remindmeofthe | FIC: "Fixes What's Broke," TToI, PG-13, Nicola/Malcolm

Entry tags:

FIC: "Fixes What's Broke," TToI, PG-13, Nicola/Malcolm

The final version to post to communities. Or, well, community. Substantially rewritten from the rough, including a different ending.

TITLE: "Fixes What's Broke"
AUTHOR: Cathryn (

catslash)
RATING: PG-13 for, of course, swearing
SUMMARY: Nicola Murray awakens at the tail end of a series of interesting decisions. Nicola/Malcolm; takes place not too long after 3x07.
WORD COUNT: Approximately 1200.
NOTES: I am from the States; I've done my best with the British English in here, but if I've made any glaring errors, or even not-so-glaring, please let me know so I can fix them. Thanks!
NOTE THE SECOND: The title is borrowed from the political satire musical The Fix, by Dana Rowe and John Dempsey; the song is, appropriately, titled "Spin." It is my opinion that TToI fans should look the soundtrack up.
DISCLAIMER: The Thick of It was created by Armando Iannucci and belongs to the BBC. I take no credit and make no money.

I'm still not sure this is ready for public consumption, but it's likely to get jossed (Iannuccied?) to hell and back when the finale airs Saturday, so I wanted to get it posted before then.

SPOILERS for 3x07.

It's the shrilling of Nicola's mobile that wakes her, but she spends several seconds blinking at unfamiliar walls before the sound even registers.

Where . . . ? Oh fuck.

. . . that's got to be James.

"Oh, fuck."

She's alone in Malcolm's bed, at least, thank fuck for small favors, no doubt he's fucked off somewhere and expects her to be gone when he gets back - well, no problems there - but her mobile is still ringing, and she grabs and answers it without checking the ID.

"Hello?"

"Nicola."

"Terri?" She isn't late into the bargain, is she? No, it's still early. But Terri certainly sounds - well. Terri-y enough. Nicola pulls the sheet up over herself, as if Terri can somehow see her through the phone. "What's going on?"

"There have been some photos released, Nicola."

Nicola has always been given to understand that a phrase like that is supposed to send ice down your spine. Instead, she can feel the ice crawling up, starting at the small of her back and making its way to her lungs and heart.

"Photos?" she says faintly.

"I'm sending you one now."

As Nicola waits for the photo message to come through, she realizes distantly that something sounds different. At first she thinks it's roaring in her ears or something - isn't that also customary, when you wake up in the wrong bed after a long and bewildering day and a series of really interesting decisions involving a man you're fairly sure you never looked at quite that way before? - but then it clicks: the shower was running, and now it's turned off.

God, he's still in the flat. She was really looking forward to that clean getaway.

On the other hand, at least she's broken her marital vows with a man she can count on not to get clingy.

A nervous giggle erupts, only to be swallowed as the photo pops up on her mobile's screen. As incriminating photos go, it's not much. She's seen worse. But with the tide turning the way it has been, and the press latching on to and blowing up every little thing to do with Malcolm they can find . . . it's enough.

It's her with Malcolm as he unlocks the door to what is unmistakeably this building. She's laughing and looking anxious, and he's glancing at her with - ah. Yes.

Suddenly Nicola remembers, with a little flutter in her stomach (and lower), exactly what made her decide to get into that car with him. She can feel her face heating up as she lifts the mobile back up to her ear with a shaking hand.

"Terri -"

"Get a story ready, Nicola, I'm not even in the office yet and I don't know if Fleming has seen this but when he does . . ."

"Right." Nicola ends the call. She looks at the photo again and feels the ice finally hit her brain, and that's when the shock starts to break up.

". . . MALCOLM!" The shout comes just as he walks into the room, tying the sash on a dark terrycloth dressing gown. She tosses the mobile at him, not bothering to see if he's managed to catch it before she leaps out of bed to gather her clothes, dragging the sheet with her.

