless it was one of the clandestine services,\" he said.

    \"Then they would have reclaimed the stones and killed Agapoff senior. You what I think? I think it's just as it seems. The father held back a few stones out of each shipment for his own use.\"

    Fritz shook his head.

    \"Then why,\" he asked, \"are they still... wherever they are? Why didn't he spend them? Fear of exposure?\"

    \"There's something we're missing,\" Will said.

    \"Yeah,\" said Fritz. \"Come on. There's something I want to ask Tao.\"
    <\/a>","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/30119.html?view=comments#comments","category":["ncis","brenda leigh johnson","m\/f","crossover","jethro gibbs","sharon raydor","f\/f","jenny shepard","closer"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/29897.html","pubDate":"Thu, 05 Jul 2012 13:55:52 GMT","title":"Not my work, but some of you might enjoy it","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/29897.html","description":"
    <\/center>

    Some days I just love the stuff I find on Tumblr. Again, not my work. Appears to originate with a Tumbler user called \"tempewise.\"","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/29897.html?view=comments#comments","category":["f\/f","the closer","brenda leigh johnson"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/29567.html","pubDate":"Thu, 05 Jul 2012 13:39:33 GMT","title":"Helllooooo!","author":"joelthecat","link":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/29567.html","description":"** calls in air strikes, then offshore bombardment, both deploying fannish leaflets**

    ** APCs hit the beach and disgorge platoons of dancing fangirls **

    I'm back!","comments":"https:\/\/joelthecat.livejournal.com\/29567.html?view=comments#comments","category":"real life"}]}}