Fic: "The R-Word" [Parts 1-2/5]

[soteriophobe.livejournal.com]

Title: The R-Word [Parts 1-2/5]
Characters/Pairing: Elizabeth POV. Elizabeth/Peter Burke. Diana Barrigan, Clinton Jones, Leonard Grant, Neal Caffrey, Mozzie.
Genre/Rating: Hurt/Comfort. Slightly A/U. Multiple ratings (see chapter summaries).
Word count: 10K+ (chopped into smaller parts).
Warnings: There’s a rape scene in the beginning of this fic, but it is not graphic/kinky/rated NC-17, and is only about a paragraph long. That said, this is potentially a very triggering story for anyone recovering from sexual assault, so please be careful. This fic also involves major emotional whump/eventual trouble in paradise for Peter and Elizabeth, so be wary if you are protective of them.
Spoilers/Timeframe: Checkmate up until Pulling Strings.  

Summary: 
Elizabeth Burke is raped by Grant, while in Keller’s captivity. A series of episode tags, missing and deleted scenes depict her struggle to come to terms with what has happened to her.

Chapter Summaries:

Part One [Rated R]: Elizabeth is left alone with and attacked by Leonard Grant. Diana helps her to cope with the immediate aftermath.

Part Two [Rated PG-13]: Peter returns home and learns of what has happened to his wife. He and Elizabeth attempt to comfort each other and figure out what will happen next.

Parts Three/Four/Five: Coming very soon.

Author’s Notes:
I am not usually one to write stories that involve rape, but I have written this fic for two reasons:

1. Canon-wise, something has seemed slightly off about The Burkes and their marriage/behavior since Checkmate. In pondering what could have caused this weirdness (aside from the obvious), the above story basically fell out of my head and demanded to be written.
2. I feel like there is a dearth of stories/fics out there that realistically explore the aftermath of rape, and the profound effect it has on a person’s life, relationships, and sense of self. I wanted to throw my hat in the ring, and give my interpretation.

That said, I am extremely conscious of the fact that this is a very sensitive subject for a lot of people, and afraid that I may have hurt or offended someone with my (subjective) depiction in this piece. I am more than happy to discuss any aspect of said depiction with anyone who feels that I have gotten it wrong, been disrespectful or implied something offensive, just PM me, etc.

I also realize that some people may be angry that I have done such a horrible thing to Elizabeth – I take no joy in doing so, but…I guess I was willing to do it, because I wanted to explore some more extreme/dark sides of her character? My ultimate aim in this fic is to show how strong and amazing Elizabeth and the other characters are, however – I certainly have no desire to degrade or humiliate them. This is something I am also more than happy to discuss with anyone who has an issue with it.

I hope that this fic is otherwise okay to read. :)

Comments

[soteriophobe.livejournal.com]

Also, forgive the font in this entry. The LJ rich text editor is being weird as hell. D:

[rabidchild.livejournal.com]

I haven't read this, but thanks for tackling this subject. It's not popular, but there have been a few very sensitive and well-written stories along those lines.

I've added a sexual assault tag to the comm (and tagged yours), so that these can be appropriately tracked.

[soteriophobe.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for the tag - I was going to tag this with non-con, but it felt a bit ill-fitting, since non-con usually tends to be more along the kink and/or horror side of things. I have read a couple of wonderful (er…not wonderful, but you know - skilful) sexual assault stories in this fandom, and said tag will be great to try and gather them all together from now on.

Thank you for the support, also - I have been a bit nervous about posting this one. <3

[rabidchild.livejournal.com]

I know exactly how you feel - I wrote a similar story about a year ago and was not even going to publish it, but some friends assured me it was not at all bad (I feared it was exploitative), and I got a lot of very supportive feedback.

[soteriophobe.livejournal.com]

Ooh, do you think that I could get the title of said story so I can go find it? I am always interested to see explorations of this subject, and I am not sure I have read that one of yours.

People have been really great about it so far. This fandom is awesome. :D

[rabidchild.livejournal.com]

Sure! It's How the Innocent are Bound to the Damned (http://rabidchild67.livejournal.com/43270.html)

And you are right - this fandom is quite awesome!