"They caught us, Malcolm, we're on camera, there are pictures, it must be all over the place by now, god it was stupid to come back to your flat, we should have got a room somewhere like normal people - well, don't you have anything to say? What am I going to do?" She looks up, clothing bundled haphazardly in her arms. He's studying the mobile screen.

"That's not bad," he says. "You photograph better when you're hoping like hell you've turned invisible and all the neighbors are asleep in their beds."

She gapes at him. "What? Is that it? This is going to destroy me, and it sure as shit isn't going to do you any favors if you ever want to get back in, and all you can do is compliment how I look when I'm doing the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life?"

He doesn't even look up from the display. His face is the blankest she's ever seen it. "Not my job anymore."

Nicola crosses the room toward him - or lunges, more like, tripping over the sheet as she goes - and snatches the mobile out of his hand.

"So, what, you're experimenting? Let's see what it's like to make the mess for someone else to clean up? . . . oh my god. You did this on purpose! I knew coming back to yours was too stupid! This is about that stupid phone call, isn't it? I wouldn't back you up, so you fuck me in every way you can manage as part of your grand exit will you say something and stop staring at me like that!"

He looks at her. "Either have a shower or get back in bed. The smoldering remains of your career will still be waiting for you in a few hours."

She thinks in passing of telling him that he can get fucked by himself this time around, thank you very much, but she can't seem to muster it up. She's one of the few who seems able to shout back at Malcolm when he's worked himself into a merry rage, but with him like this, quiet and a little hollow and not even swearing for fuck's sake, she just hasn't got the heart for it.

Well, she'll just have to snap him out of it first.

Her mobile starts to ring; this time, she does check the number, and gets an idea. It's not a subtle idea, but then she doesn't have time for subtlety.

"That'll be Fleming," she remarks. "I suppose I'll have to ask him what to do instead." She glances up at Malcolm.

The look of derision her ploy is getting is almost - almost - comforting in its familiarity. "Oh fuck off with your two-bit psychology."

Right, then. Nicola presses a button and starts to raise the mobile to answer, but before she can so much as draw breath for a greeting that would no doubt be cut off mid-syllable anyway, Malcolm grabs the mobile, hits the End button, and throws it at the bed.

"I could go to the toilet, take an enormous fucking dump, fish it out, and bring it to you to sort through, and what you'd have when you were finished would be a better fucking plan than anything Steve fucking Fleming could vomit up on his best day! Now go and take a fucking shower before I change my mind."

She gets as far as the door before he adds,

"And Nicola, don't ever fucking try to manipulate me again. That was a sad fucking display and I'm ashamed to have been in the same room with it."

Nicola just smiles to herself and goes off to shower.

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Well, I can't say about the Britisms really, as I too am an American but I love this. Very much in character. Nicely done.

Well, I've had practice writing for other British fandoms, so hopefully I didn't screw anything up too badly. XD

Thanks for the comment! Keeping things in character is always my biggest priority with fic, and it's always nice to hear when my characterization works for someone else. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Oh yay! This is the first Malcolm/Nicola fic I've seen and it's wonderful! Particuarly love the back and forth of the mobile. I want so, so much for that scenario to happen in the next episode.

Thank you! I like having props in my writing sometimes - I do it a lot when I'm roleplaying - and the phone proved a lot of fun for me to play with. Phones are important in the world they live in!

Thanks for commenting. I'm glad you liked!

Really liked this! Very well-done and in-character, and gave me the impression I was glimpsing a tantalising slice of the day after all hell broke loose.

Nicola's On the other hand, at least she's broken her marital vows with a man she can count on not to get clingy, and her mounting anger/near-hysteria culminating in and stop staring at me like that! made me laugh out loud. XD

Britpicks as requested [but they're very minor, and you have a good handle on British English :) ]:

gotten a room - got a room
go take a - go and take a
two-bit psychology - undecided on this one. It's an American phrase, referring to American currency, originally (and I'd probably have gone with some variation on Malcolm's previous "fucking psychofanny"), but then it's not impossible that Malcolm would use it.

