Altruism

Fanfiction
Title:	Altruism
Author(s):	Marrie
Date(s):	Sept 2005
Length:	79k
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	The Professionals
Relationship(s):	Bodie/Doyle
External Links:	Altruism, Archived version
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Altruism is a Professionals Bodie/Doyle slash story by Marrie. It is available online on The Professionals Circuit Archive.

Summaries

Author's summary: "An episodic tale following Season 1 (Rogue) - Season 2 (Fall Girl)."

Reactions and Reviews

"....it was very beautiful, although it's not fair that you end it like this. It will destroy Bodie and the realization is making me very sad. I am sad you won't continute this (I guess, if you say it's the end) and i am tahnkful to you, it was a good ride. :) At times I felt so much for them that my heart (and stomach) were literally clenching."

"I'm going to coin a new term - COL - short for "CRY out loud!" This story has made me COL on at least three occasions... So much emotional power! Thank you. The opportunity to share in their thoughts and lives together was wonderful. And I'm still crying!"

"I had to stop reading yesterday and wait until I could read it all at once. I ached for Bodie, poor baby. Doyle has some serious control issues and I'm wondering if he isn't lying to both of them about his feelings - keeping his heart safe and keeping Bodie, too. I'm worried about Bodie and the ending. Won't it break something in him or harden him too much to abandon hope? How would Doyle react if Bodie REALLY found somebody else? I like the way you tied each part to an episode so we could visualize them at that point. All in all, beautifully done, even though I wanted them to have a happy ending."

"So, it's done ... and I will read it again and again, but I also think it cries out for more! Not necessarily a happy ending, because they are so sadly broken. The partnership is also breaking, but they don't know it yet. It just seems that there is a price to be paid for altrusim, and I'm longing to see how you view the cost to both men. Excellent job!"

"Yet another fine piece of writing which I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve only just discovered. Can’t quite put my finger on exactly the *how* or the *why* I was so impressed with this story, probably because there were so many things *to* impress me: the fact that I thought it was beautifully written goes without saying; I found it to be an intelligent read - never obvious - and one which made me think (apparently that‘s good for you, so I’ll go along with it), and it made me question my first assumptions enough to reread certain passages; I loved the adult way the author portrayed their relationship and the complications within that relationship, successfully creating two characters who are undergoing all kinds of emotional turmoil in their struggle to deal with the fast-disappearing fine line which divides a close and emotional working partnership, from a close, emotional and sexually-charged relationship. Not everyone will read it in the same way, but I loved the various ambiguities contained within the story (which is divided into episode-related insights into their relationship and narrated by Bodie or Doyle); the beginning is ambiguous in the sense that the reader (well, *this* reader at any rate) isn't quite sure whether they *are* sexually involved or not and that the way they think about each and communicate their feelings could apply as much to 'best mates' as to lovers. I liked that it kept me guessing, curious to discover more. And (I think) Doyle himself is a study in ambiguity, unable or unwilling to admit to himself, let alone to Bodie – maybe even unable to *know* himself - what his feelings for his Ci5 partner actually are."