I Won't Send Roses

Fanfiction
Title:	I Won't Send Roses
Author(s):	Jane of Australia
Date(s):	1986
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	The Professionals
Relationship(s):	Bodie/Doyle
External Links:
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I Won't Send Roses is a Bodie/Doyle circuit story by Jane of Australia.

Reactions and Reviews

Teary Doyle, who is full of self-doubt because Ann didn't like his hairy chest or his uncut (!) Penis. *headdesk* Bodie does know what's best.

It's not my Bodie and Doyle - Doyle is definitely too self-conscious in this one, and there's various Australian-isms that mean it doesn't read quite right! It was never common to be circumcised in the UK at that time, and since there's no hint in the ep that Ann is Jewish, I don't find that a relevant connection to make/trauma for either Doyle or Ann to have! There was no hint in the ep tha Ann was physically repelled by Doyle either - where in the world did that come from?! I know Jane asks at the beginning "What could she have wanted from Doyle then?" but she never resolves that after setting up such an out-of-place premise.

When Doyle's tear-y in the eps, it's never over himself or when he's in pain - it's over other people, Bodie and Benny. So that doesn't ring true to me here either. That said I'm fascinated to see that there is actually a reason behind Doyle's teariness in this one, even if it's not one that I can go with. It seems to be a reaction to specific events and he mocks himself a little for doing it - he knows that he's being over-emotional to some extent, whereas in the stories I've mentioned above there's absolutely no self-awareness of that, it's just an accepted part of his character. He breathes, he smiles, he cries - they're all the same level of physicality!

And Bodie's protectiveness comes from somewhere slightly different too, I'd say - he's been in love with Doyle for a long time, to the extent that he'd resign rather than work without him, and he's determined not to show this at first. Again, it's a slightly tougher version of Bodie, I think, rather than what I see as almost a parental figure in the other two fics...