Great read, and nicely-observed interplay between the two. Looking forward to reading more from you! :)

Thanks for the corrections! I've spent a lot of time in British fandoms, and I'm something of a verbal chameleon so I've absorbed quite a bit of British English, but I'm not a native so I'll never get it all right. Help is always appreciated.

I did think a bit about "two-bit psychology" before I settled on it; I'm aware of the American etymology, but on the other hand, it's such a ubiquitous phrase that I can see it getting some international use through sheer crosscultural osmosis. (Ahaha, guess who had a test on culture and socialization in Sociology yesterday?) I'm still not one hundred percent sold on it, but it seems plausible enough, so I think I'll leave it.

As for the rest of your comment - thank you! I particularly like those bits you singled out, too, and am glad someone else found them funny. And Malcolm immediately proved really, really difficult for me to write, so I'm relieved that what I came up with is working for people. I have no idea if I'll be writing more TToI fic; I'm not planning to, but then I didn't plan to write this one either. It just kind of happened. But thanks for your interest in seeing more. :D

Wow, this is wonderful. I love your writing style, it flows beautifully and seems to capture completely the right tone for the fandom. I love your characterisations - Nicola and Malcolm are both absolutely spot-on. There are so many bits I could pinpoint as being particularly excellent, that I'd have to copy and paste the entire thing into this comment!

Speaking as the pickiest of Brits, I didn't come across anything that struck me as an out-of-place Americanism. I actually really liked Malcolm's "Oh fuck off with your two-bit psychology" because if you imagine it in his voice, it sounds exactly like something Malcolm would say.

All the way through this series I've been loving the way Nicola responds to Malcolm. It's as though she hasn't been around long enough to learn that when Malcolm tells you something you know you've been told, and her willingness to shout back is so, so refreshing. You've captured the respect and the UST that seems to be lurking beneath the surface between them really well, and I'm afraid to say (having had to abandon the slash goggles due to Jamie's absence from this series) I'll probably be watching tomorrow's episode with my Malcolm/Nicola ship goggles firmly in place.

Thank you! ♥ As I've said above, characterization is my biggest concern with fic, and I get especially anxious about it when I've tried my hand at writing a character who doesn't come to me naturally. Malcolm just may have given me the most difficulty of any character I've ever tried to fic! (Somehow, I am unsurprised by this.) So I'm really happy that what I ended up with is ringing true for people.

if you imagine it in his voice, it sounds exactly like something Malcolm would say.

Ha, that is exactly the rationalization I used when I decided to keep it. I could hear him saying it in my head (man, writing makes me sound like a crazy person sometimes) and it sounded like him, so I overrode my misgivings and went with it.

her willingness to shout back is so, so refreshing.

Yes! I love Nicola for lots of reasons, and this is my number one favorite thing about her. Oh, she'll do what Malcolm tells her to, even if she disagrees with it on a moral basis (which is the politician in her and why she makes sense as a character on this show), but if he's pissed her off about it she'll shout at him first. I could write an essay on why I love this and why it's the female minister who does it, but I'll restrain myself. But it definitely informed my characterization of Nicola here.

Thank you so much for this lovely comment! It sounds kind of rote but: I really am glad that you enjoyed my fic enough to want to leave it. :D

I'd love to hear the essay, if you ever get time for it.

I'm planning on using some of my upcoming vacation time to rewatch the full run of the show and do ep reaction posts, so it'll probably crop up in some form or another then. I promise nothing, because what I plan and what gets done are two entirely different things, but it's something I do want to do.

Do you mind if I friend you?

Go right ahead! I thought of saying you were free to, but didn't want to sound presumptuous. XD

Oh, brilliant! I've been yearning for some Malcolm/Nicola fic since the series began, I really have. As a Brit, I can't say I saw any glaring Americanisms...it flowed really well. Will any more be forthcoming?

Thank you! I've had a lot of exposure to British English through friends and fandoms, but no one's perfect, and I love that just about everyone who's commented to this has mentioned my request for help with it. You guys have got my back, it's great!

