Lost in the Feeling

Fanfiction
Title:	Lost in the Feeling
Author(s):	Maiden Wyoming
Date(s):	2001
Length:
Genre(s):	slash, Bodie/Doyle
Fandom(s):	The Professionals
Relationship(s):	Bodie/Doyle
External Links:
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Lost in the Feeling is a The Professionals story by Maiden Wyoming.

It was published in Priority A-3 #3.

Reactions and Reviews

A first-time story that starts with a fast-paced action scene of the sort at which Maiden Wyoming excels. In a near-death epiphany, Doyle under stands his feelings for Bodie with an hitherto unrealised clarity. Later, invalided out of the squad because of his injury, he sets about organising the future for himself and his partner. The story is pleasant and engrossing, though it's also slight. The narrative jumps through three scenes in turn: the accident, Doyle's declaration to Bodie six months later, and Bodie's response one month after that. Major decisions and changes are telescoped into the final two brief visits with the characters. I would have liked to see more of what happened inside the characters - the first section grabs and holds our attention by taking us intimately into Doyle's feelings, whereas the aftermath sections have external foci - but that could be seen as a quibble.

An interesting first-timer, with a bit of a different twist (at least I haven't seen this concept in this fandom). It's a first timer and is set after the end of the series. I got the feeling they weren't as old as they were in Lizzie's story, my apologies if I'm wrong.

The story starts after Doyle and Bodie have successfully rescued some kiddies from a canal. Everything seems fine until Ray realises that he is trapped, well and truly trapped, and all the time the water level is rising. Everyone else has vanished, leaving Bodie and Doyle alone. Bodie naturally decides that he is not going to go off and leave Ray, however he cannot free Ray either.

Time goes on and it soon becomes clear that Ray is going to drown (his head is now underwater) despite Bodie's best efforts. Bodie has to try and keep his friend and partner alive, and hope that help does arrive. He does so in a rather novel way, he shares his air and oxygen with Doyle, breathing for both of them (effectively providing the kiss of life but with Doyle still alive). Ray suddenly realises in a moment of total clarity that Bodie will die with him, why? Because he loves his partner, and Doyle realises that he loves Bodie too, and isn't going to let the bigger man die and tries to pull away from Bodie, prepared to sacrifice his life for his partners. At the last moment, help arrives and both men are pulled to safety.

As a result of this though, Doyle is invalided out of CI5, his leg has never recovered. It's six months later, Bodie is still in CI5 and turns up at Doyle's, one gets the impression 'as usual' is added here, they are still not lovers. They discuss Bodie leaving CI5 and Doyle pulls the discussion around to the canal and asks Bodie what he was thinking about and tells him that he loves Bodie and that Bodie loves him. Doyle confesses to being bi, Bodie is surprised and asks time to think about it.

One month later. Bodie has thought and makes the decision known to Doyle in the simplest way. He turns up at Doyle's flat at 5:00 a.m. and tells Ray that he's moving in with him, and that he's resigned from CI5. Bodie reckons that Cowley guessed the reason why.

A lovely sum up at the end: Life was just beginning.

A good story, with all the elements that make a story work for me: togetherness, love, partnership, friendship, a plot, humour, tension and a resolved ending. Well written and flows well from start to finish. Good characterisation and very believable, I could sense Ray's panic as the water closed in around him, and sense Bodie's (even though we only know about Bodie's panic through Doyle) as he saw the man he loved, his partner get closer to death. I like the lack of real angst over whether they should or should not become lovers. Okay, Bodie needed time to think, but we didn't see that time, and I for one was glad, I think it made for a much better balanced story than had we seen what he was thinking and deciding. Ultimately, it seemed to come down to the simple fact that they were as one.

A very good read.