Breaking Cover

Fanfiction
Title:	Breaking Cover
Author(s):	Ellis Ward
Date(s):	May 1991
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	The Professionals
Relationship(s):
External Links:	Breaking Cover online at AO3
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Breaking Cover is a slash Professionals story by Ellis Ward. It was illustrated by Suzan Lovett and Phoenix.

It was published in Chalk and Cheese #8 and is online.

illo by Suzan Lovett for this story from the zine. This Lovett art piece, The Declassizing of Bodie, used an perfume ad for its reference source. Many fans loved it, some had issues with its translation. In the drawing Bodie is in a tux with his tie undone and Doyle is in blue jeans and a cut off top. Doyle has Bodie pressed up against the wall. In the original ad, which appeared in a book of advertising, the original Doyle character was a woman. The use of professional ads for reference material was not always welcomed in fandom. This image has been held up as an example of where the artist should have changed the female model proportioning to fit the fact that the characters were male.

Plagiarized in "Cover Up"

This story was famously plagiarized by another fan, Kay Wells, as the Kirk/Spock story, ironically titled Cover Up.

See much more at Plagiarism: "Breaking Cover" and "Cover Up".

Reactions and Reviews

1991

"Breaking Cover" was a very good story. Ward may not believe in the 'short' part of 'short story,' but she is good.

My favorite piece of fiction was Ellis Ward's "Breaking Cover." It was sexy, warm and very loving. The Suzan Lovett illo didn't hurt.

"Breaking Cover" by Ellis Ward was a great post-"Discovered in a Graveyard" story. As always in Ellis' stories, all the pieces fit together to make a fascinating tale. In this one, the growing attraction between a gay Ray Doyle and a straight Bodie, their living together after Ray's release from hospital, makes for a tender love story, and then introducing some conflict in the form of an old mate of Bodie's. I really liked it.

Concerning Ellis Ward's "Breaking Cover" -- this one, not to mention my reaction to it, is considerably more difficult to classify. Let it be said at the outset that I expect always (perhaps unfairly) a satisfying amount of angst from an Ellis Ward story. As I mentioned earlier, perhaps my expectations were too high, when I read the Table of Contents (bad habit, that), and noted the length of the story, I murmured to myself, "Oh, good—I'll save this one for last." But when I did read it the next morning and reached the end, I turned the page, not realizing it was the end. And then I shouted to myself, "Is that all?" Now, this is, perhaps, a tribute to the author's talent: to have read through thirty-odd pages and thinking, "Is that all?" when the end was reached. But the story feels incomplete, almost as if the author got bored toward the end. She spent many pages setting up an inevitable situation, and then didn't spend enough pages developing the situation. I suppose what I'm saying is that she didn't spend enough pages for the reader to wallow in. Perhaps it's my problem only: I'm a devout wallower (and I know that not everyone feels the way I do, believe me). I wanted more than I got. I don't think that the "more" would have hurt the story, sometimes (no matter how much I want it) I know it does; this time, it wouldn't have done. Essentially, despite the above diatribe, "Breaking Cover" is still my favorite story in the zine. And I must mention Suzi's unbelievably fantastic (color, yet!) illo — what I wouldn't give for a print of that, Suzan.)...

"Breaking Cover" has to be my favorite of this issue. Suzan's art, what can you say, it's absolutely frabulous. It brought that scene to life and the written word brought the art to life. Suzan obviously worked very closely with the story or vice versa.

"Breaking Cover" by Ellis Ward. The Suzi Lovett (full color illo is H-O-T! And at 34 pages, this is practically a vignette for Ward. She spins a good yarn, but often spins it too long. This one is a good length, building up in subtle layers. And ward very rarely puts the boys in bed by page 4— she does let it build. But I do wish she'd retire her thesaurus. It's damned dangerous to be reading along at a good clip, then trip over couplets like the cat that was "assiduously insinuating" itself between Doyle's feet. I hit that one so hard my eyeballs rattled. Lines like this are acceptable in a poetic setting, but finding them in the middle of a sentence of prose is rather like having the elevator drop out from under you. Ward is a good writer who could be even better if she would tighten her writing and avoid the polysyllables which come across as an affectation.

"Breaking Cover" had a nicely done relationship and Winslow was an interesting character, but it seemed to me that both Bodie and Doyle were a little too tongue-tied for belief. Would Bodie really give up after one years-ago rejection if he felt so strongly? And why wasn't Doyle saying anything? Also, why did McCabe think he had to tell Doyle, anyway?

2005

... as far as I'm concerned, she can't write a bad story. This one is one of my favorites. For starters, I love stories set after Doyle's shooting; the emotional intensity between him and Bodie always seem to be that much higher. And here, the two living together while Bodie helps Ray recover adds to the slow simmer. Then there's the banter between the two that adds just the right amount of humor. Ray may have almost died but there's nothing mauldin about the story. Doyle needs to mend and Bodie is there for him. But mostly, it's the just right way in which the lads are portrayed that brings me back to Ellis Ward's stories time and time again. They are as I like to see them; a bit rough, a bit unsure, yet two truly decent men who care deeply for one another.

2007

Kate recommended this one to me, and I went back and had another look at it. I was originally put off by the stilted and formal use of language in the beginning, but actually it's pretty good. And it gets stronger as the story progresses and the style relaxes. There's some great dialog and a genuine plot around the getting of B/D together in bed finally. One of my favorites.

With this one I began to see that there was a real pattern in the DiaG stories, and that certain elements were traditional and expected -- which is fun, I think, to read everyone's take on these themes. The bringing Doyle home from the hospital scene; the Doyle has a nightmare scene; the Doyle facing his flat for the first time scene (by the way, he'd have been moved immediately as his security was compromised by the shooting); the Doyle and Bodie talk about why Doyle left the locks undone scene; the helping Doyle bathe scene (optional but full of interesting possibilities); the Doyle working to get his strength back scenes -- there are a lot more, I'm sure, but those are the ones that hit me.

Oh. And the Doyle and Bodie finally realize they love each other and get it on scene.

There's no way I could end this month without reccing one of Ellis Ward's works; as far as I'm concerned, she can't write a bad story. This one is one of my favorites. For starters, I love stories set after Doyle's shooting; the emotional intensity between him and Bodie always seem to be that much higher. And here, the two living together while Bodie helps Ray recover adds to the slow simmer. Then there's the banter between the two that adds just the right amount of humor. Ray may have almost died but there's nothing maudlin about the story. Doyle needs to mend and Bodie is there for him. But mostly, it's the just right way in which the lads are portrayed that brings me back to Ellis Ward's stories time and time again. They are as I like to see them; a bit rough, a bit unsure, yet two truly decent men who care deeply for one another.