:: one-shots and meta ::

Home Is Where The Heart Is
Written: September 2005
Word count: 1,985
Rating: G
“Are you kidding me?” He let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Angel, put it this way – my family isn’t exactly rich. I’ve got three brothers and three sisters, my dad’s an electrician, and my mom’s a teacher. The mechanic that looked at my car wanted about five hundred dollars to fix it, and I would have needed maybe an extra hundred, maybe two hundred dollars to get myself back home. We don’t exactly have that much money lying around. I couldn’t in good conscience do that to my parents, not after all they’ve done for me.”

What Christmas Means To Me
Written: November – December 2005
Word count: 3,193
Rating: G
I had last seen my family at the end of August, which was the price I had paid for choosing to go to college overseas. Why I hadn’t followed the lead of my older brother and attended college closer to home, I still wasn’t sure, and had spent almost every free moment of my first week at college wishing I had gone down that path. This was the first time since my arrival in Manchester that I’d had any doubts, and I wasn’t yet sure if it was because of the upcoming holiday season that those doubts were resurrecting themselves, or if it was my mind playing tricks on me. No matter the cause, I needed to deal with them – and fast.

Wayward Angel
Written: March 2007
Word count: 1,943
Rating: G
But guiding Taylor had been her choice, and hers alone. When she had seen him for the first time eighteen years earlier, looking up at her with those same sad blue eyes, she’d known it was meant to be. None of the other guides had wanted anything to do with him, for reasons known only to them. Aurelia had volunteered, and had taken Taylor under her wing. And despite resolving not to get emotionally involved, the child had captured her heart. It was going to be the hardest day of her life when she had to let him go.

Higher Ground
Written: March 2007
Word count: 830
Rating: G
I turned around to face Charlotte, my best friend since we had been in preschool, taking in the slightly maniacal grin on her face and the glint in her dark brown eyes. “You said you wanted to try something different for once – well, this is it.” She clapped me on the shoulder. “Come on. Max’ll get you fitted up, and then up the cliff we go.”

Mistletoe And Wine
Written: November 2009
Word count: 7,698
Rating: M
I sat there silently as Mr. Reynolds examined the ring, dreading his response more and more as the seconds ticked by. I knew very well that being in our mid-twenties, Isobel and I were more than old enough to marry without permission, but at the same time I was well aware that Isobel’s parents could make things very difficult for us if they so chose to. Isobel’s mother liked me, I knew that much was true, and so I was certain she would have no objection to our marriage. It was her father that I was worried about.

An Aussie In The Hanson Brothers' Court
Written: December 2009
Word count: 1,484
Rating: G
Like many other Hanson fans, I was nearly thirteen years old when I heard MMMBop for the very first time. For me, it was a Saturday morning in the middle of May 1997. But unlike many other fans, I didn’t see the MMMBop video on MTV. My very first sighting of Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson was on a TV show called Video Hits – an institution of Australian TV and the Australian music industry since June 1986.

Adeste Fideles
Written: December 2012
Word count: 2,262
Rating: PG
Audrey grinned before pirouetting on her tiptoes, allowing the lace hem of her long dark blue dress to flare out around her ankles. “I think we can blame that old car of mine for that,” she said lightly. “And you don’t look so bad yourself. You can definitely scrub up nicely when you want to.”

White Wine In The Sun
Written: December 2013
Word count: 5,297
Rating: M
Uncle Rhys finally made his grand appearance at least two or three minutes after the barbecue had started smoking. The lid had been lifted off of it by now, and sat propped up against the side of the deck. Sitting inside the lower half of the barbecue was a very blackened and burned Christmas turkey.

All Hail The Glow Cloud: Presenting The Fantastic As Ordinary
Written: November 2014
Word count: 3,517
Rating: G
Welcome To Night Vale’s listeners are treated as if they are residents of the titular town, with the presence of an outsider known only as Carlos providing an insight into how Night Vale might be perceived by someone who is unfamiliar with the town and its many quirks.

Spirit Of The Anzacs
Written: April 2015
Word count: 2,535
Rating: M
I stayed quiet as the dawn service ended and the crowd began to disperse to different parts of the Anzac Cove precinct. The sun had risen by now, and I unwound my scarf to let the spring sunshine fall on my face. A hundred years ago, this peninsula had been a battlefield that had seen thousands of Australians and New Zealanders losing their lives. Now it was a national park, a sacred and peaceful place that would hopefully never again know the horrors of war.