I don't have any plans for more at the moment, but I have long since learned that for me, the concepts of "ficcing" and "planning" are mutually exclusive, so we'll see what we see, I suppose. XD

I'm so happy that there is finally TTOI fic for me to read! I've been looking for ages and there's hardly any of it around. I really enjoyed this and hope to see more fic in this comm!

I know, I wish there were more fic! TToI demands fic. It is intimidating to write for, though, since the style of the show is so specific and the quality of it so high. I was nervous about this fic like I haven't been nervous about fic in quite some time. The positive comments it's gotten have been a relief to read. Thank you for leaving one!

I think you did well with the britishisms, haven't spotted anything :)

Particularly liked the line:
"On the other hand, at least she's broken her marital vows with a man she can count on not to get clingy."

Hee!

:D That's one of my favorite lines, too. I laughed when I wrote it and I don't often do that.

Thanks for commenting, and for taking note of the British English. People have been good about mentioning that in particular, which is really awesome of you guys.

I love this! I love how quickly Nicola moves from panic to (slight) planning and I can just see the indulgent little derisive smile on Malcolm's face as she 'manipulates' him (on the show he manages to look so, so contemptuous of her stupidity and yet almost a little... fond of her at the same time. Capaldi's a genius).

I never know whether to say that I've love to see a sequel/prequel because some authors love it and some feel pressured. So I'll just say the hints about how they ended up in his flat were tantalising.

I don't feel pressured! It's something people, including myself, tend to say, and I personally like the idea that someone enjoyed something I wrote enough to want more of it. I don't know if there'll be any kind of follow-up to this - I have some ideas, but it's not really coalescing just yet - but I have learned never to say never when it comes to fic.

Thanks for commenting! I had fun working out Malcolm's reaction to Nicola's ploy. She knew perfectly well he wouldn't fall for it, but was hoping that the little jab to his pride might be effective, and sure enough . . . of course, Malcolm, as always, has his own plans.

he knew perfectly well he wouldn't fall for it, but was hoping that the little jab to his pride might be effective

And his apparently genuine detestation for Steve Fleming. Would love to know if anything particular is behind that - pity it was never explored onscreen. I get the impression that Malcolm doesn't actually hate many people - gets exasperated, contemptuous, thinks they're all morons, yes. But not personally hating them. And partly (I need a rewatch to be sure) his 'vulnerability' in admitting he detests him is almost certainly part of a ploy, that doesn't mean it's not also genuine.

This is PERFECT. Thank you!

And oh God, it was exactly what I'd been craving all series. Their dynamic is just so wonderful and complicated.

Thank you!

I do enjoy their interactions; I love the way they play off each other and how Nicola shouts right back at Malcolm when she feels the need. It's awesome. ♥

Awesome! I'm not even up to speed on the this series, but I don't care. Malcolm is so fabulous to watch in action and you caught him perfectly.

Oh noes you have been spoiled. :O

Seriously, though, thanks! I had a really hard time with writing him, so it's not only a pleasure but a relief to hear that what I settled on is working for people. Thanks!

I'm not a spoiler-phobe. Life is too short to make that the big concern.

AHHHH THIS IS FUCKING AWESOME.

Great characterization!

Thanks! :D Characterization is the most important thing to me when I'm writing fic, so it's always nice to hear when it rings true for others.

This is the first Nicola/Malcolm fic I've read and believe me it did not dissapoint! Very IC and I always like to be smiling at the end of a fic, and this did it!

Love it ♥

:D Thanks for commenting! I'm glad it made you smile.

I enjoyed this muchly -- for my guilty love of Nicola/Malcolm. It'd was so in-character and quite possibly the only way I see them happening.

Thanks for writing this!

Yeah, I have to say, I agree with that. (Um, and not just because I wrote the fic, I swear. *g*) They're just one of those pairings that would require a fairly specific set of circumstances to actually happen.

I'm glad you enjoyed this. Thanks for the comment!

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FIC: "Fixes What's Broke," TToI, PG-13, Nicola/Malcolm

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